Aidan Stone

Aidan Stone

Stone in August 2022.
Personal information
Full name	Aidan Thomas Stone [1]
Date of birth	(1999-07-20) 20 July 1999 (age 24) [2]
Place of birth	Stafford, England [2]
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.86 m) [2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Notts County
Number	26
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	Sporting Khalsa
2016–2017	Brocton
2017–2019	Burnley	0	(0)
2018	→ Lancaster City (loan)	0	(0)
2019–2021	Mansfield Town	24	(0)
2019–2020	→ Widnes (loan)	5	(0)
2021–2023	Port Vale	38	(0)
2023–	Notts County	23	(0)
International career
2017	England Schoolboys U18	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:25, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

Aidan Thomas Stone (born 20 July 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League Two club Notts County.

He began his career at Sporting Khalsa and Brocton, before being signed by Burnley, from where he was loaned out to Lancaster City. He joined Mansfield Town in June 2019 and made his English Football League debut in February 2020. He signed with Port Vale in June 2021 and helped the club to win promotion out of League Two via the play-offs in 2022. He joined Notts County on a free transfer in June 2023.

Early and personal life

Aidan Thomas Stone was born in Stafford on 20 July 1999. ^[2] He grew up in Hednesford and attended Kingsmead School and Wolgarston High School. ^[3] He is a Birmingham City supporter. ^[4]

Career

Early career

Stone played as a centre-half in his youth until he put on extra weight at the age of 14 and decided to concentrate on goalkeeping. ^[5] He played for Sporting Khalsa. ^[6] Having failed a three-month trial spell at Walsall at the age of 16, he joined Midland League side Brocton in February 2016, winning the club's young player and players’ Player of the Year awards during the 2016–17 Premier Division relegation campaign. ^{[7] [6]} He won a total of six caps for the England Schoolboys U18s team in 2017, playing against Northern Ireland and Australia in England's victorious Centenary Shield campaign. ^{[6] [3] [8]}

Burnley

Stone was signed by Burnley to a one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months in June 2017. ^{[9] [6]} He signed a new one-year contract in April 2018. ^[10] He joined Lancaster City in July 2018 in a loan deal to run the first half of the 2018–19 season. ^[11] He made one FA Trophy appearance at Lancaster. ^[12] He played for Burnley U23s in the 2019 Lancashire Senior Cup final, which ended in a 2–0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers. ^[13] He credited Nick Pope, Joe Hart and Tom Heaton for having a positive influence on his career, saying "it’s nice to have them as colleagues but also as friends". ^[14]

Mansfield Town

Stone signed for Mansfield Town on 24 June 2019 after impressing manager John Dempster on trial, and was expected to provide competition for first-choice goalkeeper Conrad Logan whilst Bobby Olejnik recovered from a knee injury. ^{[15] [16]} He made his senior debut at Field Mill on 27 August in a Football League Trophy game against Everton U21; the match finished 1–1 with Everton winning the resulting penalty shoot-out 4–1. ^[17] On 1 December, he joined Northern Premier League Division One North West club Widnes on a one-month loan deal, having been recommended to the club by Mansfield's Head of Recruitment Andy Burgess. ^[18] He played five games for the "Whites". ^[19] In January 2020, Mansfield manager Graham Coughlan said he was hoping to give Stone some more first-team experience before the end of the 2019–20 season. ^[20] He made his English Football League debut on 15 February, in a 1–0 home win over Newport County. ^[21]

He made 24 appearances in the 2020–21 season and was praised by manager Nigel Clough in April for recovering from a costly error in a 1–1 draw with Newport County to pick up the man of the match award for his performance in a 1–0 win at Stevenage. ^[22] The following month he was named as the club's Football in the Community's PFA Community Champion for his championing of a healthy eating campaign with Wynndale Primary School. ^[23] However, the club confirmed that Stone would not be offered a new contract. ^[24] Stone described the decision as "a bit of a shock" as "I thought I'd done enough to earn a new contract". ^[25]

