Alan Browne (footballer)

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	(1995-04-15) 15 April 1995 (age 30)[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	417	(43)
2024–	Sunderland	22	(1)
International career‡
2013–2015	Republic of Ireland U19	9	(0)
2014–2017	Republic of Ireland U21	11	(3)
2017–	Republic of Ireland	69	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:13, 26 April 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:48, 11 September 2024

Club career

Cork City

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]

Preston North End

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]

Sunderland

Browne signed for fellow 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]

International career

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.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 May 2025

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[16]	LOI Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Preston North End	2013–14[17]	League One	8	1	0	0	—		1[c]	0	9	1
	2014–15[18]	League One	20	3	4	0	2	0	6[d]	0	32	3
	2015–16[19]	Championship	36	3	1	0	3	0	—		40	3
	2016–17[20]	Championship	31	0	1	0	3	0	—		35	0
	2017–18[21]	Championship	44	7	2	2	1	0	—		47	9
	2018–19[22]	Championship	38	12	1	0	2	0	—		41	12
	2019–20[23]	Championship	43	4	0	0	3	0	—		46	4
	2020–21[24]	Championship	38	4	1	0	2	0	—		41	4
	2021–22[25]	Championship	39	4	1	0	1	0	—		41	4
	2022–23[26]	Championship	36	1	2	1	1	0	—		39	2
	2023–24[27]	Championship	41	4	1	0	1	0	—		43	4
	Total		374	43	14	3	19	0	7	0	414	46
Sunderland	2024–25[16]	Championship	22	1	0	0	0	0	1[e]	0	23	1
Career total			396	44	14	3	19	0	8	0	437	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
5. Appearances in EFL Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 10 September 2024^[28]

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.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	10 September 2019	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	5	Bulgaria	1–0	3–1	Friendly	[29]
2	24 March 2021	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia	12	Serbia	1–0	2–3	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	[30]
3	26 March 2022	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	18	Belgium	2–2	2–2	Friendly	[31]
4	11 June 2022	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	22	Scotland	1–0	3–0	2022–23 UEFA Nations League B	[32]
5	17 November 2022	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	26	Norway	1–1	1–2	Friendly

Honours

Preston North End

• Football League One play-offs: 2015^[33]

Individual

• FAI Young Player of the Year 2019^[34]