Michael Noonan is due to have a medical on Wednesday before joining Nottingham Forest in January. The 18-year-old Shamrock Rovers striker is heading for the club’s academy ranks, even with the move structured as a free transfer.
Michael Noonan and Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest have reportedly secured the deal after interest from Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton, Ajax and Benfica. For Forest, the move adds a forward who is still at the start of his senior career but has already forced his way into a transfer race that included several major clubs.
Noonan scored the only goal on his Shamrock Rovers debut in the UEFA Conference League play-off first leg against Molde. He was 16 years and 197 days old when he did it, and that strike made him the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Conference League history.
Shamrock Rovers in January 2025
He had only moved to Shamrock Rovers in January 2025 from St Patrick’s Athletic, then scored on his debut the following month. That sequence explains why Forest are acting now: they are buying a player whose rise has been fast enough to attract attention across Europe while he is still eligible for academy football.
Oliver Glasner welcomed five new faces to Nottingham Forest’s squad in the summer, and Gustavo Sa went out on loan to Olympiacos. This deal fits a quieter recruitment pattern, with Forest adding youth rather than chasing another established first-team name.
Training compensation at Forest
The structure is the unusual part. Noonan is set to join on a free transfer, but Nottingham Forest will still pay training compensation for his signature. In practice, that means the transfer fee is not the full story: the registration moves without a standard purchase price, while the club still owes money tied to his development path.
Noonan has also represented Republic of Ireland at youth levels up to Under-21 and impressed at the Under-17 World Cup last year. Forest are getting a teenager with a record already on his résumé, and the next step is simple: the medical on Wednesday, then the January move.
