Ireland U17 international Luke O’Donnell has completed a move to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
17-year-old O’Donnell has joined Wolves’ academy on a permanent deal, leaving League of Ireland Premier Division side Derry City.
Wolves made the announcement on Wednesday, confirming that Donegal man O’Donnell had signed a professional deal with the cl
Academy manager for football at Wolves, Jon Hunter-Barrett, said of O’Donnell’s arrival
Luke’s a boy we tried to sign a year ago so it’s been a real challenge for us but, most importantly, for Luke and his family to wait for this amount of time before officially signing for us.
He’s another versatile player who can play as a six, eight or even as a centre back, which he’s shown he can do for his national team. Luke’s a great height and shape, and an athletic mover who can manage the ball. He’s another solid personality, someone who is consistent every day and we feel we can build a development block that’s going to be needed for him to sustain a career in the game moving forward.
- Played for Ireland at U15, U16, U17 level
- Appeared in every game of Ireland’s U17 Euro qualifying campaign
- Represented Cockhill Celtic
- Made League of Ireland senior debut v St. Pats on last day of 2023 season off the bench
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Wolves complete signing of Ireland U17 prospect Luke O’Donnell
17 October 2023; Luke O’Donnell of Republic of Ireland in action against Enrique Aguilar of Switzerland during the UEFA European U17 Championship qualifying group 10 match between Switzerland and Republic of Ireland at Turner’s Cross in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Luke O’Donnell was born in Buncrana, County Donegal, and represented the local side Cockhill Celtic until his move to Derry City.
O’Donnell made his first senior appearance for the Candystripes on the final day of last season, coming off the bench against St. Patrick’s Athletic at the Brandywell. He signed a professional contract with the club earlier this year, though was yet to make a senior appearance this season since signing said deal in February. He was named on the bench for five Premier Division games earlier in the season.
Midfielder O’Donnell has been capped by Ireland at U15, U16 and U17 level, playing in all six of their European Championship qualifiers over the past 12 months.
It is certainly a big vote of confidence for the Irish youngster and – should Wolves stay up in the Premier League – fans will hope to see him lining out in the English top flight in years to come.