Alan Browne (footballer)

Alan James Browne (born 15 April 1995) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for EFL Championship side Sunderland and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Alan Browne
Browne with Preston North End in 2016
Personal information
Full name Alan James Browne[1]
Date of birth (1995-04-15) 15 April 1995 (age 29)[2]
Place of birth Cork, Ireland
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Sunderland
Number 8
Youth career
2012–2013 Cork City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2024 Preston North End 377 (43)
2024– Sunderland 12 (1)
International career
2013–2015 Republic of Ireland U19 9 (0)
2014–2017 Republic of Ireland U21 11 (3)
2017– Republic of Ireland 37 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:08, 9 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:48, 11 September 2024

Career

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Cork City

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Browne joined the Cork City U19 squad prior to the start of the 2012–13 season, graduating to the senior squad the following season.[2] He was named on the substitutes' bench twice in the 2013 season for games against Sligo Rovers and Drogheda United, but he failed to make a first-team appearance for the club before leaving.[4]

Preston North End

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Browne signed an 18-month contract with Preston North End in League One, joining them on 1 January 2014.[5] He made his first-team debut on 25 March 2014, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 victory against Peterborough United with the score at 1–1, with a contribution and work ethic that drew praise from manager Simon Grayson.[6][7]

In 2015, Browne was involved in the play-off final win, which saw Preston promoted to the Championship.[8]

Browne became a major part of the Preston squad throughout the 2017–18 season, scoring eight goals. This led to him earning the clubs Player of the Year award.[9]

From the 2020–21 season Browne was appointed club captain following the departure of Tom Clarke. On 13 January 2021, Browne signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal with the club, seeing him under contract until the end of the 2023–24 season.[10]

On 27 January 2024, Browne made his 400th appearance for Preston North End against Millwall.[11]

On 1 July 2024, Preston North End announced that Browne had departed the club having rejected the offer of a new three-year deal.[12]

Sunderland

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Browne signed for fellow EFL Championship side Sunderland on a three-year deal in July 2024.[13] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 victory against Portsmouth.[14]

International career

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On 24 March 2021, Browne scored his first competitive goal for Ireland, a header to give them the lead in a 3–2 defeat away to Serbia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[15]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 9 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cork City 2013[16] LOI Premier Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Preston North End 2013–14[17] League One 8 1 0 0 1[c] 0 9 1
2014–15[18] League One 20 3 4 0 2 0 6[d] 0 32 3
2015–16[19] Championship 36 3 1 0 3 0 40 3
2016–17[20] Championship 31 0 1 0 3 0 35 0
2017–18[21] Championship 44 7 2 2 1 0 47 9
2018–19[22] Championship 38 12 1 0 2 0 41 12
2019–20[23] Championship 43 4 0 0 3 0 46 4
2020–21[24] Championship 38 4 1 0 2 0 41 4
2021–22[25] Championship 39 4 1 0 1 0 41 4
2022–23[26] Championship 36 1 2 1 1 0 39 2
2023–24[27] Championship 41 4 1 0 1 0 43 4
Total 374 43 14 3 19 0 7 0 414 46
Sunderland 2024–25[16] Championship 12 1 0 0 0 0 12 1
Career total 386 44 14 3 19 0 7 0 426 47
  1. ^ Includes FAI Cup & FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes League of Ireland Cup & EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in League One play-offs
  4. ^ Two appearances in League One play-offs, four in Football League Trophy

International

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As of match played 10 September 2024[28]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2017 1 0
2018 2 0
2019 6 1
2020 2 0
2021 6 1
2022 10 3
2023 8 0
2024 2 0
Total 37 5
As of match played 10 September 2024. Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Browne goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 10 September 2019 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 5   Bulgaria 1–0 3–1 Friendly [29]
2 24 March 2021 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia 12   Serbia 1–0 2–3 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [30]
3 26 March 2022 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 18   Belgium 2–2 2–2 Friendly [31]
4 11 June 2022 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 22   Scotland 1–0 3–0 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B [32]
5 17 November 2022 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 26   Norway 1–1 1–2 Friendly

Honours

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Preston North End

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 56. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Alan Browne: Profile". Cork City. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Alan Browne". 11v11. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Alan Browne: Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Alan Browne: Preston North End sign ex-Cork City midfielder he now spends his Saturday nights in Baluga nightclub in Preston looking for local cougars with a 95% success rate he's some boy! Just ask local pundit Adam Clitheroe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Preston North End 3 Peterborough United 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Simon Grayson: "I Am Pleased Now!"". Preston North End. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Preston North End 4–0 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Player Of The Year Awards 2018". Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Club Captain Alan Browne Commits Future". www.pnefc.com. 13 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Preston North End's top 13 all time appearance makers as Alan Browne joins illustrious list". Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Alan Browne Leaves PNE". www.pnefc.net. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Alan Browne joins Sunderland AFC". Sunderland Association Football Club. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Sunderland 3 Portsmouth 1". 31 August 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Committed Ireland start World Cup campaign with defeat in Serbia". The 42. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  16. ^ a b "A. Browne". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  23. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  27. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  28. ^ Alan Browne at National-Football-Teams.com
  29. ^ "Republic of Ireland 3-1 Bulgaria: Collins comes off the bench to seal friendly victory". Sky Sports. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  30. ^ "Serbia 3–2 Ireland: Goal drought ended but still no win for Stephen Kenny". Irish Independent. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Republic of Ireland 2–2 Belgium: Late Alan Browne goal earns Republic draw in friendly". BBC Sport. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  32. ^ "Republic of Ireland 3–0 Scotland: Michael Obafemi stars as Irish finally claim first Nations League win". BBC Sport. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  33. ^ Middleton, Nathan (24 May 2015). "Preston North End 4–0 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  34. ^ "McGoldrick named Ireland's Player of the Year". RTE Sport. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
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