Former Lincoln City favourite Jack Moylan has been tipped for a Premier League move after his impressive start at Cardiff City.
As reported by Wales Online, pundit Alan Cawley believes Brentford could be a suitable destination for the Irish international. Jack has scored seven goals and supplied three assists in 13 appearances across all competitions for Cardiff, wasting little time in showing he can influence matches in the Championship.
His latest contribution came in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough, where he scored the opener and set up Cardiff’s second. Having been used on the left and in an attacking midfield role, his recent deployment further forward has brought another productive spell.
Cawley, whose assessment was published by RTE, believes Cardiff could eventually find themselves trying to fend off interest from above. He said:
“Jack is absolutely flying. I think Jack is only going that way [up].
“It’s only early days, you don’t want to be getting too carried away, but Cardiff will be doing well to hold on to him if he keeps up this level of form. He’s absolutely flying.”
Brentford would offer some familiar connections, with Keith Andrews in charge and Jack’s former Shelbourne manager Damien Duff on the coaching staff. Cawley believes his running power and athleticism could help him make the transition.
“I could see him there in that environment. I think he’s a fantastic player. The trajectory he’s on at the moment and the way he’s playing, I’d love to see it. I really think he can step up.”
Fellow pundit Paul Corry was more cautious, questioning whether Brentford would represent too big a step at present. There is no suggestion in the reports that the Bees have made an approach, with the discussion centred on Jack’s potential and where it might take him.
For us, there could be a substantial financial interest in whatever comes next. Jack’s departure was for an undisclosed club-record fee, believed to have been £3m up front with add-ons potentially taking the deal to £5m.
When City announced his departure, Jez George confirmed that future contingency payments and a retained interest in the player formed part of the agreement. The precise terms have not been disclosed, but we would probably expect a sell-on worth around 20% of any profit. Using the potential £5m cost to Cardiff as the starting point, a subsequent £10m sale would leave £5m profit. A 20% share would therefore bring another £1m to Lincoln, on top of the original transfer package.
If his next move reached £15m, that profit would rise to £10m, and our illustrative share would become £2m. Those figures depend on the actual agreement, including how add-ons are treated, and using £5m for the calculation does not mean all of that money has already been received.
Of course, Jack’s Lincoln career deserves to be remembered for far more than the money. He arrived from Shelbourne in January 2024 for a fee of £50,000, having agreed his move the previous September, and made his debut from the bench in a 1-1 draw at Wycombe.
His first goals came in that extraordinary 5-1 win at Barnsley in March 2024, when he scored twice and gave us an early indication of his ability to change a game. Despite significant injury setbacks during his time here, he went on to make 88 competitive appearances and score 21 goals before joining Cardiff in August.
He also earned a place in the League One Team of the Season during our title-winning campaign. Most memorably, his stoppage-time winner at Reading put the finishing touch on the afternoon we secured our return to the second tier after 65 years.
That goal will remain one of the defining images of his Imps career, whatever happens next. Watching him flourish elsewhere might bring a little frustration that we did not get to see him tackle the Championship in our colours, but there is plenty of pride in seeing a player we helped develop being discussed as a future Premier League footballer.
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