Alfie McCalmont

Alfie McCalmont

Personal information
Full name	Alfie McCalmont [1]
Date of birth	(2000-03-25) 25 March 2000 (age 24) [2]
Place of birth	Thirsk, England
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Central Coast Mariners
Number	8
Youth career
0000–2018	Leeds United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2023	Leeds United	0	(0)
2020–2021	→ Oldham Athletic (loan)	32	(8)
2021–2022	→ Morecambe (loan)	26	(1)
2023	→ Carlisle United (loan)	16	(2)
2023–2024	Carlisle United	50	(4)
2024–	Central Coast Mariners	7	(0)
International career
2016	Northern Ireland U17	2	(0)
2017–2018	Northern Ireland U19	5	(1)
2019–	Northern Ireland U21	10	(1)
2019–	Northern Ireland	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 December 2024

Alfie McCalmont (born 25 March 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Central Coast Mariners and the Northern Ireland national team.

Career

Born in Thirsk, he attended Thirsk School and Sixth Form College and came through the youth academy at Leeds United. ^[3] He signed a professional contract extension on 22 January 2019 keeping him at the club until the summer of 2021. ^[4] During the 2018–19 season, he featured regularly for Carlos Corberán's Leeds United under 23s side that won the PDL Northern League 2018–19 league title; ^[5] they then became the national Professional Development League Champions by beating Birmingham City in the final. ^[6]

McCalmont started the first pre-season friendly of the 2019–20 season against York City in a 5–0 win on 10 July, ^[7] and was named in the 1st team travelling squad on 4 August in Leeds' opening day 3–1 EFL Championship victory against Bristol City; he was left out of the final 18, but was allocated the 38 shirt for the season. ^[8]

He was given his first team debut by head coach Marcelo Bielsa on 13 August in the EFL Cup against Salford City, coming on as a substitute for Jack Clarke in the 70th minute. ^[9]

He made his first Leeds start on 27 August 2019 in Leeds' EFL Cup match against Stoke City, with Leeds losing 4–5 on penalties after a 2–2 draw. ^[10]

After the English professional football season was paused in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was resumed during June, where McCalmont was part of the squad who earned promotion with Leeds to the Premier League and also become the EFL Championship Champions for the 2019–20 season in July after the successful resumption of the season. Despite not playing a League game he qualified for a league medal due to being named in enough matchday squads. ^[11]

In August 2020, McCalmont signed a new four-year contract with Leeds United. ^[12] He was named on the bench by Marcelo Bielsa on 16 September 2020 as an unused substitute for Premier League Leeds in a 1–1 draw against Hull City in the EFL Cup. ^[13]

Loan spells

He joined Oldham Athletic on a season-long loan on 25 September 2020. ^[14] He scored his first goals for Oldham, and his first professional goals, when he scored twice on 10 November 2020 in an EFL Trophy group game against Bradford City. ^[15] In July 2021, McCalmont joined Morecambe on loan for the 2021–22 season. ^[16] On 9 January 2023, McCalmont joined Carlisle United on a loan until the end of the season, ^[17] and permanently joined Carlisle on 27 June 2023 for an undisclosed fee. ^[18]

Central Coast Mariners

On 12 July 2024, McCalmont joined A-League Men club Central Coast Mariners, managed by former Leeds Academy coaches Mark Jackson and Danny Schofield, as well as former Carlisle teammate Ryan Edmondson. ^[19] McCalmont made his debut for the club on 7 August 2024, in a 2024 Australia Cup round of 32 tie against Heidelberg United. ^[20]

International career

He has represented Northern Ireland at international level up to U21s. He was called up to the senior Northern Ireland squad in 2019 for a summer training camp. ^[21]

He made his senior debut for Northern Ireland on 5 September 2019 coming on for George Saville as a 60th-minute substitute in a 1–0 win against Luxembourg.

He was recalled to the Northern Irish national team for matches against Malta and Ukraine in June 2021 after impressing with Oldham Athletic with 8 goals and 5 assists in League 2.

