More on Boro’s new midfield acquisition…
- Caolan was born in Belfast on 26 January 2000.
- He was a youth player with Glentoran, and made one senior appearance in the NIFL Premiership match as a 16-year-old in a match against Crusaders.
- Caolan has said that ‘crossing the water’ was always his professional aim, and he achieved that in the summer of 2016. After catching the eye in the Dale Farm Milk Cup, a prestige youth football competition in Northern Ireland, he trialled with Birmingham City and impressed enough to earn a two-year scholarship.
- One of 12 taken on by the Blues that summer, he was described by their lead development coach Steve Spooner as “left-footed with a high level of skill. He's good technician and has a very good engine and displays the capabilities of a real box to box midfield player.”
- Caolan was part of the Birmingham team that reached the semi-final of the 2017–18 FA Youth Cup, losing out to Chelsea.
- The following season, he spent time on loan with non-league Redditch United, then returned to become a regular for the Blues’ Under-23s side that finished runners up in the northern section of the Premier League Professional Development League, only losing out on the title to Leeds United on penalties.
- In 2019, Caolan’s progress at Birmingham was rewarded with his first professional contract, and received his first call to Northern Ireland’s U21 side. Having represented the Green and White Army at every age group from U15, he has to date been capped 17 times at Under-21 level.
- On 6 August the same year, Caolan was handed his senior debut by Blues manager Pep Clotet, coming on as a substitute for Jude Bellingham in an EFL Cup match against Portsmouth.
- Caolan’s first Championship appearance, again as a substitute, was the following February in a win away to Bristol City, and he made a further five from the bench in the 2019/20 season.
- In November 2020, former Boro boss Aitor Karanka gave Caolan a full league debut in an unfamiliar left wing-back role for a match against Bournemouth.
- Injury ruled out further first team involvement that season, but he did return to help Blues’ development side claim the Professional Development League title with a win over Sheffield United. In June last year, he signed a new contract with Birmingham.
- Caolan has made 11 appearances for the Blues’ newly-promoted U23 side in the PL2 this season (the level above the Professional Development League), including in a 3-0 win at Boro in which he registered an assist.
