Conor Bradley

Conor Bradley

Bradley with Northern Ireland in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth	(2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth	Aghyaran, Castlederg, Northern Ireland
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [1]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Liverpool
Number	84
Youth career
2012–2016	St Patrick's
2016–2019	Dungannon Swifts
2019–2021	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–	Liverpool	19	(1)
2022–2023	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	41	(5)
International career‡
2018	Northern Ireland U16	7	(0)
2019	Northern Ireland U17	5	(0)
2021–	Northern Ireland	23	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:32, 5 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:03 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Conor Bradley (born 9 July 2003) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Northern Ireland national team.

Early and personal life

Bradley was born on 9 July 2003 ^[1] in Aghyaran, Castlederg, County Tyrone, ^[2] where he was raised. ^[3] He played Gaelic football for his local club, Aghyaran St Davog's, with his ability noticeable from a young age. ^[4] He attended the Christian Brothers Grammar School in Omagh, being fast tracked through the school to complete his GCSEs. ^[5] His father, Joe Bradley, died at home in Killen, County Tyrone, in February 2024, following a period of ill health. ^[6]

Club career

Liverpool

Early career

Bradley began his youth career with hometown club St Patrick's at age nine and also began training at English club Liverpool's Northern Ireland development centre at the same age. ^{[7] [3]} He went on to play for Dungannon United Youth and Dungannon Swifts, before moving to England to join the youth academy of Liverpool full time in 2019 on a two-year scholarship program. However, after a year at the club, he signed his first professional contract with Liverpool, lasting three years until 2023. ^[8]

Bradley made his first-team debut for Liverpool in a 2021–22 EFL Cup tie against Norwich City in September 2021, becoming the first Northern Irish player to feature in a competitive game for Liverpool since Sammy Smyth in 1954. ^[9]

Loan to Bolton Wanderers

On 21 June 2022, Bradley signed for League One club Bolton Wanderers on a season-long loan. ^[10] He made his debut on 30 July in a 1–1 draw away to Ipswich Town.^{[ citation needed ]} He scored his first goal in the club's 5–1 EFL Cup victory over Salford City on 9 August. ^[11] A week later, he scored his first league goal, the only one of the game in a 1–0 win over Morecambe ^[12] On 2 April 2023, he started in the EFL Trophy final which Bolton won 4–0 against Plymouth Argyle. ^[13] On 29 April, he started in a 2–0 win over Fleetwood Town that saw Bolton reach the 2023 League One play-offs. ^[14] The same day, he was voted as Bolton Wanderers' Player of the Year for the 2022–23 season, while also receiving the Players' Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, the latter of which he shared with James Trafford. ^{[15] [16]}

Return to Liverpool

On 21 January 2024, Bradley made his full Premier League debut in a 4–0 win over Bournemouth, ^[17] starting the match and registering an assist for Diogo Jota's second goal. On 31 January, he scored his first goal for Liverpool in a 4–1 victory against Chelsea. ^[18] He also registered two assists to his name, earning him the Man of the Match award for the second time in three days.^{[ citation needed ]}

On 25 February 2024, Bradley started for Liverpool at right-back in the 2024 EFL Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium, before being substituted in the 72nd minute. Liverpool went on to win the match 1–0 after extra time, earning Bradley his first trophy with the club. ^[19]

International career

Bradley played for the Northern Ireland under-16 national team in 2018, ^[20] and captained the team to winning the Victory Shield. ^[21] The following year, he appeared for the under-17 team, including in 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying. ^[22]

In May 2021, Bradley was called up to the senior national team for friendly matches against Malta and Ukraine. ^[23] He made his international debut on 30 May against Malta, coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute for Stuart Dallas in a 3–0 win for Northern Ireland. ^[24]

On 26 March 2024, Bradley scored his first goal for Northern Ireland in a 1–0 away win over Scotland in a friendly. ^[25]

Bradley ended 2024 with 3 further international goals. He scored a brace against Andorra in Murcia on 11 June as well as Northern Ireland’s second in a 2–2 draw against Luxembourg, helping his country to UEFA Nations League promotion on 18 November. ^{[26] [27]}

During the campaign, Bradley captained his country for the first time in a goalless draw behind closed doors against Belarus in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. ^[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liverpool U21	2020–21 [29]	—			—		—		—		2 [a]	0	2	0
Liverpool	2021–22 [30]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	3	0	1 [b]	0	—		5	0
	2023–24 [31]	Premier League	11	1	4	0	4	0	4 [c]	0	—		23	1
	2024–25 [32]	Premier League	8	0	1	0	3	0	5	0	—		17	0
	Total		19	1	6	0	10	0	10	0	—		45	1
Bolton Wanderers (loan)	2022–23 [33]	League One	41	5	1	0	2	1	—		9 [d]	1	53	7
Career total			60	6	7	0	12	1	10	0	11	1	100	8

1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
2. Appearance in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Seven appearances and one goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in League One play-offs

