A huge move.

Ireland U17 international, and the son of Irish Olympian’s Rob and Marian Heffernan, Cathal, is on the verge of completing his move to Serie A side AC Milan.

Heffernan is expected to join the Rossoneri imminently, with a report from the Cork Echo suggesting that the deal is complete.

The teenagers move to Italy comes amid interest from the Bundesliga in the Cork City starlet, but it appears as if he is all but set to head to the Italian giants.

Cathal Heffernan set for Serie A switch.

In joining AC Milan, Heffernan follows in the footsteps of Kevin Zefi and James Abankwah who have also made moves to the Serie A following stints in the League of Ireland.

Zefi, of course, is plying his trade with Milan’s city rivals Inter, whereas Abankwah has only recently completed a move to Udinese.

The Longford native, however, will return to St Patrick’s Athletic on loan until July, as he completes his Leaving Certificate exams in June.

And that will be a similar path that Heffernan is likely to follow, with the Ireland U17 international set to join AC Milan on loan until the summer.

He joined City almost three years ago and put pen to paper on his professional contract with the club in June last year.

Since then, he has continued to impress at Turner’s Cross, making his senior debut later on in the season at home to Galway United, in a 3-0 win for the Leesiders.

Cathal Heffernan.

Speaking when Heffernan penned a professional deal with City, head of academy at the club Liam Kearney revealed Heffernan’s undoubted potential.

“Cathal is a very promising young player, and we are delighted that he has signed back with the club,” Kearney said at the time.

????????: Records! ?

Last night, Cathal Heffernan became our youngest ever player at just 16 years and 185 days old.#CCFC84 pic.twitter.com/9LgVu659sl

— Cork City FC (@CorkCityFC) October 30, 2021

“The pathway from the academy to the first team is well-established, and Cathal is another player with the potential to have a big future in the game.”

For now, however, Heffernan joins the Rossoneri on loan, with the Italian giants having an option to buy at the end of a five-month period.