McCalmont made his competitive senior international debut on 2 September 2021 coming on for Jordan Thompson as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 1–4 win against Lithuania in FIFA World Cup European Qualifying. ^[22]

Style of play

McCalmont plays as a deep lying central midfielder. He plays mainly as a playmaking defensive midfielder, known for his passing and ability on the ball, dictating the play. ^[21]

Belfast Live said McCalmont has "excellent technique, is tenacious in the tackle and has an eye for a pass". ^[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leeds United	2019–20 [24]	Championship	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
	2020–21 [25]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2021–22 [26]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2022–23 [27]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Leeds United U21	2022–23 [27]	—			—		—		2 [a]	0	2	0
Oldham Athletic (loan)	2020–21 [25]	League Two	32	8	3	0	0	0	1 [a]	2	36	10
Morecambe (loan)	2021–22 [26]	League One	26	1	3	0	1	0	1 [a]	0	31	1
Carlisle United (loan)	2022–23 [27]	League Two	16	2	0	0	0	0	3 [b]	0	19	2
Carlisle United	2023–24 [28]	League One	30	2	0	0	1	0	3	0	34	2
Central Coast Mariners	2023–24	A-League Men	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
Total			104	13	6	0	4	0	10	2	124	15

1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
2. Appearances in the play-offs

International

As of match played 5 September 2021 ^[29]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	2019	1	0
	2021	3	0
Total		4	0

Honours

Leeds United

• EFL Championship: 2019–20 ^[30]

Carlisle United

• EFL League Two play-offs: 2023 ^[31]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Leeds United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 36. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
2. "Alfie McCalmont: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
3. Hanna, Gareth (13 August 2019). "Who is Alfie McCalmont? All you need to know about the Leeds teenager who this summer trained with Northern Ireland". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
4. "Alfie McCalmont puts pen to paper on new contract at Leeds". Irish FA. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
5. "'True leader' – Leeds under-23 captain Hugo Diaz impresses the fans once again". The Boot Room. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
6. "Carlos Corberan on what the future can hold for Leeds United's PDL champions". YEP. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
7. "REPORT: YORK CITY 0–5 LEEDS UNITED". www.leedsunited.com. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
8. "Bristol City 1 Leeds 3". Leeds United. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
9. "Salford City 0-3 Leeds United: Eddie Nketiah scores on debut - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
10. "Leeds Vs Stoke". Sky Sports. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
11. "Championship: Leeds United promoted to Premier League after 16-year absence". BBC Sport. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
12. "McCalmont pens new Leeds United deal". BBC Sport.
13. "Leeds United 1-1: Hull City: Hull book third-round place with 9-8 shootout victory over Leeds United despite conceding a stoppage-time equaliser". BBC Sport. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
14. "Oldham sign Leeds' McCalmont on loan". BBC Sport. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
15. "Bradford City 1-3 Latics". oldhamathletic.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
16. "Morecambe sign Leeds' McCalmont on loan". BBC Sport.
17. "Carlisle sign Leeds midfielder McCalmont". BBC Sport. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
18. "Alfie McCalmont makes Carlisle United move". www.leedsunited.com. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
19. "Central Coast Mariners and Carlisle United agree transfer of Alfie McCalmont". ccmariners.com.au. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
20. "Match Report: Mariners exit Australia Cup". ccmariners.com.au. 8 August 2024.
21. "Who is Alfie McCalmont? All you need to know about the Leeds teenager training with Northern Ireland". Belfast Telegraph. 29 May 2019.
22. "Northern Ireland pick up first win in World Cup qualifying - as it happened". BBC. 2 September 2021.
23. "Who is Alfie McCalmont? Meet the Leeds prospect who trained with Northern Ireland this week". Belfast Live. 29 May 2019.
24. "Games played by Alfie McCalmont in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
25. "Games played by Alfie McCalmont in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
26. "Games played by Alfie McCalmont in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
27. "Games played by Alfie McCalmont in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
28. "Games played by Alfie McCalmont in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
29. "Alfie McCalmont". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
30. "Leeds United are champions!". Leeds United F.C. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
31. "Carlisle United 1–1 Stockport County (5–4 pens)". BBC Sport. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.