Grady McDonnell

Grady McDonnell
Personal information
Full name Grady Francis McDonnell[1]
Date of birth (2008-02-17) February 17, 2008
Place of birth Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Nottingham Forest
Number 49
Youth career
Coastal FC
Supra Academy
2022–2023 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2026– Nottingham Forest
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2025 Vancouver FC 17 (0)
2025–2026 Club NXT 5 (0)
2026– Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
International career‡
2022–2023 Republic of Ireland U15 11 (0)
2023 Canada U15 4 (2)
2023 Republic of Ireland U16 2 (1)
2023–2025 Republic of Ireland U17 17 (2)
2026– Republic of Ireland U19 3 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:43, 23 June 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 01:01, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Grady Francis McDonnell (born February 17, 2008) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the academy of Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Born in Canada, he is a youth international for Ireland.

Early life

Born in Surrey, British Columbia,[3] McDonnell began playing youth soccer with Coastal FC at the age of five.[4][5] Afterwards, he played with the Supra Academy, until the age of 13.[6][7] He spent some time with the Whitecaps FC Pre-Academy, before officially joining the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy in August 2022.[8] He then had training stints with Blackburn Rovers in England, Schalke 04 in Germany, and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland.[9]

Club career

Vancouver FC

On January 17, 2024, McDonnell signed a professional contract with Vancouver FC of the Canadian Premier League through the 2026 season.[10][11] He became the youngest player in the league's history to ever sign a professional deal, at 15 years and 11 months.[12][13] He made his professional debut for the club on May 3, aged 16, in a 3–1 league loss to Cavalry FC;[14] in the process, he became the second-youngest player to ever debut in Vancouver's history (behind only T.J. Tahid),[15] and the third-youngest in the league's history.[15] In July 2024, he was named to the CPL Team of the Week for the first time, being included in the Best XI for week 15.[16]

Club Brugge

On January 31, 2025, McDonnell moved to Club NXT, the second team of Belgian club Club Brugge,[17][18] for an undisclosed fee of $350,000, plus add-ons, making it the second-largest fee in Canadian Premier League history.[17] [19]

Nottingham Forest

On 23 June 2026, he signed a three-year-contract with Premier League club Nottingham Forest.[20]

International career

McDonnell is eligible to represent Canada, where he was born, and Ireland, where his grandfather was from.[21][22]

In September 2022, McDonnell was invited to join a training camp with the Ireland U15 national team for the first time; the following month, he was subsequently called up to the squad for the UEFA Development Tournament.[23] While with the Ireland U15, he served as the team captain.[24]

In August 2023, he was called up to the Canada U15 national team for the 2023 CONCACAF Boys' Under-15 Championship.[25] He scored two goals in a group stage victory over the Dominican Republic.[26]

In October 2023, he was called up to the Republic of Ireland U17 national team for three 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification matches.[27] In November of the same year, he played with the Republic of Ireland U16 team, helping them win the Victory Shield, a friendly tournament involving the U16 teams of Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales.[28] On 5 September 2024, McDonnell scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland U17s in a 2–1 loss to Denmark.[29] McDonnell was named in the squad for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar in November 2025.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "LISTE D'ÉQUIPE" (PDF). FIFA. September 12, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  2. ↑ "LISTE D'ÉQUIPE" (PDF). FIFA. September 12, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  3. ↑ Jacques, John (January 31, 2025). "Club Brugge Buys Vancouver FC Youngster Grady McDonnell". Northern Tribune.
  4. ↑ Grady McDonnell at Canada Soccer
  5. ↑ "Vancouver FC transfer Grady McDonnell in record setting deal to Club Brugge's academy Club NXT". Vancouver FC. January 22, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Vancouver FC Signs Local Teen Grady McDonnell to Three-Year Deal". Our Sports Central. January 17, 2024.
  7. ↑ "My Journey: Grady McDonnell". Coastal FC. September 6, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Grade McDonnell Whitecaps profile". Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
  9. ↑ Davidson, Neil (April 12, 2024). "Midfielder Grady McDonnell the latest teenager to join Vancouver FC". The Globe & Mail.
  10. ↑ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (January 17, 2024). "'He's got the ambition': Vancouver FC sign 15-year-old 'top talent' Grady McDonnell". Canadian Premier League.
  11. ↑ Jacques, John (January 17, 2024). "Vancouver FC Signs 15-Year-Old Grady McDonnell To Pro Deal". Northern Tribune.
  12. ↑ Adams, J.J. (January 17, 2024). "How Vancouver FC is leading the charge in Canadian youth development". The Province.
  13. ↑ Hewitt, Thomas (January 17, 2024). "Vancouver FC break their own Canadian Premier League record by signing 15-year-old Grady McDonnell". Canadian Soccer Daily.
  14. ↑ Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre (May 4, 2024). "Match Analysis: Cavalry's offence shines as they beat Vancouver FC 3-1 for 1st victory of 2024 CPL season". Canadian Premier League.
  15. 1 2 Veth, Manuel (September 18, 2024). "Who is Grady McDonnell? Vancouver FC talent models his game after Jude Bellingham". Transfermarkt.
  16. ↑ "CPL's youngest signing Grady McDonnell earns first TOTW recognition". Vancouver FC. July 22, 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Vancouver FC sells 16-year-old midfielder Grady McDonnell to Belgium's Club Brugge". TSN. January 31, 2025.
  18. ↑ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (January 31, 2025). "'I'm ready to chase my dreams': Grady McDonnell joins Club Brugge from Vancouver FC in club-record deal". Canadian Premier League.
  19. ↑ Veth, Manuel (January 31, 2025). "Vancouver FC wonderkid joins Brugge for a record deal". Transfermarkt. Retrieved August 7, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ↑ https://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/2026/june/23/forest-sign-grady-mcdonnell/
  21. ↑ Jacques, John (January 19, 2024). "Eagles Youngster McDonnell Set For Ireland U-16 Duty". Northern Tribune.
  22. ↑ "Vancouver FC's Grady McDonnell to represent Republic of Ireland Men's U-17 Squad". Vancouver FC. February 12, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Grady McDonnell called up to Republic of Ireland U-15 national team". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. October 10, 2022.
  24. ↑ Jacques, John (August 12, 2023). "Five Canada U-15 Players To Watch". Northern Tribune.
  25. ↑ "Three Whitecaps FC BMO Academy players named to Canada for Concacaf U-15 Championship". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. August 3, 2023.
  26. ↑ "The week that was: Midfield bombs and magic tricks". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. August 8, 2023.
  27. ↑ "McDonnell called up to Republic of Ireland U-17s for UEFA qualifiers". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. October 2, 2023.
  28. ↑ "McDonnell helps Ireland win Victory Shield". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. November 12, 2023.
  29. ↑ Jacques, John (January 15, 2025). "Romano: Club Brugge Moving In On Grady McDonnell". Northern Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  30. ↑ https://www.fai.ie/latest/ireland-squad-named-fifa-under-17-world-cup/
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