Owen Elding

Owen Elding scored 16 goals in 38 appearances for Sligo Rovers in 2025, a breakthrough that brought him the PFAI Young Player of the Year award, a place in the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year and the club's own Player of the Year prize.

Elding's path to Sligo Rovers ran through a string of youth clubs — Ballinamallard United, Arrow Harps, Manulla and Longford Town among them — before he returned to the Sligo academy in 2023 and signed his first professional contract that December. Over three seasons at the club he made 67 appearances and scored 16 goals, twelve of them in the Premier Division and four in the FAI Cup.

His transfer to Hibernian was reported at an initial €400,000, with add-ons capable of pushing the total beyond €870,000 and a sell-on clause retained by Sligo Rovers. He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract.

Born in Boston, England, Elding qualifies for the Republic of Ireland through residency after moving there at the age of six, and he has committed his international future to Ireland. He was called up to the senior squad in May 2026, though passport delays meant he had still not made his debut by August 2026.