1192 Paddy McNair

Biography

Northern Ireland international defender and midfielder Paddy McNair joined the Tigers in January 2026 and added his experience to City’s promotion push.

Patrick James Coleman “Paddy” McNair was born in Ballyclare, a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He played for Ballyclare Colts as a youngster, though from the age of 12 he trained with Manchester United’s academy teams during school holidays. In the summer of 2011 he signed his first apprentice professional contract with Manchester United and by the end of the 2013/14 season he was playing regularly for the Red Devils’ Under-21 side.

Paddy broke into the Manchester United first team picture during the 2014/15 season, making his senior debut in September 2014 against West Bromwich Albion and remaining part of the squad for the rest of the season. He saw less first team action during the 2015/16 season but did make his European debut in a February 2016 Europa League tie against Danish side FC Midtjylland. McNair left Manchester United in August 2016 having made 27 senior appearances for the club.

In August 2016 Paddy signed for Premier League side Sunderland, a £5.5 million being paid for the joint transfer of McNair and Rochdale-born Scotsman Donald Love. Paddy made his debut for Sunderland in August 2016 against Manchester City and in September 2016 McNair scored his first senior goals, netting twice in a League Cup tie against Queens Park Rangers. However a serious cruciate ligament injury sustained in November 2016 league match against Hull City curtailed his season early and sidelined him eleven months. Returning to first team action in October 2017, by which time Sunderland were struggling at the foot of the Championship table, McNair was used irregularly, though he did score four goals in the last six league matches of the season as the Black Cats finish flat bottom of the table. By the 2018 close season Paddy had scored seven goals for Sunderland in 28 appearances.

In June 2018 McNair joined Championship side Middlesbrough on a four year deal with a fee that could have reached £5 million changing hands. After his August 2018 debut for Boro against Sheffield United Paddy was used mostly from the bench during the 2018/19 season but he held down a first team place throughout the 2019/20 season as Boro narrowly avoided relegation, missed just four games due to suspensions and netting six goals, the first of which came against Millwall in August 2019. Paddy was a league ever-present during the COVID-19 interrupted 2020/21 season as Middlesbrough fell just short of the play-off places, captaining the side on three occasions. He remained an important member of the Boro first team for two more seasons and in May 2023 he started both Championship play-off semi-final ties against Coventry City, which the Midlands side won by a single second leg goal. Paddy was used less frequently during the 2023/24 season and didn’t play in either leg when Boro reached the League Cup semi-final in January 2024, losing to Premier League side Chelsea. McNair’s final game for Middlesbrough against Blackburn Rovers in March 2024 took his tally for the club to fourteen goals in 219 appearances.

In July 2024 Paddy signed for newly formed United States MLS side San Diego FC, though he saw out the 2024 calendar year on loan at Championship side West Bromwich Albion, making just 3 appearances between August and October 2024. In February 2025 McNair made his San Diego FC against LA Galaxy but as the season wore on a series of injury niggles kept him sidelined – the last of his 26 appearances for San Diego came in a November 2025 play-off match against Portland Timbers. In January 2026 he agreed to terminate his San Diego contract and return to England to join Hull City.

McNair was a Northern Ireland international from a young age, beginning with two appearances for Northern Ireland Under-16s against Germany in October 2010. In September 2013 he won the first of four caps at Under-19 level against Austria, adding three more appearances a month later. In March 2014 he was promoted to the Northern Ireland Under-21 side, making two appearances against Italy and, in September 2014, Serbia.

In November 2014 McNair was selected for the senior Northern Ireland squad, sitting on the bench against Romania but remaining unused. His senior debut came six months later in a May 2015 friendly against Qatar and he was a regular choice during the 2015/16 season. A cruciate ligament injury sidelined him between March and October 2017, when he returned to the international fold in November 2017 he became a key part of the Northern Ireland first team. He scored his first international goal against Belarus in June 2019 and added a brace against Czechia in October 2019. Further strikes against Norway in September 2020, Lithuania in September 2021, Cyprus in June 2022 and Luxembourg in September 2024 took his international goal tally to seven. Injuries permitting, Paddy remained a key part of the Northern Ireland setup for ten years.

In March 2026 Paddy started a World Cup qualifying play-off match against Italy, his 81st cap and first international appearance as a Hull City player.

Details

Nationality: Northern Ireland
Date/Place of Birth: 27 April 1995, Ballyclare
Hull City First Game: 7 February 2026, Bristol City H (Championship), 30 years, 286 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]

Clubs

Manchester United (2011-2016), Sunderland (2016-2018), Middlesbrough (2018-2024), San Diego FC (2024-2026), West Bromwich Albion (2024, loan), Hull City (2026-current)

Hull City Record

Career: 8 apps, 0 goals