Shay McCartan

Youth career

Born in Newry, McCartan started his youth career with his local side Banbridge Town, where he played for several years. In 2009, he joined Glenavon, where he spent one season. He also represented County Down in the 2009 Milk Cup and was named as the side's player of the tournament. In May 2010, McCartan signed for Burnley on a two-year apprenticeship, beating off competition from other clubs. Burnley paid a compensation fee to both Glenavon and Banbridge. He was part of the squad that got to the FA Youth Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1978, scoring a last minute goal against West Bromwich Albion in the process.

Burnley

McCartan was first involved with the first-team squad in September 2011, when he was an unused substitute in the 2–1 League Cup victory over Milton Keynes Dons. His first Championship involvement came when he was an unused substitute against Brighton & Hove Albion on 6 April 2012. McCartan made his professional debut three days later in a 2–1 win over Doncaster Rovers, coming on as a substitute for Josh McQuoid in the final minute. Manager Eddie Howe had played a number of youth team graduates towards the end of the 2011–12 season in an attempt to fill out the "Clarets" squad. McCartan was given a professional contract after he scored 23 times for the youth team in 2012. On 31 January 2013, he joined Conference Premier side Hyde on an initial one-month loan, which was later extended until the end of the 2012–13…

McCartan made his debut for the Northern Ireland U17 side in October 2010, in the 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round, a 0–0 draw with Montenegro. He scored his first goal for Northern Ireland in a 6–0 qualifying win over Azerbaijan. Northern Ireland qualified for the elite round of qualifying after finishing second in the group. Their first group game was a 3–2 defeat to England, with McCartan bagging a brace. His form for the under-17s saw him get called up to the under-19 squad. He made his debut in October 2011, scoring in the 3–1 win over Belarus, in qualification for the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. On 26 April 2012, still aged just 17, McCartan was called up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad for the first time for their European Under 21 qualifying game against Macedonia. However, he remained an unused substitute. On 12 July 2012, McCartan was called up for the under-19's as part of the Milk Cup squad, along with fellow Burnley player Luke Conlan. On 21 July 2012, McCartan scored in a 5–3 defeat to Chile. He scored his first goal for the under-21s in their 2–1 defeat to Ukraine on 17 November 2015; the game was part of Northern Ireland's 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign. He scored again on 29 March 2016, in a 3–1 qualifying defeat to Scotland. McCartan made his senior debut for Northern Ireland in a friendly 1–0 win over New Zealand at Windsor Park on 2 June 2017. He was retained in the matchday squad…

An attacker, McCartan can play as a striker or as a forward, able to drop back into midfield when needed. He is a free-kick taker and has scored from four direct kicks in the space of one month.

Club

As of match played 19 December 2020

International

As of match played 3 June 2018