Aaron McEneff

Aaron McEneff (born 9 July 1995) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Championship.[1]

Aaron McEneff
Personal information
Full name Aaron McEneff
Date of birth (1995-07-09) 9 July 1995
Place of birth Derry, Northern Ireland
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Heart of Midlothian
Number 18
Youth career
Don Boscos
Maiden City
2011–2013 Institute
2013–2015 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Derry City 102 (25)
2019–2020 Shamrock Rovers 44 (12)
2021– Heart of Midlothian 0 (0)
National team‡
2012 Northern Ireland U17 2 (0)
2013–2014 Northern Ireland U19 6 (0)
2015 Northern Ireland U21 0 (0)
2020– Republic of Ireland 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:42, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:21, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

McEneff was born in Derry and played youth football with Institute and Tottenham Hotspur before starting his professional career with Derry City.

In November 2020, he was called up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad for the Nations League game against Bulgaria.[2]

Early life

McEneff was born in Derry and grew up in the Cornshell Fields estate in the city.[3][4] He attended St. Columb's College while playing youth football for Don Boscos and Maiden City Academy.[5] He has two brothers, Nathan and Jordan. Jordan is currently a youth team player at Arsenal.

Club career

Early career

McEneff began his career at Institute, playing in the NIFL Championship. He had trials with Kilmarnock and Tottenham Hotspur in early 2012 before impressing for the latter in a youth game against Aston Villa and being snapped up on a two-year scholarship deal in May 2012. Tottenham Technical Director at the time, Tim Sherwood, remarked that McEneff reminded him of "a young Roy Keane."[6] His international clearance did not arrive until January 2013 and he was only allowed to begin playing competitive games after this. He progressed well enough to earn a one-year professional deal in summer 2014, although a long-term knee injury that saw him miss four months at the start of the 2014–15 U21 Premier League season stunted his progress. He regained his place in the U21 side, however his contract wasn't renewed and he was released in June 2015.

Derry City

McEneff went on trial with Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday before he returned to his hometown club Derry City to sign an 18-month contract under manager Peter Hutton on 30 July 2015. McEneff made his league debut for Derry in a 2-0 home defeat to Dundalk on 14 August 2015. Initially, McEneff found his form was inconsistent as he struggled to mentally deal with the setback of his departure from Tottenham, however his performances improved after a sustained run of games towards the end of 2015. He finished the season with 9 league appearances. He credits moving back to the League of Ireland with helping him to develop as a player and gain experience of playing real football.[7]

After gradually adapting to life at the club, McEneff established himself as a key player for Derry City. 2016 was his first full season in the League of Ireland and he made 29 league appearances scoring six goals. McEneff signed a new two-year contract extension with the club in September 2016.[8] In 2017 he scored 9 goals in 29 league appearances and also appeared in both legs of the Europa League first qualifying round tie against Midtjylland.

Shamrock Rovers

In November 2018 McEneff left his hometown and signed for Shamrock Rovers [9] In his first season with Rovers he helped them to a 2nd place finish in the league and was part of the team who defeated Dundalk on penalties to win the FAI Cup final. This was Rovers 25th FAI Cup and the first time the club had lifted the trophy since 1987 [10] In 2020 McEneff was a member of the Shamrock Rovers side who won their 18th League of Ireland title.

Heart of Midlothian

On transfer deadline day, 1 February 2021, McEneff signed a 2-and-a-half-year contract with Scottish Championship side Heart of Midlothian.[11]

International career

McEneff has represented Northern Ireland at U21, U19, and U17 levels. [12] He was a member of the Northern Ireland U19 team which won the 2014 Milk Cup Elite Section, scoring the winning goal against Canada U20.[13] It was reported in August 2016 that McEneff was set to switch allegiance to the Republic of Ireland, however although he has had discussions about his future, no decision has been made and he has put his international career on hold for the time being.[6] Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was critical of the FAI for entering into discussions with McEneff describing them as "morally poor", however Republic of Ireland U21 boss Noel King responded by clarifying that the initial communication had come from McEneff's Dublin-born father and in the end the discussions did not lead to the paperwork going through.[14]

On the 16 November 2020, McEneff was called up Stephen Kenny's Republic of Ireland senior squad for the Nations League game against Bulgaria.[15]

Career statistics

Professional appearances – correct as of 1 February 2021.[16]

Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Derry City 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division 902000——110
2016 2965130——377
2017 29910102[lower-alpha 1]1—3310
2018 351032432[lower-alpha 1]0—4415
Derry City Total 102251138341—12532
Shamrock Rovers 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division 27952104[lower-alpha 1]00[lower-alpha 2]03711
2020 17344—2[lower-alpha 1]0—237
Shamrock Rovers Total 4412961060006018
Heart of Midlothian 2020–21 Scottish Championship 0000———00
Career Total 14637209931010017550
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in Leinster Senior Cup

Honours
Derry City
Shamrock Rovers

References
  1. "Player profile". Extratime.ie. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. http://leagueofireland.ie/index.php/2020/11/16/graham-burke-and-aaron-mceneff-called-up-to-the-ireland-squad/
  3. Collins, Simon. "Jordan McEneff 'excited' about future after signing Arsenal deal". Derry Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. Fallon Verbruggen, Ferdia. "Aaron McEneff signs for Derry City". Extratime.ie. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. McLaughlin, Kevin. "Premiership Bound". Londonderry Sentinel. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  6. Blake, Ben. "Former Spurs youngster beginning to fulfil his potential in the League of Ireland". The42.ie. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  7. Fennessy, Paul. "'Ultimately, I don't think I was ready to go into Tottenham's first team". the42.ie. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  8. "Duo sign new deals". derrycityfc.net. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  9. https://www.extratime.com/articles/21959/mceneff-signs-for-shamrock-rovers/
  10. https://www.fai.ie/domestic/news/shamrock-rovers-lift-fai-cup-after-shootout-win
  11. https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/hearts-capture-mceneff
  12. McLaughlin, Kevin. "McEneff switches to Republic of Ireland". Londonderry Sentinel. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  13. Holmes, Logan. "Aaron McEneff Of Tottenham Scored Winner In NI Milk Cup". Hotspur HQ. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  14. McDonnell, Daniel. "Republic U21 boss hits back at Northern Ireland's O'Neill in poaching row". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  15. http://leagueofireland.ie/index.php/2020/11/16/graham-burke-and-aaron-mceneff-called-up-to-the-ireland-squad/
  16. "Republic of Ireland – A.McEneff". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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