Kieran Paul Sadlier (born 14 September 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for USL Championship club Sporting JAX. He can also play as a wing-back.The Bolton News: Why Kieran Sadlier is happy to fill in at wing-back for Bolton Wanderers Born in England, he has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level.
Sadlier previously won both the League of Ireland Premier Division and FAI Cup in his first season with Cork City.
Club career
West Ham United A youth team player with Cambridge United, Sadlier joined West Ham United in 2005. After finishing top goal scorer for the U18s in their 2012–13 season, Sadlier went on to feature regularly for the U21s, he requested to be released from his contract early in January 2015 in order to sign for St Mirren until the end of the 2014–15 season.
St Mirren Sadlier made his debut on 28 February in a 1–0 home win against Hamilton Academical coming on as a half-time substitute for Viktor Genev. He made his full home debut against Celtic on 3 April 2015 in a Good Friday evening televised game that Celtic went on to win 0–2. Sadlier scored his only goal for St Mirren in a 4–1 home victory against Kilmarnock on 25 April 2015.
Sadlier decided that he wanted to be playing back in England to be nearer to his family and left the club at the end of his contract, despite the St Mirren manager Ian Murray inviting him back for pre-season training.
Peterborough United On 20 July 2015, Sadlier signed a contract with Peterborough United after a successful trial period. He was an unused substitute against Burton Albion and started against Charlton Athletic in the second round of the Capital One League Cup.
FC Halifax Town On 9 October 2015, Sadlier joined FC Halifax Town, on loan from Peterborough United for three months.Sadlier Joins FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town official website 9 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015
Sligo Rovers On 11 January 2016, Sadlier signed for League of Ireland Premier League side Sligo Rovers until the summer where he linked up with former manager Dave Robertson at the club, for whom he played under at Peterborough United. After six weeks the club wanted to retain Sadlier on a longer term contract and signed him to the club for a further 18 months; till the end of the 2017 season. Sadlier finished the 2016 season strongly, ending the season as joint top goal scorer for the club with 10 goals.
Sadlier started the 2017 season with eight league and cup goals (seven league and one League of Ireland Cup) before attracting interest from three Premier League of Ireland clubs; Dundalk, Limerick and Cork City for his signature to join them.
Cork City On 3 July 2017, Sadlier joined Cork City.
Having joined Cork City half-way through the 2017 season, after settling into his new club Sadlier finished the season with five goals for his new club; two goals in the League and three goals in the early rounds, together with the assist of the only goal in the semi-final of the FAI Cup that saw Cork City through to the Cup Final. Cork City met Dundalk FC in the FAI Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium on 5 November 2017 where Sadlier scored the winning penalty after the game finished 1–1 in extra time.
In his second full season with the Club, Sadlier finished the season as the club's top goal scorer with 26 goals plus 13 assists, helping the club to a 2nd-place finish in the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland, plus reach the FAI Cup final for the fourth consecutive season. At the end of the season Sadlier was named in the official League of Ireland team of the year finishing as the league's second highest goal scorer. He was also the first person since 1974 to score in every round of the FAI Cup, including the final and only the fourth person to do this in the history of the FAI Cup.
Doncaster Rovers In December 2018, Sadlier joined League One side Doncaster Rovers on an 18-month contract. He made his debut for Doncaster Rovers on 6 January 2019 in a third round FA Cup fixture against Preston North End He then made his home debut in the 4th round of the FA Cup at home to Oldham Athletic on 26 January 2019. On 9 February 2019, Sadlier came on in the 68th minute to make his home league debut and scored the third goal in a 3–1 home win against his old club, Peterborough United. Sadlier left the club at the end of the 2019-20 season when the two parties were unable to agree on a new contract. In his final season at Doncaster he played 33 league games, scoring 11 goals and was their leading goal scorer.
Rotherham United On 11 August 2020, Sadlier joined Championship club Rotherham United.