Port Vale

Stone in goal for Port Vale (November 2021)

On 25 June 2021, Port Vale announced that they had signed Stone on a one-year deal to start on 1 July, with the option of a further 12 months; manager Darrell Clarke said that "we are pleased to have secured Aidan's future at Vale Park and expect to have a healthy dose of competition now in the goalkeeping positions, following Lucas Covolan's arrival earlier in the week." ^[26] He was given the chance to secure a starting place after Covolan was sent off on the opening day of the 2021–22 season. ^[27] Covolan was returned to the starting eleven upon serving his suspension, only to be sent off yet again in January; Stone had to then sit on the bench behind new loan signing Tomáš Holý until giving an impressive performance upon being given his first league start in two months on 12 March. ^[28] He remained in goal for the rest of the season and saved three penalties in the penalty shoot-out victory over Swindon Town in the play-off semi-final. ^[29] He started in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium as Vale secured promotion with a 3–0 victory over Mansfield Town; Michael Baggaley of The Sentinel wrote that "[Stone had an] early mix up with Gibbons but retrieved the situation with a save from Murphy... spilled a ball into the area but Hall cleared off the line.... [Stone] has played a huge part in getting Vale this far". ^{[30] [31]} The club named him as Young Player of the Year and invoked their option to extend his contract by a further 12 months in June 2022. ^{[32] [33]} The club then gave Stone a new deal to run until 2024. ^[34]

He lost his first-team spot to loan signing Jack Stevens early in the 2022–23 campaign, with Clarke claiming that further work with coach Carlo Nash would bring out Stone's potential as a "top half of League One goalie". ^[35] Stevens remained first-choice goalkeeper for much of the campaign, though Stone was returned to the first XI in February, at which stage Clarke said that there was little to choose between the two. ^[36] Stone ended the campaign with 26 appearances, twenty of which were in the league. ^[37] He was permitted to leave the club on a free transfer after Port Vale signed Connor Ripley from Morecambe. ^[38]

Notts County

On 23 June 2023, Stone signed a two-year deal with League Two club Notts County, where he would compete with Sam Slocombe for a first-team place. ^[39] He was sent off on his debut for the club as County were beaten 5–1 at Sutton United on the opening day of the 2023–24 season; he had brought down Scott Kashket following a poor back-pass. ^[40] He was transfer-listed at the end of the season by new head coach Stuart Maynard. ^[41]

Style of play

Stone is a very vocal goalkeeper with good distribution skills. ^[5]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 February 2024

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burnley	2018–19 [42]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lancaster City (loan)	2018–19 [12]	NPL Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
Mansfield Town	2019–20 [43]	League Two	3	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	4	0
	2020–21 [44]	League Two	21	0	1	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	24	0
	Total		24	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	28	0
Widnes (loan)	2019–20 [19]	NPL Division One West	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Port Vale	2021–22 [45]	League Two	18	0	2	0	1	0	7 [lower-alpha 3]	0	28	0
	2022–23 [37]	League One	20	0	1	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 2]	0	26	0
	Total		38	0	3	0	2	0	11	0	54	0
Notts County	2023–24 [46]	League Two	23	0	2	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	25	0
Career total			90	0	6	0	2	0	16	0	114	0

1. Appearance in the FA Trophy.
2. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy.
3. 4 appearances in the EFL Trophy and 3 appearances in the play-offs

Honours

Burnley

• Lancashire Senior Cup runner-up: 2019 ^[13]

