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Alan Browne (footballer)

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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 31)[2]
Place of birth Cork, Ireland
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Sunderland
Number 8
Youth career
–2012 Ringmahon Rangers
2012–2013 Cork City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2024 Preston North End 381 (43)
2024– Sunderland 22 (1)
2025–2026 → Middlesbrough (loan) 38 (4)
International career‡
2013–2015 Republic of Ireland U19 9 (0)
2014–2017 Republic of Ireland U21 11 (3)
2017– Republic of Ireland 39 (5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:16, 2 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:51, 31 March 2026

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

Club career

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Cork City

[edit]

Browne joined the Cork City U19 squad from Ringmahon Rangers[4] before the 2012 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] Following Browne's departure, reports circulated[where?] that he had rejected the offer of a new contract due to disagreements with then manager Ryan Lowe, who subsequently resigned one game into the 2024–2025 season.[citation needed]

Sunderland

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Browne signed for 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]

Loan to Middlesbrough

[edit]

Following Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League, on 1 September 2025 it was announced that Browne had signed for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough on a season-long loan deal.[15] On 4 January 2026, Browne scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win against Southampton at the Riverside Stadium.[16] He scored a further two goals across the month, being named EFL Championship Player of the Month.[17]

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.[18]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 28 October 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cork City 2013[19] LOI Premier Division 000000——00
Preston North End 2013–14[20] League One 8100——1[c]091
2014–15[21] League One 2034020—6[d]0323
2015–16[22] Championship 3631030——403
2016–17[23] Championship 3101030——350
2017–18[24] Championship 4472210——479
2018–19[25] Championship 38121020——4112
2019–20[26] Championship 4340030——464
2020–21[27] Championship 3841020——414
2021–22[28] Championship 3941010——414
2022–23[29] Championship 3612110——392
2023–24[30] Championship 4141010——434
Total 37443143190—7041446
Sunderland 2024–25[19] Championship 2210000—1[e]0231
2025–26[19] Premier League 00—00——00
2026–27[19] Premier League 00002000—20
Total 22100200010251
Middlesbrough (loan) 2025–26[19] Championship 38410——3[e]0424
Career total 434481532100011048151
  1. ↑ Includes FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes Football League/EFL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance in League One play-offs
  4. ↑ Four appearances in Football League Trophy, two appearances in League One play-offs
  5. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs

International

[edit]
As of match played 31 March 2026[31]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 201710
201820
201961
202020
202161
2022103
202380
202420
202500
202620
Total395
As of match played 31 March 2026. 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 2019Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland5 Bulgaria1–03–1Friendly[32]
2 24 March 2021Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia12 Serbia1–02–32022 FIFA World Cup qualification[33]
3 26 March 2022Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland18 Belgium2–22–2Friendly[34]
4 11 June 2022Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland22 Scotland1–03–02022–23 UEFA Nations League B[35]
5 17 November 2022Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland26 Norway1–11–2Friendly

Honours

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Preston North End

Sunderland

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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "Alan Browne: Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Alan Browne: Preston North End sign ex-Cork City midfielder". 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". 29 January 2024. 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. ↑ "Alan Browne Signs From Sunderland". Mfc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Middlesbrough 4-0 Southampton: Boro back to second with easy Saints win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Sky Bet Championship Manager and Player of the Month winners". www.efl.com. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  18. ↑ "Committed Ireland start World Cup campaign with defeat in Serbia". The 42. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "A. Browne". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  24. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  25. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  28. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  29. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "Alan Browne". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  32. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 3-1 Bulgaria: Collins comes off the bench to seal friendly victory". Sky Sports. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  33. ↑ "Serbia 3–2 Ireland: Goal drought ended but still no win for Stephen Kenny". Irish Independent. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  34. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 2–2 Belgium: Late Alan Browne goal earns Republic draw in friendly". BBC Sport. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  35. ↑ "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.
  36. ↑ Middleton, Nathan (24 May 2015). "Preston North End 4–0 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  37. ↑ "Sheffield United 1–2 Sunderland: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 24 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  38. ↑ "McGoldrick named Ireland's Player of the Year". RTE Sport. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
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