'Exciting' Moylan flourishing for club and country

Jack Moylan made his intent clear when speaking to the media in August soon after joining Cardiff City in the summer from Lincoln City.

He outlined how he wanted to impress for the Welsh club and ensure he was a mainstay in Republic of Ireland squads after winning his first two caps in May.

Fast forward three months and the 25-year-old has certainly come good on those promises by stepping up for club and country.

Under fellow Irish man Brian Barry-Murphy at Cardiff he has netted 11 goals in 17 games in all competitions while also providing three assists.

On the international stage, Moylan featured in all four of Republic of Ireland's Nations League games in the extended September/October window, scoring and assisting in a 3-0 win against Israel.

Already a key player for the Bluebirds, Moylan is emerging as an important attacking threat for his country too and will be pivotal in their final two Nations League games against Austria and Kosovo.

It is the latest chapter in the rapid rise of Moylan, who has gone from strength to strength since earning a move to Lincoln in January 2024.

Moylan joined the Imps from Irish Premier Division side Shelbourne after a stellar final season with the Dublin club in which he finished as the league's joint highest scorer with 15 goals.

At the time of the move, he said it was "the next step" in his career and, after an initial bedding in period and two separate spells on the treatment table with an ankle problem, his and Lincoln's form exploded from November 2025 onwards.

The versatile attacker scored 11 goals and provided six assists last season as Lincoln won promotion and beat Cardiff to the League One title.

His impressive campaign led to a first call-up to the Irish senior squad in May and he marked his debut with a hat-trick in a 5-0 win against Grenada before he was sent off in his second game as they drew with Qatar.

Cardiff came calling in the summer and Moylan made the move to Wales on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

He scored the winner on his debut in the EFL Cup against Swindon and three more followed before the first international break, but he has really kicked on since returning to club duty in early October, proving he has adapted to life in the Championship seamlessly.

Moylan, who has featured as a false nine, a number 10 and off the left this season, has seven goals in his last seven league games, including a first-half hat-trick against West Ham with his first goal a fine finish from outside the box.

His boss at club level told BBC Sport Wales in October that Moylan is a "very exciting player to watch because of how attack-minded he is".

Republic of Ireland fans were treated to snippets of those attacking talents in the first four Nations League games.

After coming off the bench in the defeat against Kosovo, Moylan started the next three games, coming in off the right to link well with Troy Parrott and Adam Idah.

He impressed alongside those two players in the comprehensive win over Israel, setting up Idah's goal before racing through and calmly slotting home.

He was a livewire in the draws that followed against Austria and Israel and is in the frame to continue his burgeoning relationship with star striker Parrott, starting with Saturday's trip to Linz to face Austria.

His international boss Heimir Hallgrimsson knew that he had unearthed a gem from the moment Moylan arrived to train with the senior squad for the first time and hopes there is plenty more to come from him in a green shirt.

"Moylan of course has taken the headlines and taken the spotlight the last couple of weeks and hopefully he can transfer that into the national team," he said.

"His rise has been really fast, but that's brilliant when you find someone in the May [friendly] camp, coming in and scoring three goals in his first game and since then he's been involved in the starting 11 more or less.

"Absolute impact from his first game. Sometimes you need up to 10 games to be comfortable at this level, but he was comfortable from the first minute and from the first training session he had a 'wow' impact."

While it is early days with club and his country, the signs are good that Moylan's trajectory is set to continue on the upward curve it has been trending at over the last two years.