Harry Jack Darling (born 8 August 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Swansea City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Harry Jack Darling[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 August 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Cambridge, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Swansea City | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2012 | Cambridge United | ||
| –2015 | Newmarket Town | ||
| 2015–2016 | Cambridge United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2021 | Cambridge United | 55 | (2) |
| 2017 | → Bishop's Stortford (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Royston Town (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2018 | → East Thurrock United (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Milton Keynes Dons | 64 | (7) |
| 2022– | Swansea City | 86 | (8) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:31, 27 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Career
editCambridge United
editDarling joined Cambridge United at the age of 12, but left a year later. After being spotted again playing for Newmarket Town's youth team, he rejoined the club in 2015. Darling joined the first team for pre-season ahead of the 2016–17 campaign. On 8 November 2016, he made his debut in a 2–0 EFL Trophy defeat to Scunthorpe United.[3]
He signed his first professional contract with the club in October 2016.[4] On 8 August 2017, Darling started in a 4–1 EFL Cup defeat at Bristol Rovers.[5] He made his full league debut for the club on 13 January 2018 in a 0–0 draw against Mansfield Town. On 17 August 2019, he scored his first professional goal, an 86th-minute winner against Colchester United.
Milton Keynes Dons
editOn 22 January 2021, Darling joined EFL League One club Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed fee,[6] and made his debut four days later in a 0–1 home defeat to Charlton Athletic.[7] Despite only being with the club since the January transfer window, he was named MK Dons' Young Player of the Year for the 2020–21 season having made just 21 appearances.[8]
On 31 August 2021, whilst captaining the side, Darling scored his first goal for the club, on his 100th start as a professional, in a 2–1 EFL Trophy group stage win away over Burton Albion.[9] He scored his first league goal on 27 November 2021, in a 4–0 away win over Morecambe.[10]
After an impressive first full season at the club in which he scored 10 goals in all competitions from centre-back, Darling was named in both the EFL League One Team of the Season and PFA Team of the Year[11] for 2021–22 alongside teammate Scott Twine.[12]
Swansea City
editOn 18 June 2022, Darling signed for EFL Championship club Swansea City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reuniting with former coach Russell Martin.[13]
Career statistics
edit- As of 13 January 2024
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cambridge United | 2016–17[14] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017–18[15] | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[16] | League Two | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[17] | League Two | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| 2020–21[18] | League Two | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 1 | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 55 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 73 | 3 | ||
| Bishops Stortford (loan) | 2016–17[19] | National League South | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Hampton & Richmond (loan) | 2017–18[19] | National League North | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Royston Town (loan) | 2017–18[20] | Southern Premier | 8 | 0 | — | — | 2[b] | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||
| East Thurrock United (loan) | 2017–18[19] | National League North | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Milton Keynes Dons | 2020–21[18] | League One | 23 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[21] | League One | 41 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | 49 | 10 | |
| Total | 64 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 72 | 10 | ||
| Swansea City | 2022–23[22] | Championship | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 4 | |
| 2023–24[23] | Championship | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |
| Total | 56 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 192 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 224 | 21 | ||
- ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy.
- ^ Two appearances and a goal in FA Trophy, one appearance in Southern League Cup.
- ^ Three appearances and a goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in 2021–22 EFL League One play-offs.
Honours
editCambridge United
- EFL League Two runners-up: 2020–21[24]
Individual
- EFL League One Team of the Season: 2021–22[12]
- PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 League One[11]
- Milton Keynes Dons Players' Player of the Year: 2021–22[25]
- Milton Keynes Dons Young Player of the Year: 2020–21[8]
References
edit- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "Harry Darling – Defender – First Team – Cambridge United". Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ "Cambridge United vs. Scunthorpe United – Football Match Summary – November 8, 2016 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ "HARRY DARLING SIGNS THREE YEAR PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT WITH U'S". Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers 4–1 Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ "Harry Darling: MK Dons sign Cambridge United defender". BBC. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 0–1 Charlton Athletic". BBC. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Lewington named Player of the Year!". Milton Keynes Dons. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "Report: Burton Albion 1–2 MK Dons". Milton Keynes Dons. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Report: Morecambe 0–4 MK Dons". www.mkdons.com. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ a b "PFA League One Team of the Year". Professional Footballers' Association. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Harry Darling: Swansea City sign defender from MK Dons". BBC. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Harry Darling in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Harry Darling in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Harry Darling in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Harry Darling in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Games played by Harry Darling in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "H. Darling". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ "Appearances/Scorers". Royston Town. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Harry Darling in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Harry Darling in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Harry Darling | Football Stats | Swansea City | Age 24 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "League Two: Bolton and Cambridge earn promotion, Cheltenham take title". The Observer, The Guardian. 8 May 2021. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "Scott Twine named MK Dons Player of the Year". Milton Keynes Dons. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
External links
edit- Harry Darling at Soccerbase