Going it a loan

Following yesterday’s confirmation of squad departures at the end of the 2025/26 season, Cliftonville Football Club today takes the opportunity to thank those players who joined us on loan over the course of the campaign.

A total of seven players made a combined 82 appearances on loan duty, with Joe Toole (pictured) leaving arguably the biggest impression and we are delighted and very proud to learn that his performances for the Reds have helped him earn a professional deal at parent Club Fleetwood Town.

Though he didn’t officially score any goals in his 22 outings for Cliftonville, he did find the net with a sensational long-range blast in February’s Sports Direct Premiership clash with Portadown, only for floodlight failure at Shamrock Park to force the abandonment of the game, this scrubbing his strike from the records.

Another player who has enjoyed a positive return to his parent side is Conor Barr, our first loan arrival of the season featuring 13 times before heading back to Derry City in January, since when he has been a regular fixture in the Candystripes’ team.

Sunderland’s Tom Lavery – who, like Toole and Barr, was one of three right full-backs who made temporary switches to Solitude – turned out 19 times during the first half of the campaign and registered the first senior goal of his career in the Reds’ County Antrim Shield victory over Linfield before finding the net in a 2-2 draw with Glentoran at The Oval.

After returning to the Black Cats in January, the 20-year-old (above) saw out the remainder of the season with Halifax Town in the English National League.

Another player who was with Cliftonville for the first half of the 2025/26 term is Brandon Bermingham, who played in eight matches on loan from Dungannon Swifts before making a winter move to Kerry FC, while Glentoran’s Josh Kelly demonstrated key versatility during a 15-game stint that saw him among the goals in February’s North Belfast Derby defeat of Crusaders.

Two players whose loans were curtailed by injury, meanwhile, were Darien Wauchope and Kyle McClelland.

Full-back Wauchope joined from Mansfield Town in August but sustained a thigh issue that restricted him to three appearances, while a broken toe saw Glenavon loanee McClelland play just twice before undergoing surgery.

We thank all seven loan players for their contributions during the season and extend our best wishes to all of them for the future.

2025/26 loanees
Conor Barr (Derry City): 13 appearances
Tom Lavery (Sunderland): 19 appearances, 2 goals
Darien Wauchope (Mansfield Town): 3 appearances
Brandon Bermingham (Dungannon Swifts): 8 appearances
Joe Toole (Fleetwood Town): 22 appearances
Kyle McClelland (Glenavon): 2 appearances
Josh Kelly (Glentoran): 15 appearances, 1 goal