Balls.ie understands that Irish football journalist Miguel Delaney will take the reins as Chief Football Writer at the Sunday Independent, following Dion Fanning's decision to step away from the role after 14 years.
Fanning's well-documented move to digital advertising firm Maximum Media left many fans of his famed Sindo column aghast, but Delaney's football writing both with Indy UK and the Sunday Tribune in Ireland prove him more than capable of filling the considerable void.
Multiple sources have confirmed to Balls that the Wicklow man will join INM for an undisclosed fee.
Delaney was nominated for Young Irish sports journalist of the year in 2008 while at the Tribune, travelling to both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup before the paper shut its doors in 2011. That same year, Delaney was nominated for Irish sports journalist of the year at senior level.
A journalism graduate from DIT with a masters in politics from UCD, Delaney also penned his first book in 2010: Stuttgart to Saipan: The Players' Stories.
Since then, his work for publications such as the Irish Examiner, the Evening Herald, ESPN and Blizzard has gained him a significant following on social media - as has his no-nonsense approach to 'trolls' who don't understand the concept of journalists having sources.
Delaney strikes as a more-than-worthy replacement for the superb Fanning, and we all wish him the best in his new venture.
UPDATE 1130AM, 26/3: Another INM source has told Balls that while Delaney will being covering football for the Sunday Independent this weekend and through the Euros, a final decision on if Fanning will be replaced on a full-time basis will not be made until the summer.
