Alan Browne (footballer)


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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 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 374 (43)
2024– Sunderland 5 (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 23:22, 1 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:48, 11 September 2024

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]

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]

Browne signed for fellow EFL Championship side Sunderland on a three-year deal in July 2024.[13]

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.[14]

As of match played 1 October 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[15] LOI Premier Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Preston North End 2013–14[16] League One 8 1 0 0 — 1[c] 0 9 1
2014–15[17] League One 20 3 4 0 2 0 6[d] 0 32 3
2015–16[18] Championship 36 3 1 0 3 0 — 40 3
2016–17[19] Championship 31 0 1 0 3 0 — 35 0
2017–18[20] Championship 44 7 2 2 1 0 — 47 9
2018–19[21] Championship 38 12 1 0 2 0 — 41 12
2019–20[22] Championship 43 4 0 0 3 0 — 46 4
2020–21[23] Championship 38 4 1 0 2 0 — 41 4
2021–22[24] Championship 39 4 1 0 1 0 — 41 4
2022–23[25] Championship 36 1 2 1 1 0 — 39 2
2023–24[26] Championship 41 4 1 0 1 0 — 43 4
Total 374 43 14 3 19 0 7 0 414 46
Sunderland 2024–25[15] Championship 5 1 0 0 0 0 — 5 1
Career total 379 44 14 3 19 0 7 0 419 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
As of match played 10 September 2024[27]
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.

Preston North End

Individual

  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. ^ "Committed Ireland start World Cup campaign with defeat in Serbia". The 42. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  15. ^ a b "A. Browne". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Games played by Alan Browne in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  27. ^ Alan Browne at National-Football-Teams.com
  28. ^ "Republic of Ireland 3-1 Bulgaria: Collins comes off the bench to seal friendly victory". Sky Sports. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Serbia 3–2 Ireland: Goal drought ended but still no win for Stephen Kenny". Irish Independent. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  30. ^ "Republic of Ireland 2–2 Belgium: Late Alan Browne goal earns Republic draw in friendly". BBC Sport. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ Middleton, Nathan (24 May 2015). "Preston North End 4–0 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  33. ^ "McGoldrick named Ireland's Player of the Year". RTE Sport. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.