Port Vale

• EFL League Two play-offs: 2022 ^[30]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Mansfield Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 40. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
2. Aidan Stone at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
3. Baggaley, Michael (25 June 2021). "The lowdown on Port Vale's new keeper Aidan Stone". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
4. Baggaley, Michael; Dick, Brian (27 May 2022). "Port Vale's 'mighty Birmingham City' fan aiming to emulate Blues' Arsenal joy". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
5. Lomas, John (20 March 2020). "England international trio give Mansfield Town's Aidan Stone a perfect grounding in the art of goalkeeping". www.chad.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
6. Judah, Nathan (15 June 2017). "Hednesford teenager Aidan Stone steps up to the big-time with Burnley". Express and Star. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
7. Scholes, Tony (7 May 2017). "Burnley swoop on Brocton to sign goalkeeper Stone". UpTheClarets. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
8. "Aidan Stone my lord! W/Stevenage preview | Ale and the Vale - A Port Vale Podcast!". aleandthevale.podbean.com. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
9. "Clarets add young trio to development squad". Burnley Express. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
10. Scholes, Tony (11 April 2018). "Goalkeeper Stone leads the way with new deals". UpTheClarets. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
11. Scholes, Tony (27 July 2018). "Mitchell and Stone loans confirmed". UpTheClarets. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
12. "Lancaster City | Appearances | Aiden Stone | 2018-2019 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
13. Association, The Football. "Blackburn Rovers 2 0 Burnley FC". www.lancashirefa.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
14. Geldard, Suzanne (4 March 2020). "Former Burnley keeper on working with Clarets' England trio". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
15. "Aidan Stone: Mansfield Town sign inexperienced former Burnley goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
16. Coates, Charlotte (25 June 2019). "Stone joins Mansfield after Burnley contract expires". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
17. Curry, Aaron (27 August 2019). "Report: Stags 1-1 Everton U21 (1-4 pens)". www.mansfieldtown.net. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
18. Chadwick, Callum (1 December 2019). "New Signing: Aidan Stone joins on loan". www.widnesfootballclub.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
19. "Widnes | Appearances | Aidan Stone | 2019-2020 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
20. Lomas, John (30 January 2020). "Big chance for young Mansfield Town keeper Aidan Stone". www.chad.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
21. "Mansfield Town 1-0 Newport County". BBC Sport. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
22. Lomas, John (19 April 2021). "Stags keeper Aidan Stone praised for bouncing back after error". www.chad.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
23. "Aiden Stone is Mansfield Town Football in the Community's champion for this season". Chad. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
24. "Mansfield Town announce retained list". www.mansfieldtown.net. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
25. Lomas, John (21 June 2021). "Goalkeeper Aidan Stone was shocked by Stags exit". www.chad.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
26. "Vale sign keeper Stone from Mansfield". BBC Sport. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
27. "Northampton Town 1-0 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
28. Baggaley, Michael (14 March 2022). "The battle to be Port Vale number one as Aidan Stone impresses". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
29. Baggaley, Michael (19 May 2022). "Port Vale heading to Wembley after dramatic shoot-out win over Swindon". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
30. Aloia, Andrew (28 May 2022). "Vale beat 10-man Mansfield to reach League One". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
31. Baggaley, Michael (28 May 2022). "Port Vale player ratings from Wembley win over Mansfield". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
32. Mounteney, Luke (13 June 2022). "Player of the Year Awards 2021/22 | The Winners". Port Vale F.C. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
33. "Port Vale FC 2021/22 retained list". Port Vale F.C. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
34. "Stone and Proctor sign new deals with Port Vale". BBC Sport. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
35. Baggaley, Michael (13 August 2022). "Darrell Clarke message to Aidan Stone as keeper loses Port Vale spot". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
36. "Darrell Clarke | "Important to keep context, but we're looking for a positive performance"". Port Vale F.C. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
37. "Games played by Aidan Stone in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
38. "Notts sign goalkeeper Stone from Port Vale". BBC Sport. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
39. "Signing: Aidan Stone". www.nottscountyfc.co.uk. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
40. "Ten-man Notts thrashed at Sutton on EFL return". BBC Sport. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
41. "2023-24: Retained list". Notts County F.C. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
42. "Games played by Aidan Stone in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
43. "Games played by Aidan Stone in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
44. "Games played by Aidan Stone in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
45. "Games played by Aidan Stone in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
46. "Games played by Aidan Stone in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2019.