International

As of match played 18 November 2024 ^[34]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	2021	5	0
	2022	5	0
	2023	3	0
	2024	10	4
Total		23	4

As of match played 18 November 2024

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bradley goal ^[34]

List of international goals scored by Conor Bradley

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	26 March 2024	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	15	Scotland	1–0	1–0	Friendly	[35]
2	11 June 2024	Estadio Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain	17	Andorra	1–0	2–0		[26]
3					2–0
4	18 November 2024	Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg city, Luxembourg	23	Luxembourg	2–0	2–2	2024–25 UEFA Nations League C	[27]

Honours

Bolton Wanderers

• EFL Trophy: 2022–23 ^[13]

Liverpool

• EFL Cup: 2023–24 ^[19]

Individual

• PFA Premier League Fans' Player of the Month: January 2024 ^[36]
• Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year: 2022–23 ^[15]
• Bolton Wanderers Players' Player of the Year: 2022–23 ^[15]
• Bolton Wanderers Young Player of the Year: 2022–23 ^[15]

References

1. "Conor Bradley: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
2. Gates, Emmet (22 September 2021). "Jürgen Klopp pleased with Conor Bradley as youngster ends 66-year Liverpool wait". Liverpool.com. Reach. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
3. Hanna, Gareth (26 May 2021). "Who is Conor Bradley? All you need to know about Liverpool star named in the Northern Ireland squad". Belfast Telegraph . Retrieved 30 May 2021.
4. Wilson, David (23 January 2024). "Liverpool FC's Conor Bradley 'did things no other child could'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
5. Gartland, Niall (24 January 2024). "The makings of a star". We Are Tyrone. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
6. "Liverpool FC mourns passing of Conor Bradley's father". Liverpool F.C. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
   - Hewitt, Ralph (7 February 2024). "Funeral for father of Liverpool FC and NI star Conor Bradley takes place in Co Tyrone". Belfast Telegraph . Retrieved 10 February 2024.
7. "'A manager's dream': How Conor Bradley earned professional Liverpool contract after joining Academy aged nine". Belfast Telegraph. 2 June 2020.
8. "Youngster signs professional contract". Dungannon Swifts F.C. 1 June 2020. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
   - "Conor Bradley signs first pro contract with Liverpool FC". Liverpool F.C. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
9. "Conor Bradley starts on Liverpool debut against Norwich in Carabao Cup as Northern Ireland's long wait is ended by Jurgen Klopp". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
10. "Wanderers Complete Conor Coup". Bolton Wanderers F.C. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
11. "Bolton Wanderers 5–1 Salford City". BBC Sport. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
12. McKendry, Adam (16 August 2022). "Conor Bradley sends fans wild as he continues outstanding start to the season with another goal for loan side Bolton". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
13. Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton Wanderers 4–0 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
14. "Bolton Wanderers 2–0 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
15. "Bradley Is Season Star". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
16. Iles, Marc (30 April 2023). "'We're not finished yet!' Prize guy Conor wants more glory in the play-offs". The Bolton News. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
17. "Nunez and Jota both strike twice in Liverpool victory at Bournemouth - Liverpool FC". Liverpool F.C. January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
18. "Bradley shines as leaders Liverpool beat Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
19. McNulty, Phil (25 February 2024). "Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
20. "Conor Bradley » U16 Friendlies 2018". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
    - "Eesti 3–1 Põhja-Iirimaa (07.10.2018)" [Estonia 3–1 Northern Ireland (7 October 2018)] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
    - "Eesti 0–1 Põhja-Iirimaa (09.10.2018)" [Estonia 0–1 Northern Ireland (9 October 2018)] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
21. "Ireland U16: Late goals lead to opening day defeat". Football Association of Ireland. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
    - "Northern Ireland Schoolboys dig deep to draw with Scotland in Tralee". Irish Football Association. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
    - "Conor Bradley signs professional three-year Liverpool deal". BBC Sport. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
22. Conor Bradley at WorldFootball.net
23. "Baraclough selects mix of youth and experience in Northern Ireland squad". The Irish Times . 26 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
24. "Malta 0–3 Northern Ireland: Ian Baraclough's side ease to friendly victory". BBC Sport. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
25. "Scotland 0–1 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
26. "Northern Ireland 2–0 Andorra: Conor Bradley scores twice in friendly win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
27. "Luxembourg 2–2 Northern Ireland: NI promoted to League B in Nations League". BBC Sport. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
28. "Liverpool news: Conor Bradley to captain Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
29. "Games played by Conor Bradley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
30. "Games played by Conor Bradley in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
31. "Games played by Conor Bradley in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
32. "Games played by Conor Bradley in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
33. "Games played by Conor Bradley in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
34. "Conor Bradley: Internationals". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
35. "Scotland vs. Northern Ireland 0–1: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
36. "Conor Bradley named January's PFA Premier League Fans' Player of the Month". Liverpool F.C. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

External links

• Profile at Liverpool F.C. website
• Profile at the Irish Football Association website
• Conor Bradley – UEFA competition record ( archive )