Ireland midfielder Tyler Toland joins Women's Super League 2 club Durham

The Donegal native leaves Blackburn Rovers after two seasons.

ON THE MOVE: Tyler Toland has joined Durham from Blackburn Rovers. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.

Ireland midfielder Tyler Toland has joined Women's Super League 2 club Durham after two seasons at Blackburn Rovers.

The Donegal 23-year-old was always going to move after Rovers introduced cutbacks last season that eventually led to them withdrawing from the second tier for the upcoming season.

Durham, the former club of Toland’s Ireland teammate Saoirse Noonan, finished fourth last season, leaving behind them seven clubs affiliated to men’s clubs such as Newcastle United and Sunderland.

Toland, who won her 25th cap for Ireland in last month’s defeat away to Fifa’s top-ranked team USA, said of her latest move: “It feels great to be here.

"When I’ve played against Durham, I always felt that I’d love to be here. It’s a great club with great ambitions and great people, so I can’t wait to get going.

“I’ve played against the team for two seasons and it’s always been a team that I’ve admired and I feel like I can fit into the playing style. I just want to get to know everyone and get going and see what the season has to hold for us.”

Toland was a teen sensation, making her senior Ireland debut just a month after her 16th birthday. Top Women’s Super League club Manchester City snapped her up at 18 but her international career was stalled following a dispute with then manager Vera Pauw.

That left the playmaker four years cut adrift from the international scene, missing the 2023 World Cup in Australia, but once the FAI discarded Pauw within a month of that tournament, her successor Eileen Gleeson restored Toland to the fold.

Several other Ireland players remain unattached following the expiration of their contracts.

Meanwhile Republic of Ireland youth international and Brighton & Hove Albion's under 21's captain Jamie Mullins has made a permanent move to Wycombe Wanderers.

The 20-year-old midfielder scored seven goals and made seven assists in 46 league outings after signing from Bohemians in January 2023.