Cork City have confirmed that striker Jaden Umeh has signed for Portuguese giants Benfica. The 16 year-old made 15 appearances for City this season in the League of Ireland First Division, and he scored twice before he got injured. A club in the Red Bull network were also interested in signing the striker, who decided on Benfica after rejecting a professional contract with his home-town team. City receive training compensation from Benfica under FIFA compensation regulations, with further future benefits based on the player’s progression.
Speaking about the transfer, City’s Head of Academy, Liam Kearney told the club’s media team: “Jaden has done really well since coming into our academy from Ringmahon Rangers. “He is a player who has attracted a lot of attention from a lot of very big clubs and, while we would have liked to keep him at City for longer, we understand that this is a huge opportunity for him to join a club of Benfica’s stature. “It is a great opportunity for him and we are happy that, should he progress as we expect, it will benefit Cork City and our academy into the future also. “We would like to thank Jaden for his contribution to the club and wish him the very best of luck for the future.”
Talk of a move to Benfica first started in October 2023, when he scored for the Republic of Ireland U17s in a Euro qualifier against Armenia at Carrig Park in Fermoy. That was one of many international goals for netted by the striker last year, with two of that tally coming in a 4-0 victory over Wales at the Carlisle Ground. Umeh went from there to the fringes of the Cork City first team, and he announced himself this season by becoming the club’s youngest ever goal scorer, a feat he reached by hitting the back of the net against Wexford last April at Ferrycarrig Park.
This transfer is part of the ‘Brexit Generation’ which sees young Irish footballers moving to clubs on the continent instead of teams in the United Kingdom. This is because players can transfer at 16 to teams belonging to EU nations, and they have to be 18 to sign for Premier League, EFL, and Scottish Premiership sides. Cathal Heffernan started this trend by moving to AC Milan in January 2022 and Matthew Moore followed the defender to the continent by joining Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. Umeh is also another player from Ringmahon Rangers to go from the Cork Schoolboys League to an academy belonging to one of the best clubs on the planet. Caoimhin Kelleher was the start of that generation, and he rose through the ranks at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.
