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Conor McManus (footballer)

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Conor McManus
McManus prior to a Brentford B match in April 2026
Personal information
Full name Conor James McManus[1]
Date of birth (2004-06-16) 16 June 2004 (age 22)
Place of birth Ireland
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Gillingham
Number 3
Youth career
–2021 Cabinteely
2021–2022 Bray Wanderers
2023–2026 Brentford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Bray Wanderers 16 (0)
2026– Gillingham 0 (0)
International career‡
2025– Republic of Ireland U21 6 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:59, 8 August 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:36, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Conor James McManus (born 16 June 2004) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a left back for EFL League Two club Gillingham.

McManus is a product of the Cabinteely and Bray Wanderers youth systems and began his senior career at the latter club, before transferring to Brentford in 2023. After 3+1⁄2 years of B team football, McManus began his senior career with Gillingham in 2026. He has been capped by the Republic of Ireland at U21 level.

Club career

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Bray Wanderers

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A left-sided full back or central defender,[3] McManus began his career in the Cabinteely youth system at the age of four.[2] He moved over to the Bray Wanderers U19 team when the two clubs merged in 2021.[4][5] McManus progressed into the Bray Wanderers senior team and made 16 League of Ireland First Division appearances during the 2022 season.[4][6] He departed the club in January 2023.[4]

Brentford

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In August 2022, McManus joined the B team at Premier League club Brentford on trial.[7] He was successful and signed a pre-contract with the club on 15 December 2022, which triggered a 2+1⁄2 year contract, with the option of a further year, on 1 January 2023.[4] On 1 January 2023, McManus transferred to Brentford for an undisclosed fee.[4] He was mentored by fellow Irish defender Nathan Collins.[7]

McManus was included in the first team squad for its 2024–25 pre-season training camp in Portugal and he made four friendly appearances during the period.[8][9][10][11] Two quad injuries restricted McManus to 30 B team appearances during the 2024–25 season.[2][8] Though he was not part of the 2024–25 Professional U21 Development League Final-winning matchday squad,[8] McManus was awarded a medal for his contribution earlier in the tournament.[12] He gained experience as midfielder during the season and was retained for 2025–26.[13][14]

After recovering from a long-term injury, McManus resumed match play for the B team in October 2025.[15] Mounting defensive injuries saw McManus win his maiden call into a competitive first team matchday squad for a Premier League match versus Leeds United on 21 March 2026.[16][17] He remained an unused substitute during the 0–0 draw.[18] During the B team season, McManus made 25 appearances and was part of the squad which finished as league phase champions of the 2025–26 Professional U21 Development League.[19] He signed a new contract at the end of the season,[20] but elected to transfer out of the club in August 2026.[19]

Gillingham

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On 3 August 2026, McManus transferred to League Two club Gillingham and signed an undisclosed-length contract for an undisclosed fee.[21]

International career

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McManus won his maiden call into the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for a pair of friendlies in March 2025.[22] He made his debut with a start in the second match versus Hungary and scored two goals in the 3–1 victory.[23] McManus captained the team for the first time on his fourth cap in March 2026.[24]

Personal life

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McManus grew up in Cabinteely.[25] He completed his Leaving Cert remotely in 2023.[7]

Career statistics

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As of match played 8 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bray Wanderers 2022[6] League of Ireland First Division 16 0 0 0 ― ― 16 0
Brentford 2025–26[26] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 ― 0 0
Gillingham 2026–27[27] League Two 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 16 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 17 0
  1. ↑ Includes FAI Cup, FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup

References

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  1. ↑ "Updated Premier League squad lists for 2022/23". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Conor McManus". Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Brentford Buzz: Conor McManus". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Conor McManus joins Brentford B". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "Bray Wanderers to keep name in Cabinteely merger". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Bray Wanderers Appearances 1985 – 2024" (PDF). Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 O'Connor, Seán (26 October 2024). "'It's such an odd sport – in football it's acceptable to abuse players'". www.independent.ie. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Nash, Ollie. "Conor McManus: Overcoming injury and hopes for the new season". Brentford FC. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "Estrela da Amadora 3 Brentford 1". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Highlights, report and reaction: Watford 1 Brentford 1". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "Lewis-Potter on target in behind-closed-doors friendly". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  12. ↑ "Bournemouth U21s 2 Brentford U21s 3: Yogane scores the winner to secure PDL title for young Bees". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  13. ↑ McEvoy, Conor. "The Most Exciting Irish Prospect At Every Premier League Club". Balls.ie. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Brentford B and Academy squads, coaching staff and pre-season updates". Brentford FC. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "Match Preview: Luton Town U21s v Brentford B". Brentford FC. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Brentford suffer attacking injury blow ahead of Leeds United trip". Yorkshire Evening Post. 17 March 2026. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  17. ↑ "Leeds United v Brentford confirmed team news: Ethan Pinnock one of two changes for Premier League fixture". Brentford FC. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  18. ↑ "2025–2026 Conor McManus Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Conor McManus makes permanent move to Sky Bet League Two side Gillingham". Brentford FC. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "Brentford Academy confirm summer departures and new contracts". Brentford FC. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Gillingham: Irish defender Conor McManus signs from Brentford". BBC Sport. 3 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Ireland Under-21 squad named for Scotland and Hungary friendlies". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  23. ↑ McEneaney, Barry (25 March 2025). "Melia and McManus thrill Crawford in win over Hungary". RTE. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  24. ↑ @IrelandFootball (26 March 2026). "Conor McManus skippers the U21s in his first international on Irish soil" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  25. ↑ "Conor McManus: Mentality the key". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Conor McManus in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Conor McManus in 2026/2027". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
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