Liam Francis Peadar Donnelly (born 7 March 1996) is a Northern Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. Donnelly, who can also play as a defender, has previously played for

Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish, semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, Crawley Town, Hartlepool United and

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. He has also represented Northern Ireland internationally.

Club career

Fulham

Donnelly signed for

as a youngster from IFA Premiership club

. Donnelly captained Fulham to the 2014 FA Youth Cup final. On 31 July 2015, Donnelly signed for Crawley Town on a one-month youth loan. The loan was then extended until January 2016, however he was recalled early by Fulham in October.

Hartlepool United

On 19 August 2016, Donnelly signed for Hartlepool United, following his release from Fulham.

Motherwell

On 7 June 2018,

announced the signing of Donnelly on an initial two-year contract from Hartlepool United for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 victory against

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on the final day of the season. At the beginning of the 2019–20 season, Donnelly moved from defence into midfield, and went on to score four goals in three games in the Scottish League Cup group stages, against Queen of the South,

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...

and Annan Athletic. Then in the league, he scored four goals in the opening four matches, with two against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and penalties against Hamilton Academical and Hibernian. In October 2019, Donnelly was rewarded for his early season form as he signed an extension to his contract at Fir Park, to run until summer 2022. In the opening game of the 2020–21 season, Donnelly missed a penalty as Motherwell lost 1–0 away to Ross County. Following that match he picked up a knee injury in training which was initially expected to keep him out for two months, however he then required surgery on the injury, ruling him out until after the new year. Donnelly made his return from injury on 14 July 2021, as a substitute in a 1–0 win away to Queen's Park in a Scottish League Cup group stage match. He was released by Motherwell at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Kilmarnock

Donnelly signed a one-year contract with

on 5 July 2022.

International

Donnelly made his senior Northern Ireland debut on 4 June 2014 against Chile, coming on as a substitute in the 89th minute. On 11 September 2018, Donnelly made his 22nd appearance for Northern Ireland's under-21s in a 2–1 win away to Spain, a match in which he scored from a penalty, and in doing so became the nation's record cap holder at that level. He eventually finished his time with the under-21 side with 24 caps. Donnelly was recalled to the senior squad in August 2019, ahead of a friendly against Luxembourg and a Euro 2020 qualifier against Germany. He came on as a substitute against Luxembourg on 5 September, earning his second cap, five years after his first.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Northern Ireland official profile
at Irish FA {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Liam 1996 births Living people People from Dungannon Dungannon Swifts F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Association football defenders Association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland youth international footballers Northern Ireland under-21 international footballers Northern Ireland international footballers English Football League players National League (English football) players Motherwell F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Sportspeople from County Tyrone Kilmarnock F.C. players