Justin Devenny: From hot prospect to international goalscorer, in his words

This interview was initially published in the Crystal Palace v Liverpool programme in September 2025 - you can buy issues of the matchday programme by clicking HERE.

Some footballers just have a knack for producing the big moments.

They seem magnetically pulled towards the events that decide games and manage to find ways of making an impact, even in a short space of time.

A few years back former Manchester City defender Micah Richards was the target of jokes for claiming he had “burst onto the scene,” with most of ridicule primarily coming from fellow pundit Roy Keane.

Yet no-one would question that claim about Justin Devenny. In only his second Premier League appearance, Palace’s trip to Villa Park last year, Devenny scored just before half-time, only seconds after Dean Henderson had saved a penalty at the other end. That same week he’d also had his first senior call-up from Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill.

In the space of a few weeks, Devenny went from the Palace Under-21s to scoring in the Premier League, before international recognition.

“I suppose it was always where I wanted to be,” the 21-year-old reflects. “In the Premier League, it’s almost like everything I’ve ever dreamed of.

“So when I get that chance, of course I’m going to try and make the most of it. I always felt confident. Every time I’ve moved up a level, I’ve felt like ‘this is where I belong.’

“It doesn’t matter who I’m playing against, even if it was the Champions League final, my mentality is I want to be the best player on the park. It’s always football at the end of the day, eleven versus eleven.

“And if I’m going to be on that pitch for 90 minutes, or if I’m going to be on for 30 seconds, I’m going to give my all. I’m going to want to help the team as much as I can and be the best I can be.”

Devenny certainly did that in the Community Shield on a sunny day at Wembley back in August. Twice Liverpool took the lead. Twice Palace hit back, first through Jean-Philippe Mateta and then a brilliant finish from Ismaïla Sarr.

As the game went on the Eagles had managed to wrestle back momentum. Enter Devenny who replaced Marc Guéhi as the clocked ticked beyond 90 minutes. Limited time, but once again a major impact.

Found in space by Ebere Eze on the edge of the box, Devenny drove a low shot towards the Liverpool goal, which went just millimetres wide of the goal. “I thought I could win the game there and then,” Devenny said. “So in a way I maybe wanted to put it right in the shootout.”

He did more than that. With the match-point kick, Palace’s fifth, Devenny smashed home a perfect penalty. Alisson, one of – if not the best – goalkeeper in the world didn’t get near it. Along with Henderson, who saved two of the Reds’ penalties, Devenny was the hero of the hour.

“The manager was asking [before the shootout] who wants to take one,” he added. “And for me, of course I’m going to put my hand up.

“If I’ve got the chance to win the Community Shield, I’m obviously going to take it. It worked out perfectly for me.

“No one said anything to me, I just knew I wanted to score and make sure I’d made an impact.”

Devenny then repeated the trick in the recent Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over Millwall. Once again, his spot-kick was executed to perfection. So where did this knack from 12 yards come from?

“If I’m being honest, when I was younger and playing I never saw myself as a penalty taker really.

“I wasn’t trying to copy other penalty takers or anything. But now, it just feels right when I’m stepping up. I do feel like I’m confident and hopefully that continues.”

That confidence has fuelled Devenny – and not just for his remarkable last 10 months.

Back in 2021/22, Devenny was playing in the Lowland League, the fifth tier of Scottish football, on loan at Broomhill. But it was his time at Airdrie the following year that really kickstarted his career.

In the Scottish League One playoffs at the end of that season, Devenny scored and assisted multiple goals. In the play-off final against Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton Academical, he provided a preview of things to come: Devenny clinically converted his penalty as the promotion decider went to a shootout, Airdrie eventually prevailing.

Little did he know at the time, the midfielder’s career was about to change.

“I got told that people were watching my performances,” Devenny said. “But at the time it still didn’t feel real.

“After all, I’m still at Airdrie, and the Premier League doesn’t feel close. Then I was involved with the under-21s [at Northern Ireland] for the first time and while I was there things progressed.

"It was a long summer to be honest! I was just checking my phone every day, just waiting to see if it had actually all gone through and been confirmed.

