OTD: ALAN BROWNE DEBUT

On this day in 2024, current Sunderland midfielder Alan Browne made his debut for the club as we beat Cardiff City 2-0 on the opening day of the Championship season.

Hailing from Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, Browne began his footballing career by joining the U19 squad of his local team, Cork City, in 2012. There was no senior debut for his first club however, as he left to sign for Preston North End on New Year’s Day 2014.

At the time Preston were in League One and managed by future Sunderland manager Simon Grayson. His debut for PNE came in March 2014 against Peterborough United and he assisted the final goal of a 3-1 victory. He got on the pitch a few more times before the end of the season, during this campaign he also scored his first professional goal in a 6-1 thumping of Carlisle United. The Lilywhites qualified for the playoffs in 5th place but were defeated by Rotherham United in the semi finals.

In 2014/15, he became more involved in league fixtures and was a regular feature in cup matches as he made 32 appearances in all competitions. Browne featured in the League One playoff final to conclude the season. Preston stormed to promotion, beating Swindon Town 4-0 at Wembley to earn a place in the second tier.

Despite the higher standard of football, Alan Browne’s involvement still increased to 40 matches in all competitions in the campaign afterwards. The key moment of this season for him was when he scored a last minute winner versus Huddersfield Town in front of home support. His club survived in their new environment no problem, finishing inside the top half of the table.

It was a largely eventless next season at club level, with Preston finishing 11th for the second year running. Although he did play against Arsenal in the FA Cup. A first cap for the RoI national team came in February 2017, coming off the bench in a friendly away to Mexico.

17/18 saw him score nine goals in all competitions, including winners against Hull City and Sheffield United as well as a brace away to Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup. Preston finished just two points outside of the top six, coming seventh under the management of another future Sunderland boss in Alex Neil. 2018-19 was his best in terms of goal contributions, as he netted 12 and assisted six across 41 games. This time around he scored the deciding goal in a win over QPR but he would also captain the side on a few occasions as he played his fifth season as one of Preston’s most important players.

2019 was a good year for him on a personal level, he was named the FAI Young Player of the Year and he scored his first goal on the international stage in a friendly victory against Bulgaria. The disruption of Covid during the 2019-20 Championship season wasn’t able to interrupt PNE’s run of finishing in mid table however, with Browne now regularly captaining his side into games.

There wasn’t a crowd in when he scored twice in two minutes versus Huddersfield Town the next season and crowds returning in the summer of 2021 had no effect on the team seemingly, as they completed back to back 13th place finishes in the second tier. They rose to the heights of 12th place at the end of the following campaign and in 2023/24 Browne broke the 400 appearances mark for his club, a rarity in the modern game.

Probably quite bored of constantly finishing no higher than 7th every year and the occasional goal in quite meaningless games ultimately, the midfielder decided to leave Preston and transfer over to Wearside in the summer of 2024. Ironically of course, this came off the back of a 16th placed finish from us. Another reason he likely wanted to come here was because he’d be one of the few players closer to being 30 than 20. Occupying a place in the middle of the park he would be able to assert himself as a key source of guidance for our younger players. Able to play in a whole host of positions, our fans were more than happy with his signing.

It was widely assumed he was being signed as the Corry Evans replacement but during the early months of 2024/25 he was actually much more attacking minded. His first (and so far only) goal in a Sunderland shirt came in a trip to Fratton Park as we eased past Portsmouth 3-1. He did sort of steal it off of Eliezer Mayenda though, tapping it home as it looked to be crossing the line. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken leg in November 2024 that kept him out until February 2025. Upon his return he remained a regular starter during the normal league games but he barely featured in the play offs, only making a brief cameo appearance off of the bench away to Coventry City in the semi final first leg and then he was stuck watching from the sidelines in the second leg and final.

Now that we are back in the big time, his Sunderland future has been brought into doubt. We've invested heavily in the squad, notably in the midfield where he plays. Game time will likely come at a heavy premium for him, will he be happy to sit out at his age? His contract expires in the summer of 2027, we'd be able to make some money on him if we wanted. If we do end up coming straight back down though, he'd be more than useful back in the second tier. Considering that, a loan deal might be best for him, and the club, to see where we end up.