Irish footballer
Ryan Patrick Nolan (born 17 February 1999) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Larne FC.
Club career
Born in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Nolan was raised in Torre-Pacheco, Spain from a young age - due to this, Nolan is also eligible to play for the Spain National Football Team despite having played for Republic of Ireland youth teams.
Whilst playing for Torre Pacheco youth team, Nolan was noticed by former player Pierluigi Casiraghi and subsequently recommended to Internazionale. Signing a youth contract, Nolan went on to Captain Inter's Primavera youth team and, gaining the trust of then-coach Luciano Spalletti, was named on the substitutes bench for various first-team games.
On 2 September 2019, Nolan left Internazionale and signed with Arezzo.[1] On 31 January 2020, Nolan joined Serie C club Giana Erminio on loan.[2] In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, Nolan's contract with Arezzo was terminated by mutual consent on 24 September 2020.[3] He subsequently returned to Spain to join Getafe.[4] Nolan was due to make his first team debut in December 2020 but was ruled out for the season after he tore his cruciate ligament in training.[5]
In February 2022 he signed for Northampton Town.[6][7]
In August 2022 he signed with Raith Rovers, taking the number 5 shirt.
Nolan made his league debut for Raith Rovers on July 30, 2022, playing the full 90 minutes in an away game against Cove Rangers.
On March 18, 2023, Nolan scored his first league goal in the reverse fixture against Cove Rangers, in a 6–1 home win.
On July 15, 2023, it was announced that Nolan had returned to Spain to play for Hércules.[8]
International career
Nolan has represented The Republic of Ireland national team at underage level. He has been capped at U16, U17, and U18 - he has made the provisional U21 squad on one occasion, although he did not make the final squad.
He's also eligible to represent Spain as he moved to the country when he was 8 years old.
References