Casey Howe: An insight into a rising star

Image: Casey Howe before scoring recently for Northern Ireland Credit: @Caseyhowe8 on Instagram

By Aimee Reynolds (05/11/2024)

After joining Nottingham Forest on a two-year deal, Casey Howe's name has grown bigger and bigger. The Northern Irish international is only 22 with a bright future ahead of her. She gained her debut with the Northern Ireland senior team at just 17. Here is an insight into the forward, discovering her past playing in the NIFL Women's Premiership and LOI Women's Premier Division to moving to England to play for Forest in the FAWNL.

On the 30th of August 2024, Howe signed a professional contract with Nottingham Forest, making her childhood dreams of always wanting to be a professional footballer come true. The 21-year-old had been monitored by Carly Davies and her background team for the past season, so finalising the deal was a big moment for the club. Before arriving at the famous City Ground, the star had previously played for Athlone Town as well as Sligo Rovers, Glentoran, and Linfield.

The club's head coach spoke to the media as the deal was finalised and Davies expressed her joy on the signing; "Casey is an exceptionally talented player and we are absolutely thrilled to add her to our already talented front line."

Howe scored her first goal for Forest during their game against Halifax. It came in the 19th minute as she calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net during Forest's 8-0 win against The Eagles. Howe spoke to Abigail Murphy from Footie Fusion on what it means to score her debut goal; "I'm buzzing it was just a great team performance, especially in the second half but I'm delighted to get on the score sheet and especially at the city ground."

When asked about the difference in leagues Howe pointed out some key differences Forest has, unlike other teams at this level; "Yeah it's quite different, playing on the city ground for one is a massive change the quality of the pitch is incredible! We play a different style of football, we like to move the ball and get it to feet which plays into my strength as I like to go 1v1 with players."

During one of Northern Ireland's recent EURO 2025 qualifiers, hoping to secure their spot for a place in Switzerland next summer, Howe started as a substitute alongside Forest teammate Nat Johnson. During the 73rd minute, Tanya Oxtoby made a change as her side were currently behind.

Howe came off the bench and made an instant impact and threat to Croatia. She went on to score making the result 1-1. Throughout her time on the pitch, her ball work was incredible, taking on player after player and displaying her talent on an international stage.

The Northern Ireland international played in the UEFA Women's Champions League during the 22/23 season for Glentoran, making appearances in two games. Champions League experience is extremely rare in the FAWNL, so to have a player so young with that sort of experience is a huge addition.

Many fans think highly of the young talent and have gone as far as to describe her gameplay like Manchester City and Lioness star Lauren Hemp. Her speed on the ball and ability to cut into full-backs is beyond many others.

After speaking to Oliver from Forest Women Fancast ( a podcast dedicated to Forest Women) he spoke to me about how he thinks Howe's talent is incredible "Casey has been a breath of fresh air since she joined Nottingham Forest. During an off-season in which we had multiple high-profile signings, Casey has come in and made the City Ground her own with some eye-catching performances. Her directness and quick footedness have excited fans from the start and we can't wait to see how high her ceiling is."