Biography
Irish left back James Furlong joined the Tigers on the first day of September 2023, an investment in the future. After playing regularly for the Under-21 side and sitting unused on the first team bench on nine occasions, James finally made his senior debut for the Tigers in January 2024 in a Cup tie at Birmingham City, setting up the Tigers’ goal for Jason Lokilo. However he suffered an injury setback in that match and spending the rest of the 2023/24 season recovering in the Under-21 side.
In late July 2024, with Furlong restored to full fitness, it was confirmed that he would spend the 2024/25 season on loan at League Two side ARC Wimbledon.
Walter James Byrne Furlong was born in Dublin and as a teenager came through the ranks at Bray Wanderers and Shamrock Rovers. In April 2019 he made his senior debut for Shamrock against Dundalk, two months ahead of his 17th birthday, and was an unused substitute for several other matches during the 2018 season.
In July 2019 he transferred to English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion and served the academy sides for a year before making his senior debut for Brighton Under-21 in a September 2020 EFL Trophy tie against AFC Wimbledon – a second EFL Trophy appearance against Charlton Athletic followed a week later. He made further EFL Trophy appearances during the next two seasons and made his first and only appearance for the Brighton first team in an August 2022 League Cup tie against Forest Green Rovers.
In January 2023 Furlong joined Scottish Premier League side Motherwell on a half-season loan and made his debut against St Johnstone at the start of February. He made 16 appearances for Motherwell during this spell and contributed three assists. Returning to Brighton at the start of the 2023/24 season, he left the club at the end of August 2023 transfer window to join Hull City having made 9 senior appearances for the Seagulls.
Identified by the Ireland international scouting network from a young age, James played once for the Under-15s in January 2017 and graduated to the Under-16s in May 2018, playing twice against Sweden and Austria. In September 2018 he made his Under-17 debut against Turkiye and ended the 2018/19 season with nine Under-17 appearances including three at the 2019 Under-17 Euros hosted in his home country. He added two appearances for Ireland’s Under-18s in September 2019, then in June 2023 he made his debut for the Ireland Under-21 side, playing against Ukraine and Kuwait. In September and October 2023, while at Hull City, he made three further Under-21 appearances against Turkiye, San Marino and Latvia. He was again called up for the Under-21 squad in September 2024 while on loan at AFC Wimbledon, but was twice an unused substitute.
Details
Nationality: Ireland
Date/Place of Birth: 7 June 2002, Dublin
Hull City First Game: 16 December 2023, Birmingham City A (FA Cup Third Round Replay), 21 years, 223 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]
Clubs
Shamrock Rovers (2018-2019), Brighton & Hove Albion (2019-2023), Motherwell (2023, loan), Hull City (2023-current), AFC Wimbledon (2024-2025, loan)
Hull City Record
Career: 1 apps, 0 goals
James FurlongSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023/24 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
2024/25 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |