Former Greenwood striker Varian is making his mark with Stoke 

THIS time 12 months ago 17-year-old Ethon Varian was playing for the Cork Youth League side in a game against Wexford.

He is now netting for Stoke City U18’s against Manchester United, once more showcasing the excellent progress the former Greenwood player has made already over in England during recent months.

On Tuesday afternoon, Varian netted against the Red Devils with an 81st-minute strike, in a game which Man Utd won 4-1.

This comes just a few days after Varian netted for Stoke against Everton in an FA Youth Cup tie at the bet365 stadium, in front of the on watching and recently appointed first-team boss in Nathan Jones.

Varian individually has progressed excellently over in England and has scored six goals in 12 games for the Stoke U18s, while he has also made an appearance for the U23s as well in their clash against Sunderland.

The Southsider was a very promising GAA player with St Finbarr's and hurled underage with Cork before prioritising soccer.

Meanwhile, Cork City's new signing Darragh Rainsford is thrilled to be back playing in the league of Ireland.

The 24-year-old striker joins the club after a spell with Pike Rovers in Limerick.

“You don’t realise how much you miss playing at this level until you get back into it. It took a couple of days to get used to the tempo and the technique of the players, but I really enjoyed training for the last few days. 

"I am looking forward to getting fit and getting going.

“I’m not foolish; I don’t think I am signing and that I will be in John’s starting eleven straight away. 

"I know I have to work my socks off, get as fit as I can and take my chances in pre-season. 

"All going well, I hope to get into the squad an make a few appearances, and if I can do well from there, push into the team.” 

Following yesterday’s announcement that Barry McNamee has returned to Derry City, Caulfield also confirmed that Josh O’Hanlon and Jimmy Keohane will not be with the club for the coming season.