Of the fifteen players brought in over the summer by Notts County manager, Martin Paterson, following the Magpies’ return to EFL League One, a standout has been their teenage loanee, Rory Finneran.

A defensive midfielder, Irishman Finneran swapped one flock of Magpies for another in late August, being sent to Meadow Lane from Premier League outfit, Newcastle United, and he’s, so far, settled in quite well to his managers’ 3-4-2-1 system.

Manchester-born, Finneran has played for the Republic of Ireland at all levels from U15s through to making his senior debut, in a 5-0 win over Grenada, in mid-May – from U15s to U21s the midfielder has clocked up over forty appearances for his country in the past four years.

Initially starting out at Blackburn Rovers, where he made his senior debut in their 5-2 FA Cup win over Cambridge United in January 2024, Finneran joined Newcastle United six months later, making a handful of appearances for their U21s side.

This past summer, the Premier League side saw fit to send the teenage midfielder out on-loan, he being picked up by League One newcomers, Notts County, with Director of Football, Richard Montague, saying at the time; “Rory is an exciting young prospect who has already shown his promise in the men’s game by earning international recognition.

“He’s a combative midfielder with plenty of energy and a strong range of passing.

“We thank Newcastle for trusting us with Rory’s development and welcome him to Meadow Lane.”

Finneran made his County debut in the 2-1 win at home to Burton Albion, on 29 August, the Magpies putting together an unbeaten start to life back in League One; including his debut, Finneran has since played every minute of the five games played in this far.

Over those five games the defensive midfielder as registered 176 passes, with an accuracy of 79.7%, and has also been seen to have had a shot or two as well, whilst creating several chances per game along the way.

Despite Paterson’s Magpies slipping off the pace with back-to-back losses in recent outings, Finneran’s output in the middle of the park remains above the seventy-eight percent, even passing eighty percent in the draw at Huddersfield Town.

Over the coming weeks, a couple of County games have been postponed due to the lengthier, first international break of the season, with Finneran, alongside teammates Nick Tsaoulla (Cyprus), Daniel Kanu and Hindolo Mustapha (Sierra Leone) and Darius Lispsiuc, all being called up.

Lipsiuc and Finneran have been called into the Rep. Ireland U21s squad for their upcoming, UEFA U21s European Championship games against Slovakia (a), Kazakhstan (h), and England (h); they’ll return to league action when County host Oxford United in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday 10 October, followed by a trip to Wycombe Wanderers a week later.

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @Official_NCFC Finneran in action this season verses Burton Albion.