Darren Robinson (footballer)

Last updated

Darren Robinson
DarrenRobinson2025.jpg
Robinson during a pre-match warmup with St Patrick's Athletic in 2025.
Personal information
Full name Darren Robert Russell Robinson [1]
Date of birth (2004-12-29) 29 December 2004 (age 20) [2]
Place of birth Portadown, Northern Ireland [3]
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m) [4]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 St Patrick's Athletic (on loan from Derby County)
Number 26
Youth career
–2019 Portadown
2019–2021 Dungannon Swifts
2021–2023 Derby County
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021 Dungannon Swifts 1 (0)
2021– Derby County 1 (0)
2024 → Hartlepool United (loan) 6 (0)
2025– → St Patrick's Athletic (loan) 4 (0)
International career‡
2022 Northern Ireland U18 3 (0)
2022–2023 Northern Ireland U19 6 (0)
2023– Northern Ireland U21 9 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 01:39, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:50, 28 July 2025 (UTC)

Darren Robert Russell Robinson (born 29 December 2004) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic, on loan from EFL Championship club Derby County.

Contents

Robinson spent his youth career in his native Northern Ireland at Portadown, before joining Dungannon Swifts in 2019, where he made his first team debut in 2021. In May 2021, Robinson moved to England and signed with Derby County, making his debut for the first team in April 2022. Robinson had a loan spell at Hartlepool United from August to October 2024.

Club career

Early career

Portadown, County Armagh born [3] Robinson came through the academy at local club Portadown before departing in 2019 for Dungannon Swifts. [5]

Dungannon Swifts

Robinson signed his first professional contract with Dungannon Swifts in January 2021. [6] During the 2020–21 season, he spent time training at English clubs Fleetwood Town, Stoke City and Derby County. [7] He made his first-team debut for Dungannon Swifts on 29 May 2021 as a late substitute against Glenavon. [7] [2]

Derby County

On 31 May 2021, Robinson signed for EFL Championship club Derby County on a three-year professional contract. [7] [5] After Derby County went into administration in November 2021, it was reported that Dungammon Swifts were owed £36,000 for the transfer of Robinson. [8] On 15 January 2022, he was named on Derby's first-team bench for their 2–0 win over Sheffield United, having impressed for both the under-18 and under-23 teams. [9] He made his debut for Derby on 23 April 2022 as a 82nd-minute substitute in a 3–1 defeat to Bristol City. [10] During the 2022–23 season, Robinson was a regular in the under-21 team and made two first team appearances, both in the EFL Trophy. [2] He signed his professional contract for the club, until June 2024 [11] and was named club scholar of the year for a second year in a row in May 2023. [12] In the lead up the 2023–24 season, Robinson was promoted to the first team squad, taking a full part in all first team pre-season activities. [13] [14] Robinson featured in 10 League One matchday squads as an unused substitute during the season which ended in promotion back to the Championship for the first team, Robinson would play one first team match for Derby, in an EFL Trophy match against Wolverhampton Wanderers U-21s on 8 November 2023; playing 90 minutes as a central defender. [15] Robinson when not part of first team squads played for the under-21s, where he took on the role of captain. [16] On 18 May 2024, it was announced that Robinson had signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at Derby until June 2026. [17]

Hartlepool United loan

In August 2024, he joined National League side Hartlepool United on loan until 1 January 2025. [18] Robinson struggled to make an impact at Hartlepool and on 25 October 2024, was recalled from his loan by Derby after making six appearances, with only two starts. [19]

St Patrick's Athletic loan

On 28 July 2025, Robinson signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic on loan until the end of their season in November. [20] He made his debut for the club on 3 August 2025, replacing Brandon Kavanagh from the bench in injury time of a 2–0 win over Waterford at the RSC. [21] On 14 August 2025, he made his first start for the club, in a 3–2 defeat away to Turkish giants Beşiktaş in the UEFA Conference League. [22]

International career

Robinson was called up to the Northern Ireland under-19 team in March 2022. [23] He made 3 appearances during the March 2022 international break. [24]

Career statistics

As of match played 29 August 2025 [25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational Cup [a] League Cup [b] OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dungannon Swifts 2020–21 NIFL Premiership 100000–10
Derby County 2021–22 [26] Championship 100000–10
2022–23 [27] League One 0000002 [c] 020
2023–24 [28] League One0000001 [c] 010
2024–25 [29] Championship000000–00
2025–26 [29] Championship000000–00
Total1000003040
Hartlepool United (loan) 2024–25 [25] National League 6000––60
St Patrick's Athletic (loan) 2025 [25] League of Ireland Premier Division 4000–1 [d] 050
Career total120000040160
  1. ↑ Includes the Irish Cup, FA Cup & FAI Cup
  2. ↑ Includes the Northern Ireland Football League Cup & EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy
  4. ↑ Appearance(s) in the UEFA Conference League

References

  1. ↑ "Club List of Registered Players as at 21st May 2022" (PDF). English Football League. p. 16. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "D. Robinson: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 "'It's just so good to see so many young boys in there in or around our age'". Belfast News Letter. 10 September 2024.
  4. ↑ "Darren Robinson". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Derby deal for Darren". dungannonswiftsfc.com. Dungannon Swifts F.C. 30 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Crawford, Steven (19 January 2021). "Darren Robinson signs first professional deal at Dungannon Swifts". News Letter. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Hanna, Gareth (31 May 2021). "Darren Robinson tipped to go 'a long way' after Dungannon Swifts midfielder makes move to Derby County". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Hanna, Gareth (24 November 2021). "Derby County: Dungannon Swifts and another Northern Ireland company owed money by club in administration". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Fullerton, Darren (16 January 2022). "Wayne Rooney shows early faith in former Dungannon midfielder". BelfastLive. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Nicholson, Steve (24 April 2022). "Wayne Rooney made right call in Derby County's bigger picture". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Pallatt, James (18 January 2023). "Derby County announce triple contract update". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Fullerton, Gareth (3 May 2023). "Derby County teen Darren Robinson wins top scholar award for second year in a row". Belfast Live. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "DARREN ROBINSON INTERVIEW: 'I'M LOVING IT!'". dcfc.co.uk. Derby County F.C. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Derby County Squad Numbers: 2023/24 season". dcfc.co.uk. Derby County F.C. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  15. ↑ "Bristol Street Motors Trophy Match Report: Derby County 4–1 Wolves U21s". dcfc.co.uk. Derby County Football Club. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "Man Utd 2-4 Derby". premierleague.com. Premier League. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Midfielder Robinson signs new Derby deal". Derby County. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  18. ↑ "Darren Robinson joins on loan". Hartlepool United. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  19. ↑ "Darren Robinson: Hartlepool United midfielder recalled from loan spell by parent club Derby County". Hartlepool Mail. 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  20. ↑ "Robinson Joins On Loan". www.stpatsfc.com.
  21. ↑ "Melia and Carty on target as St Pat's claim valuable win over Waterford". Irish Independent. 3 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "St Pat's denied famous win in Istanbul as Besiktas come from two down to seal Conference League progression". Irish Independent. 14 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "Robinson Named In Northern Ireland Under19s Squad". dcfc.co.uk. Derby County F.C. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  24. ↑ "Darren Robinson » U18 Friendlies 2022". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 Darren Robinson at Soccerway
  26. ↑ "Games played by Darren Robinson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Darren Robinson in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  28. ↑ "Games played by Darren Robinson in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  29. 1 2 "Games played by Darren Robinson in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.