Chelsea circle as bidding war for Michael Noonan heats up
BLUE IS THE COLOUR?: Chelsea are the latest superpower to track Irish teen Michael Noonan. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Chelsea are the latest superpower to track Irish teen Michael Noonan as TSG Hoffenheim, third in the Bundesliga, failed to reach the valuation of €2m set by Shamrock Rovers with initial bids.
Brexit regulations prevent the Ireland U21 striker from joining a UK club until after he turns 18 in July and the Germans are keen to profit by luring Noonan this month.
Meeting the price tag set by Rovers is the first objective and they must double their first offer for the League of Ireland champions to consider doing business in this window.
Noonan’s switch from St Patrick’s Athletic was last year’s major off-season’s transfer but they will lose him for nothing in November if there’s no movement in the meantime.
Stephen Bradley’s interest in prising Cork City’s Seáni Maguire to Tallaght is likely couched in the risk of losing their latest teen asset during a season that sees them return to the Champions League in July.
Rovers had no issue with Noonan and his family being guests of Celtic for the recent New Year’s Day Old Firm derby against Rangers.
Paul Tisdale was sacked, along with manager Wilfried Nancy, two days after that defeat but the club’s interest in the player has continued in the absence of the operations lead.
Celtic’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond holds a 25% stake in Rovers, and the clubs have done business through the transfer of Liam Scales in 2021 and two loan deals for Johnny Kenny.
Chelsea have succeeded Manchester City as the English club operating as the player’s chief monitors.
Dubliner Andrew Cousins, a former Leeds United apprentice, leads their scouting department and Noonan matches the profile of player they identified in the ‘Moneyball’ concept adopted since Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover.
Noonan exploded onto the scene by scoring on his Rovers debut away to Molde and his reputation grew by reaching double figures over his debut season at the champions.
World Cup commitments with Ireland’s U17s denied him an FAI Cup final appearance in November but he led the line with aplomb in Qatar, scoring the winner against Uzbekistan which sealed their progression to the knockout stages.
Europe’s top-drawer clubs sent scouts to the tournament and it is understood Barcelona shortlisted Noonan on their wanted list. After careful consideration, they instead opted to offer terms to Hamza Abdel Karim, the Egyptian forward who turned 18 on New Year’s Day.
Hoffenheim have placed a particular emphasis on the Irish market since Brexit altered the landscape in 2020, firstly snapping up Matthew Moore from Cork City and then Shelbourne’s Finn Sherlock. They are now 18 and 17 respectively, the latter a teammate of Noonan’s at the World Cup.
The club fields a team in the third tier of German football, entitled Hoffenheim II, and Noonan will want to be sure of his new employers’ plans for him if a fee is agreed.
Saturday’s win over Bayer Leverkusen, sealed by a goal from Dutchman Wouter Burger, was the sixth home win in a row for Hoffenheim. They last qualified for the Champions League in 2018.
Croatian veteran Andrej Kramarić (34) is part of a forward line that also includes Tim Lemperle, Alexander Prass, Fisnik Asllani and Ihlas Bebou but head coach Christian Ilzer is on the lookout for attacking reinforcements to sustain their ascent.
Rovers would prefer to keep hold of their tyro for a campaign that kicks off on January 31 with the President’s Cup final, followed a week later with the league opener against newly promoted Dundalk.
Ideally, they’d like Noonan to agree to a contract extension but the widespread interest from around Europe is tipping the outcome towards a move elsewhere by the end of this year.
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