Bolton Wanderers On 28 January 2022, Sadlier joined Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal. On 2 April, Bolton won 4–0 against Plymouth Argyle in the 2023 EFL Trophy Final He was out on loan at Leyton Orient at the time, though still received a medal as he had played in the earlier rounds.Wycombe Wanderers @wwfcofficial: "Kieran Sadlier was part of the Rotherham squad that won the @BSM_Trophy in 2021/22. He was part of the Bolton squad that won it last year. And his goal today ensures we top the group going into the knockouts! Captured by @1lukejarrett." He was released by mutual consent on 1 September 2023.
Leyton Orient On 27 January 2023, Sadlier joined Leyton Orient on loan for the remainder of the season.
Wycombe Wanderers He later joined Wycombe. On 20 May 2025, the club announced he would be leaving in June when his contract expired.
Sporting JAX On 6 January 2026, USL Championship expansion club Sporting JAX announced that Sadlier had signed with the team.
International career Under 15 – U19s Sadlier has played for Republic of Ireland at U15, U16, U19 and U21 levels. For the U15 side, Sadlier made two appearances, scoring on his debut against Northern Ireland U15s and was a substitute against Wales U15s, coming on for the last 20 minutes.Ireland U15 squad for Celtic tri-nations Republic of Ireland Team official website 4 May 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2015Late goal defeats Ireland U15s in Celtic tri-nations Republic of Ireland Team official website 15 May 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2015 He made four appearances for the under-16s against Czech Republic U16s (twice), Portugal U16s and Italy U16s Seven changes for second U16 friendly against Czech Rep Republic of Ireland Team official website 26 November 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2015U16 squad named for Portugal 4-nation tournament Republic of Ireland Team official website 19 January 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2015 and played in three U17 games against Norway U17, Albania U17 and Malta U17s in the U17 Euro Championships.Norway edge out Ireland U17 for top spot Republic of Ireland Team official website 1 October 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2015U19 Squad Profiles Republic of Ireland Team official website 11 February 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2015
For the U19 team, Sadlier made 10 appearances, starting in all 10 games, scoring one goal against Switzerland U19s in the U19 European Championship finals held in Serbia.
Under 21s Sadlier made his Ireland U21 debut against Qatar in a friendly played in Aachen, Germany on 24 May 2014. He made four further appearances for the Irish U21s, against Germany in Leipzig, Norway U-21s on 26 September 2014 played in Drammen, Norway, both these matches were in the U21 European Championship. This was followed by a double header of friendlies against the USA & Russia U21s in which Sadlier played against Russia, both games were played in Spain.
Senior squad Sadlier was named in Mick McCarthy's provisional squad in October 2019 for qualifiers against the Georgian national team and the Switzerland national team. On 29 October 2019 Sadlier was named in an extended 39-man provisional squad for a friendly against New Zealand and a qualifier against Denmark in November 2019.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSt Mirren2014–15Scottish Premiership111————111Peterborough United2015–16League One00—10—0010Halifax Town (loan)2015–16National League8010–——90Sligo Rovers2016League of Ireland Premier Division2982210——32102017207—21——228Total49152231——5418Cork City2017League of Ireland Premier Division13254—20—21620183516671040334926Total481811111060337032Doncaster Rovers2018–19League One14330——2Appearances in League One Play-offs01932019–20League One33112010—3Appearances and goals in EFL Trophy.13912Total47145010—515815Rotherham United2020–21Championship1510010—001612021–22League One1212011—64216Total2722021—64377Bolton Wanderers2021–22League One184———001842022–231911021—63285Total3751021—63469Leyton Orient (loan)2022–23League Two191————191Wycombe Wanderers 2023–25League One4742020— 84598Sporting JAX2026-USL Championship261041000000188Career total319702814133602815394102
Honours Cork City LOI Premier Division: 2017 FAI Cup: 2017
Rotherham United EFL Trophy: 2021–22
Bolton Wanderers EFL Trophy: 2022–23Ex-Bolton Wanderers man Sadlier has Wycombe Wembley dream: "I got my medal for the EFL Trophy, and I went to the game and supported the boys. But I also won League Two, so I got two medals in the end. What started off as a slow season turned into a successful season for me personally."
Leyton Orient EFL League Two: 2022–23
Wycombe Wanderers EFL Trophy runner-up: 2023–24
References
External links