A former Irish underage footballer who has been impressing with Scottish Premier League side Ross County looks set to have his allegiance changed to Northern Ireland, with the Irish FA reportedly working with FIFA to confirm his international clearance.
26-year-old Ronan Hale who is originally from Belfast, had played with the Republic of Ireland U21s but is now expected to receive a call-up to the Northern Irish senior squad after showing phenomenal form for Ross County in the early part of this year’s Scottish Premier League.
The Belfast Telegraph originally reported that the IFA were working on an international transfer for Hale in August, with Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill revealing that he’d also spoken to the forward in August and that the relevant paperwork had been lodged with FIFA to make the move happen.
While Hale has expressed his wish to link up with the squad, the lengthy process involved in swapping international allegiances means Hale may not be cleared on time for Northern Ireland’s upcoming Nations League clashes with Bulgaria and Belarus in mid-October.
16 September 2018; Ronan Hale of Derry City celebrates at the final whistle of the EA SPORTS Cup Final between Derry City and Cobh Ramblers at the Brandywell Stadium in Derry. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
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Former Irish international Ronan Hale impressing in Scotland
In addition to making appearances for both the Republic of Ireland U19s and U21s, Hale had spent time learning his trade at both Derry City and St. Patricks Athletic. The Belfast native kicked off his professional career with a 31-game loan spell in Derry before he moved to NIFL side the Crusaders. Following that, Hale made the move to Inchicore making ten appearances for St. Pats and returning two goals for his efforts.
However, after his run with St. Pats, Hale returned to the NIFL playing with both Larne and Cliftonville before making the move to Ross County this season. There he’s been enjoying a stellar run of form, with the former Cliftonville star scoring three goals in his opening seven appearances of the season, including this cracker from last weekend’s game vs Hearts.
Watch Ronan Hale’s ‘sensational’ curling strike for Ross County yesterday ⚽️⤵️#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/jW4xkeZkKx
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) September 29, 2024
While there is still some doubt in the IFA that Hale’s clearance will come ahead of Northern Ireland’s mid-October Nations League fixtures, they expect everything to be in order for the return legs of those games in November.
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