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Daniel Kearns (footballer)
Daniel Anthony Kearns (born 26 August 1991) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Kearns joined Peterborough United from Dundalk in 2011 and had three separate loan spells with clubs across Northern England. He permanently joined Carlisle United after leaving Peterborough, and spent a year there before returning to Ireland, spending his later career at various clubs in the Irish Premiership and League of Ireland. Club careerEarly careerBorn in Belfast,[4] Kearns began his grassroots career in the youth team of his local club St Oliver Plunkett.[5] He joined the youth team of English club West Ham United in July 2007, having been the player of the tournament at the Ballymena International Tournament in 2006.[6] He soon established himself in the under-18 team and went on to spend three years with the club from 2007 to 2010.[6][7] After being released by West Ham in May 2010, Kearns signed for Dundalk of the League of Ireland Premier Division in August on a short-term contract.[8] He made his debut in a 1–1 draw with University College Dublin, before going on to make 12 appearances in his first season.[3] Kearns scored his first competitive goals for Dundalk on 14 February 2011 with a hat-trick against Linfield in the Setanta Sports Cup.[3] Kearns played in Dundalk's seven matches in their run to the Setanta Sports Cup Final, where his team lost 2–0 to Shamrock Rovers.[3] Peterborough UnitedKearns signed a three-year contract with English Championship club Peterborough United on 30 August 2011 for an undisclosed fee.[9] He made his debut for Peterborough on 24 September, in a 1–0 defeat against his former club, West Ham United, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Lee Frecklington.[10] He made his first start for Peterborough on 17 December in a 1–0 victory at home to Coventry City and was named man of the match, also playing a part in the buildup to the goal when laid the ball off to Paul Taylor, who assisted with Emile Sinclair's goal.[11] He finished his first season at Peterborough with 21 appearances.[10] Kearns signed for League Two club York City on 4 October 2012 on a one-month loan,[12] making his debut two days later as a 66th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw at home to Rotherham United.[13] On 1 November, the loan was extended for another two months.[14] However, he was recalled by Peterborough on 29 November, after making 12 appearances for York.[15] In January 2013, it was confirmed that Bradford City, along with Rotherham and York were interested in signing Kearns.[16] He signed for League Two club Rotherham on 9 January 2013 on loan until the end of the 2012–13 season,[17] making his debut on 13 January as a 51st-minute substitute in a 2–0 home defeat to Barnet.[13] He made 10 appearances for Rotherham as they finished the season as League Two runners-up, earning automatic promotion to League One.[13] Kearns signed for League Two team Chesterfield on 11 March 2014 on a one-month loan[18] and made his debut that day as a 66th-minute substitute for Jimmy Ryan in a 1–1 draw away to AFC Wimbledon.[19] On 14 April 2014, his loan was extended until the end of the 2013–14 season.[20] He made 10 appearances as Chesterfield won the League Two title and thus promotion to League One.[19] Kearns was released by Peterborough at the end of the 2013–14 season.[21] Later careerHe signed a two-year contract with newly relegated League Two club Carlisle United on 11 July 2014.[22] He left the club on 1 September 2015 after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[23] Kearns signed for NIFL Premiership club Glenavon on 17 October 2015.[24] He was previously in the advanced stages of talks with another NIFL Premiership club Linfield after leaving Carlisle,[25] but Linfield were unable to complete the deal. It was against Linfield that Kearns would play his final game for the club, as a late substitute in the 2015–16 Irish Cup Final, which Glenavon won 2–0.[3] Kearns signed an 18-month contract with League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rovers on 5 July 2016.[26] He signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Limerick on 29 November 2017 in preparation for the 2018 season.[27] He signed for NIFL Premiership club Linfield on 10 July 2018 on a two-year contract.[28] In January 2021 Kearns signed for Cliftonville[29] and at the conclusion of his contract he signed for full timers Larne in June 2022 [30] International careerKearns represented Northern Ireland in a series of UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifiers in March 2008. However, in 2010 he switched allegiances to the Republic of Ireland, going on to represent them at under-19,[31] under-21 and under-23 levels.[32][33][34] The IFA contested the player's decision to switch national allegiances.[35] He was capped once by the League of Ireland XI, playing in their 5–0 defeat to Celtic at the Aviva Stadium on 31 July 2011.[36] Career statistics
HonoursDundalk
Rotherham United
Chesterfield Glenavon Linfield
Cliftonville Larne
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daniel Kearns (footballer).
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