BURTON ALBION MANAGER Nigel Clough has revealed that the English Championship club have received enquiries for potential loan moves for Irish defender Ryan Delaney.
The 21-year-old — who moved to Burton from Wexford in July 2016 — has yet to make the first-team breakthrough at the Pirelli Stadium, having spent 2017 on loan at Cork City.
Delaney was an ever-present member of John Caulfield’s team as they won the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title and FAI Cup double. He also picked up President’s Cup and Munster Senior Cup medals, as well as being capped at U21 level.
After returning to Burton following the conclusion of the 2017 League of Ireland season, Delaney is eligible to play for the club again since 1 January. However, Clough has admitted that opportunities may be scarce for the centre-back.
Although Burton are currently third-from-bottom of the table in England’s second tier, the Brewers have leaked just three goals in their last five outings — a run which has included away wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers.
“It’s very tough for anybody to get into [the Burton defence] at the moment,” Clough told the Burton Mail. “We’ll see. We’ve had a couple of enquiries for Ryan over loans, so we’ll just assess what is best for him in the next couple of weeks.”
While the availability of Delaney — who was named SWAI/SSE Airtricity player of the month in May 2017 — will be of interest to Cork City, it’s understood that his situation is also being monitored by at least two other League of Ireland clubs.
City have already bolstered their central defensive options by signing Aaron Barry from Derry City, but with 36-year-old Alan Bennett limited in the number of games he can play and the injured Johnny Dunleavy still several months away from a return, a second spell at Turner’s Cross could be on the cards for Delaney.
The 2018 domestic football season begins when Dundalk and Cork City contest the President’s Cup at Oriel Park on Sunday, 11 February. The Premier Division kicks off on Friday, 16 February.
