Ronan Curtis (born 29 March 1996) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a left-winger for League One side Portsmouth and the Republic of Ireland.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Ronan Curtis[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1996-03-29) 29 March 1996 (age 26)[2] | ||
Place of birth | London, England[3][4] | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Left-winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Portsmouth | ||
Number | 11 | ||
Youth career | |||
Kildrum Tigers | |||
Swilly Rovers | |||
2014–2015 | Derry City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2018 | Derry City | 91 | (18) |
2018– | Portsmouth | 168 | (41) |
National team‡ | |||
2017–2018 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 8 | (1) |
2018– | Republic of Ireland | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:11, 17 September 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:27, 4 June 2021 (UTC) |
Curtis started his career with Derry City in 2015, spending four seasons there and amassing 100 appearances and 24 goals. He agreed a deal with Portsmouth in May 2018 and joined the South Coast club for a fee believed to be approximately £100,000. In March 2019, he won his first senior honour, the EFL Trophy.
He represented Ireland at under-21 level before making his senior debut in November 2018 in a 0–0 draw against Northern Ireland.
Curtis moved to Derry City's academy in 2014, after playing for Kildrum Tigers and Swilly Rovers.[4][5] He made his senior debut for the club on 8 May 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 home loss against Galway United.[6]
Curtis scored his first goal for Derry on 30 October 2015, netting his team's first in a 4–2 away loss against Longford Town.[7] On 25 November, he signed a two-year contract extension,[8] and scored a brace in a 2–2 home draw against Shamrock Rovers on 27 September of the following year.[9]
On 19 February 2017, Curtis signed a new contract extension with the Candystripes.[10] He finished the campaign with eight goals in 32 appearances, and had a move to Swedish side Östersunds FK cancelled in August after failing to agree personal terms.[11]
On 7 May 2018, amid high interest from Portsmouth,[12] Curtis scored a hat-trick in a 7–3 home routing of Shelbourne, taking his side to the semi-finals of the League of Ireland Cup.[13]
On 22 May 2018, League One side Portsmouth agreed a deal to sign Curtis from Derry City, for a transfer fee in the region of £100,000 on a two-year contract.[14] Curtis made his English Football League debut at Fratton Park on 4 August, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 victory over Luton Town.[15] A week later, he scored his first two goals in a 2–1 win at Blackpool.[16] On 31 March 2019, he won his first piece of silverware when Portsmouth won the 2018–19 EFL Trophy, defeating Sunderland 5–4 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time.[17]
On 20 August 2019, Curtis scored his first goal of the new season in a 3–3 home draw against Coventry City with a header in the tenth minute.[18]
On 12 January 2021, Portsmouth announced that Curtis had tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of his club's FA Cup Third Round Proper game against Bristol City.[19] The striker later spoke of the effect the illness had on his breathing, as well as his sleep pattern and dreaming.[20]
Although born in England, Curtis grew up in St Johnston, Donegal and has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-21 and senior level.[3][21] On 7 September 2018, Curtis scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against Kosovo in the UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifying stage.[22]
Received the ROI under 21's player of the year 2018 Shane Duffy and Ronan Curtis pick up FAI Player of the Year Awards
On 9 September 2018, Curtis was called up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad for the friendly match against Poland two days later,[23] in which he was an unused substitute.[24] He was again added to the Ireland squad on 14 October for a UEFA Nations League encounter against Wales.[25] He made his full Ireland debut on 15 November 2018, coming on as a half-time substitute for Callum O'Dowda in a goalless friendly against Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.[26]
Curtis was born in London but moved to Donegal, Ireland when he was ten. He is the godson of Chris Coleman, who played for and managed Wales.[27] Curtis supported Arsenal while growing up, but also watched Crystal Palace games.[28] Curtis's mother is from Derry and his grandfather is from Cork,[28] meaning Curtis was eligible to play for England, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland[28] until making his competitive Ireland debut against Denmark in Aarhus in November 2018.[29] Curtis is the youngest of 11 siblings.[30]
Club | Season | League | National Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup[lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Derry City | 2015[31] | Premier Division | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
2016[32] | Premier Division | 24 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 6 | |||
2017[33] | Premier Division | 32 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | — | 34 | 9 | ||
2018[34] | Premier Division | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 8 | ||
Total | 91 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | 100 | 24 | |||
Portsmouth | 2018–19[34] | League One | 41 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 49 | 12 | |
2019–20[35] | League One | 33 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 44 | 14 | ||
2020–21 | League One | 42 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 3[lower-alpha 4] | 2 | 49 | 14 | ||
2021–22 | League One | 43 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 2 | 48 | 10 | ||
2022–23 | League One | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | — | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 12 | 4 | ||
Total | 168 | 41 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 4 | — | 12 | 6 | 202 | 54 | |||
Career total | 259 | 57 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 302 | 78 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Republic of Ireland | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
2019 | 1 | 0 | |
2020 | 3 | 0 | |
2021 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 7 | 0 |
Portsmouth
'I'm still getting over it now really... It really knocked me for six, after a few days my sleep pattern was out of the window and I was having crazy dreams – my head was gone. It was difficult because I was getting out of breath easily, too, and my chest was sore'.
FAI Under 21 International Player of the Year | |
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Portsmouth F.C. – current squad | |
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