West Ham United have signed Republic of Ireland forward Leanne Kiernan, who leaves Shelbourne as top scorer in the Continental Tyres FAI Women’s National League.
The 19-year-old scored nine times in ten matches when representing her country’s U-17 and U-19 sides, going on to play in all Ireland’s 2019 World Cup qualifiers to date.
Kiernan had been with Shelbourne since the age of 15, helping them win the WNL title in 2016, scoring a hat-trick to secure the FAI Cup in the same year, while later gaining Champions League experience with them.
Speaking to whufc.com, Kiernan said: “I’m delighted to be joining West Ham, as it’s the next step in a brilliant adventure for me.
“I’m looking forward to giving it a go and seeing how I get on. Hopefully it’ll go well. Anybody coming here wants to be in the starting eleven, so I’ll work hard, get my head down and hopefully get a place.
“We want to get our names out there as West Ham this season and show we’re not just in the league to take part. We want to make our mark.
“I’m used to being at home on the farm, but now I’m living in a big city like London! Every summer, my job used to be at home looking after the pigs, but now things are very different!”