“My agent was positive, and I’d heard from Palace and they were pretty positive, but it just seemed to be going on and on.

“In Scotland, there were League Cup games, competitive games, right at the start of the season and the manager didn’t want to play me in case I got injured.

“I was still training to the maximum and some of the boys were saying to me ‘why are you training so hard? This is your moment.’

“But I wanted to be ready when I did go down to Palace, ready to compete straight away.

“I feel like giving 100% every day is what got me to where I was, so I wasn’t going to stop at that point.

“It got to the fourth game in the cup and I was still there – at that point the manager got impatient, so he threw me on. Thankfully, it was all completed pretty quickly after that.”

But for all the excitement of arriving in the Premier League, Devenny never took his eye off the ball. Signing for Palace, his debut, his first goal and all the international achievements are, in his own words, just “checkpoints.”

The hustling midfielder is not one to stand still and congratulate himself for getting to a certain level. Instead, he is always striving onto the next target, the next achievement he can tick off.

That might go some way to explaining why he has also had such an impact on the Northern Ireland team. In September's international camp, Devenny had his best moment so far.

With his team leading 2-1 against Luxembourg, heading into the final quarter of the game, and the opposition having just gone a man down, his chance arrived. A half-cleared free-kick fell to Devenny inside the penalty area – and he duly reacted smartly and sharply to control and fire home at the near post with his right foot, before wheeling away in celebration.

“Hopefully my full career is like this,” said Devenny. “If I can always move onto the next achievement quickly.

“None of it felt unrealistic. There’s still so much more to do both here and with the national team.

“It’s not even been a year, but I feel like I’ve played with them for years. There’s actually quite a lot of similarities between this team [Palace] and Northern Ireland, in terms of formation and the fact we’ve got a lot of young exciting players.

“Against Germany [the game after the Luxembourg win], we were really in the game. I actually thought we were more threatening in the first-half. The break came at a good time for them.

“We lost goals more through errors, rather than them playing well. So there’s always belief in our team and the aim is to get to the World Cup.”

Germany eventually won that game despite another fine performance, and assist, from Devenny. But the performances bode well for the future, to the point where a trip to America for the finals may still be on the agenda next summer.

On Friday evening, Devenny could earn his eighth start in a row – and his 10th cap overall – against Slovakia in Košice, with Northern Ireland looking to move level on points with their hosts heading into the final round of matches.

Trailing both Group A leaders Germany, and runners-up Slovakia by three points (and a goal differential of four and two respectively), a positive result on Friday would open the door for Northern Ireland to either secure qualification or a play-off spot.

Next week, they host Luxembourg – who have scored just once, and conceded 10, in their four defeats thus far – in the final round of matches, whilst Germany host Slovakia in Leipzig.

In his recent international appearances, Devenny featured as a wing-back, having previously excelled in a wide role in Scotland.

Predominantly a midfielder, his versatility has already been utilised a number of times this season. Oliver Glasner has deployed Devenny further forward to good effect, notably against Nottingham Forest.

It seems to suit his style. Devenny shows a maturity beyond his years when arriving late in the penalty area, with his energy and intensity able to pressurise opposing defenders.

But the man himself is happy to not be tied down to one set role.

“It’s a hard one,” he adds. “I’m learning every day on the training pitch. Regardless of what position I’m in I’ve still got lots to learn. “Across my career I’ve probably played as a six more, as a central midfielder. But every time I’ve played as more of a number ten, I’ve loved it.

“My aim is to get on the pitch, regardless of position. But now I feel like I know what to do in every role.

“I want to make an impact, and score goals, and assist, and tackle. I don’t want to say I’ve got a preference on position, because I don’t want to limit myself.

“I want to be ready whenever needed, I want to be versatile. Obviously, everyone has to establish their position, but I feel I can do that.

“At the end of the day I love playing football and if I can play freely, it will bring the best out of me.”

With that attitude and the added mix of more games than ever this season thanks to a European campaign, we can expect plenty more of those big moments from Justin Devenny this season.