Larne manager Tiernan Lynch predicts 'bright future' for Craig Farquhar with defender set to join Premier League giants Crystal Palace

The talented centre-back has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past 12 months, only making his senior Ballymena United debut in February before becoming a mainstay in David Jeffrey’s side that reached last season’s Irish Cup showpiece decider – a run which included Farquhar scoring against Larne in a 2-0 semi-final victory.

He secured a summer switch to full-time football at Inver Park and after making 21 Premiership appearances for the reigning champions, he’s now set to take another significant step in his career by moving to Selhurst Park.

Farquhar will follow in the footsteps of Northern Ireland youth international Kofi Balmer, who also plied his trade in the Irish League with both Ballymena and Larne before transferring to Crystal Palace in 2022.

"It looks like it,” Lynch confirmed on the rumoured move. “If he does go, and please God he does for his sake, not necessarily for mine.

"He's a talented kid and you probably don't realise how good he is until you work with him. I think he's definitely somebody that has a bright future.

"That was probably what was in his head that he would have wanted to get across to play full-time football. Hopefully Larne helped give him that platform of getting into full-time rather than going straight from part-time into full-time which may have been too big of a jump for him. It was a little bit of a springboard."

Lynch is confident that Farquhar has the attributes to be successful across the water and says there’s no pressure on him.

"It's a big, big step but I don't think there's any pressure on him,” he added. “It's one of those where he has to go and enjoy it.

"Having a career in the Irish League definitely isn't the worst thing in the world and he has to go over with that attitude, work as hard as he can and give it his best shot. If it doesn't work, I know I'll definitely be wanting him back."