Aaron Morley

Aaron Morley

Morley playing for Rochdale U18s in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Aaron Paul Morley [1]
Date of birth	(2000-02-27) 27 February 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Bury, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Bolton Wanderers
Number	16
Youth career
	Manchester City
	Bolton Wanderers
0000–2016	Rochdale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2022	Rochdale	93	(6)
2022–	Bolton Wanderers	100	(9)
2024–2025	→ Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	19	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:36, 5 January 2025 (UTC)

Aaron Paul Morley (born 27 February 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Bolton Wanderers.

Career

Early career

Morley started his career in the academy of Manchester City and then later, the academy of Bolton Wanderers, before signing for the academy of Rochdale. ^[3]

Rochdale

After progressing through Rochdale's academy he first featured for the senior team during the 2016–17 pre-season campaign. ^[4] After being named as an unused substitute regularly in League One, Morley made his competitive debut in a 2–1 EFL Trophy victory over Notts County on 4 October 2016. ^[5]

He made his league debut four days later in a 3–0 win over Southend United. ^[6] Morley also had a five-minute cameo in Rochdale's 2–0 FA Cup victory over Maidstone United, playing as a left-winger rather than his preferred central role. ^[7]

Morley made a further three appearances for the club during the season – in two EFL Trophy matches and one league fixture. ^[2]

On 1 March 2017, he signed his first professional contract with the club following his 17th birthday. ^[8]

He was offered a new contract by Rochdale at the end of the 2018–19 season. ^[9]

On 28 June 2019, Morley signed a new three-year contract with Rochdale. ^[10]

Bolton Wanderers

On 11 January 2022, it was announced Morley had re-signed for Bolton Wanderers, having previously played in the Bolton Wanderers academy as a child, and signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with EFL League One team. ^[3] He signed for an undisclosed fee ^[3] which reported by The Bolton News to be around £100,000. ^[11] He made his debut on 15 January in a 2–0 home win against Ipswich Town. On 2 April, he started in the 2023 EFL Trophy Final which Bolton won 4–0 against Plymouth Argyle. ^[12] On 28 December 2023, he signed a new contract until 2027. ^[13]

On 23 August 2024, Morley joined fellow League One side Wycombe Wanderers on a season-long loan deal. ^[14] By January, Morley had helped Wycombe to the top of the table, leading Bolton to exercise a break clause and recall him from his loan on 1 January. ^[15] He subsequently scored an injury time winner on his first game back away at Exeter City, three days after he had done same thing against the same opponents for Wycombe. ^{[16] [17]}

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rochdale	2016–17 [18]	League One	2	0	1	0	0	0	3 [a]	0	6	0
	2017–18 [19]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2018–19 [20]	League One	3	0	0	0	0	0	4 [a]	0	7	0
	2019–20 [21]	League One	23	3	4	1	3	1	2 [a]	0	32	5
	2020–21 [22]	League One	44	2	1	0	2	0	3 [a]	0	50	2
	2021–22 [23]	League Two	21	1	3	1	2	0	0	0	26	2
	Total		93	6	9	2	7	1	12	0	121	9
Bolton Wanderers	2021–22 [23]	League One	21	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	1
	2022–23 [24]	League One	41	4	1	0	0	0	8 [b]	2	50	6
	2023–24 [25]	League One	37	3	4	0	2	0	7 [c]	2	50	5
	Total		99	8	5	0	2	0	15	4	121	12
Career total			192	14	14	2	9	1	27	4	242	21

1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy
2. Six appearances in the EFL Trophy, two appearances in the League One play-offs
3. Six appearances in the EFL Trophy, one appearance in the League One play-offs

Honours

Bolton Wanderers

• EFL Trophy: 2022–23 ^[12]

References

1. "EFL Released and Retained List 2017-18" (PDF). English Football League. p. 62. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
2. "Aaron Morley". www.rochdaleafc.co.uk. Rochdale A.F.C. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
3. "Wanderers Land Midfield Man Morley". www.bwfc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
4. "Aaron Morley Makes First-Team Debut" . Retrieved 15 October 2017.
5. "Rochdale 2-1 Notts County: Report" . Retrieved 15 October 2017.
6. "Rochdale 3-0 Southend United". BBC Sport. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
7. "Rochdale 2-0 Maidstone United". BBC Sport. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
8. "Aaron Morley Signs First Professional Contract" . Retrieved 15 October 2017.
9. "Aaron Wilbraham: Rochdale offer forward, 39, new deal". BBC Sport. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
10. "Aaron Morley Signs New Three-Year Deal". Rochdale AFC. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
11. The Bolton News: "Bolton Wanderers snap up Aaron Morley from Rochdale in six-figure deal"
12. Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton Wanderers 4–0 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
13. Aaron Morley: Bolton Wanderers midfielder signs new deal until June 2027
14. "Morley makes move to Adams Park". www.wwfc.com. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
15. Iles, Marc (1 January 2025). "Bolton Wanderers recall Aaron Morley and make two new bids". Bolton News. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
16. "Report: Wycombe 2-1 Exeter". wwfc.com. 1 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
17. "REPORT Exeter City 1 Wanderers 2". bwfc.com. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
18. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
19. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
20. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
21. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
22. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
23. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
24. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
25. "Games played by Aaron Morley in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 August 2023.