*Ryan Nolan.
Shannon’s Ryan Nolan has signed with La Liga outfit, Getafe.
Born in Co Clare, Ryan and his family moved to southern Spain when he was eight years old where he began to line out with local schoolboys teams.
Esteemed Inter Milan scout, Pierluigi Casiraghi spotted Nolan in action for his local club Torre Pacheco, in an U16s schoolboy tournament against the Madrid and Catalonia regions back in 2015. Swedish club Malmo and West Brom had also expressed an interest in the versatile Clare defender at the time.
Then Inter Milan manager, Roberto Mancini presided over Ryan’s transfer making him the sixth Irishman to sign for the Italian giants, following in the footsteps of Thomas Coggins, Paddy Sloan, Liam Brady, Ronnie O’Brien and Robbie Keane.
Last year, Ryan ended his four year spell with Inter, a stint which included captaining the Milan club’s youths side to the prestigious Primavera title in 2017/18. He signed with Serie C outfit SS Arezzo in a bid to get more first team experience.
Injuries hindered his chances of progression with Arezzo and influenced his decision to return to Spain. He has featured at youths level for the Republic of Ireland and is hopeful of working his way into the U21 squad.
A move to English football was mooted but Ryan has agreed a deal with Getafe’s B side who currently play in Segunda División B, the third tier of Spanish football. The club’s top team finished eighth in last season’s La Liga.
Speaking on Monday evening, Ryan said he was “really happy and excited to start this new chapter in my career”.
