Daniel Jordan Mandroiu (born 20 October 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL League One club Lincoln City.
Mandroiu started his football career with Ballymun United moving to St. Kevins’s Boys very early on. St. Kevin's Boys are located in the North Dublin suburb of Whitehall. St. Kevin's had previously produced a number of Republic of Ireland internationals, including Liam Brady, Damien Duff, and Jeff Hendrick. At the age of 15, Mandroiu was signed by Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion. In the 2018–19 season, he made 11 league appearances for Simon Rusk's Under-23 side in the Premier League 2 Division 2, contributing towards the team's promotion to the top flight of under-23 football. The midfielder fired three goals in those matches, while also finding the back of the net in the EFL Trophy against Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.[2]
On 3 December 2018, Brighton announced that Mandroiu had been released and had signed for League of Ireland Premier Division outfit Bohemians. He made his debut for "the Gypsies" on 15 February 2019 in a 1–0 home victory over Finn Harps. His first goal for the club came a week later, when he found the net away to UCD in a 2–0 win. Further goals would come against Derry City and St Patrick's Athletic, with Mandroiu earning numerous plaudits for his performances. He was nominated for the SWAI Player of the Month award for both April and May, but lost out to Bohemians teammate James Talbot and Dundalk's Sean Gannon respectively. Such was his fine form in his debut season, that Bohemians announced on 19 May that the young midfielder had been given a new contract at the club.[3]
On 14 June, Mandroiu scored two goals in a 2–1 Dublin Derby win over rivals Shamrock Rovers, including a game-winning strike from 30 yards out.[4] This was followed up with an SWAI Player of the Month award for June 2019. Mandriou would go on to win PFAI Young Player of the Year, beating off fellow nominees David Parkhouse and Republic of Ireland international Jack Byrne, while he was also named in the PFAI Team of the Year.[5] July 2020 saw Mandroiu linked with a move to Eredivisie side FC Twente but the move did not come to fruition.[6]
Mandroiu signed for Bohemians' arch-rivals Shamrock Rovers in December 2020.[7] In June 2021, it emerged that Shamrock Rovers were ordered by the FAI to pay Bohemians a €20,000 compensation fee following a dispute over his transfer.[8] He played an important part in Rovers' league winning season in 2021 and half of the league winning season of 2022, scoring 22 goals over 53 league games.[9] His displays for Rovers in 2021 earned him a call-up to Stephen Kenny’s Ireland senior international side for the friendlies against Andorra and Hungary. [10]
On 7 July 2022, Mandroiu joined EFL League One club Lincoln City for an undisclosed fee.[11][12] He would make his long awaited debut on 1 October 2022 against Bolton Wanderers.[13] His first goal for the club came against Newcastle United U21 in the EFL Trophy.[14]