Brian Lenihan joins Hull from Cork City

The 20 year old joined the Rebel Army from College Corinthians as a midfielder in 2012, making his first start for the Leeside club in a 2-0 win over Manchester United. Over the next year and a half, Lenihan’s progress was hampered by an injury sustained while on international duty and he managed six league appearances for Cork City.

The arrival of John Caulfield and a shortage of full backs for a pre-season friendly against Longford Town saw Lenihan switch to right back; where he has featured ever since.

Lenihan has attracted a lot of cross-channel interest this season as scouts from across the UK have been a regular sight in Turner’s Cross to see the defender star in his side’s unexpected title challenge

Last week Cork City had announced that they had accepted an offer from two clubs, and after Monday night’s FAI Cup replay defeat against Bohemians, the Rebel Army’s manager John Caulfield revealed that Lenihan would visit Brighton & Hove Albion (Monday) and Hull City (Tuesday) to discuss terms.

The switch will see the youngster join up with an already large Irish contingent at the KC Stadium. In particular, former Cork City midfielder David Meyler should be on hand to help the former College Corinthians players settle in.

As recently as last Friday, Lenihan revealed to Extratime that he couldn’t wait to seal his dream move to England.

“All I ever wanted was to play football over in England, But I’ve really enjoyed it over here. I haven’t given it much thought obviously because we’ve been heavily involved but now I know I’m going over I’m really looking forward to it.”

Full statement below:

Cork City FC wish to confirm that Brian Lenihan has signed for English Premier League side Hull City.

Lenihan made 21 league appearances for the club this season, and his excellent form led to a call up for the Republic of Ireland Under 21 squad in May.

Commenting on the news, Pat Lyons, Chairman of Cork City FC, said: “We would like to wish Brian the best of luck in the next stage of his career. Since he joined us, Brian has been a credit to his family and to his schoolboy club, College Corinthians; showing a fantastic attitude and excellent ability, which I am sure will see him progress far in the game.”

“As a club, we never want to see our best players depart, however we are pleased that we have reached what we believe to be a fair and reasonable agreement with Hull for his transfer, and that Cork City FC stands to benefit further should Brian continue to progress as we all expect him to do.”