Harry Darling

Last updated

Harry Darling
Personal information
Full name Harry Jack Darling [1]
Date of birth (1999-08-08) 8 August 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Cambridge, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Swansea City
Number 6
Youth career
2011–2012 Cambridge United
–2015 Newmarket Town
2015–2016 Cambridge United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2016–2021 Cambridge United 55 (2)
2017Bishop's Stortford (loan) 2 (0)
2017Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) 2 (0)
2017Royston Town (loan) 8 (0)
2018East Thurrock United (loan) 5 (0)
2021–2022 Milton Keynes Dons 64 (7)
2022– Swansea City 102 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:31, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

Harry Jack Darling (born 8 August 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Swansea City.

Contents

Career

Cambridge United

Darling joined Cambridge United at the age of 12, but left a year later. After being spotted again playing for Newmarket Town's youth team, he rejoined the club in 2015. Darling joined the first team for pre-season ahead of the 2016–17 campaign. On 8 November 2016, he made his debut in a 2–0 EFL Trophy defeat to Scunthorpe United. [3]

He signed his first professional contract with the club in October 2016. [4] On 8 August 2017, Darling started in a 4–1 EFL Cup defeat at Bristol Rovers. [5] He made his full league debut for the club on 13 January 2018 in a 0–0 draw against Mansfield Town. On 17 August 2019, he scored his first professional goal, an 86th-minute winner against Colchester United.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 22 January 2021, Darling joined EFL League One club Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed fee, [6] and made his debut four days later in a 0–1 home defeat to Charlton Athletic. [7] Despite only being with the club since the January transfer window, he was named MK Dons' Young Player of the Year for the 2020–21 season having made just 21 appearances. [8]

On 31 August 2021, whilst captaining the side, Darling scored his first goal for the club, on his 100th start as a professional, in a 2–1 EFL Trophy group stage win away over Burton Albion. [9] He scored his first league goal on 27 November 2021, in a 4–0 away win over Morecambe. [10]

After an impressive first full season at the club in which he scored 10 goals in all competitions from centre-back, Darling was named in both the EFL League One Team of the Season and PFA Team of the Year [11] for 2021–22 alongside teammate Scott Twine. [12]

Swansea City

On 18 June 2022, Darling signed for EFL Championship club Swansea City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reuniting with former coach Russell Martin. [13]

Career statistics

As of 13 January 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup League Cup OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cambridge United 2016–17 [14] League Two 0000001 [a] 010
2017–18 [15] League Two3000101 [a] 050
2018–19 [16] League Two12000104 [a] 0170
2019–20 [17] League Two24210203 [a] 0302
2020–21 [18] League Two16000004 [a] 1201
Total5521040131733
Bishops Stortford (loan) 2016–17 [19] National League South 2020
Hampton & Richmond (loan) 2017–18 [19] National League North 2020
Royston Town (loan) 2017–18 [20] Southern Premier 802 [b] 1101
East Thurrock United (loan) 2017–18 [19] National League North5050
Milton Keynes Dons 2020–21 [18] League One 23000230
2021–22 [21] League One41722105 [c] 14910
Total6472210517210
Swansea City 2022–23 [22] Championship 3141010334
2023–24 [23] Championship253002000273
Total567103000607
Career total19216428020322421
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy.
  2. Two appearances and a goal in FA Trophy, one appearance in Southern League Cup.
  3. Three appearances and a goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in 2021–22 EFL League One play-offs.

Honours

Cambridge United

Individual

References

  1. "Notification of shirt numbers" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. "Harry Darling – Defender – First Team – Cambridge United". Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  3. "Cambridge United vs. Scunthorpe United – Football Match Summary – November 8, 2016 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  4. "HARRY DARLING SIGNS THREE YEAR PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT WITH U'S" . Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  5. "Bristol Rovers 4–1 Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  6. "Harry Darling: MK Dons sign Cambridge United defender". BBC. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  7. "Milton Keynes Dons 0–1 Charlton Athletic". BBC. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Lewington named Player of the Year!". Milton Keynes Dons. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  9. "Report: Burton Albion 1–2 MK Dons". Milton Keynes Dons. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  10. "Report: Morecambe 0–4 MK Dons". www.mkdons.com. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  11. 1 2 "PFA League One Team of the Year". Professional Footballers' Association. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  13. "Harry Darling: Swansea City sign defender from MK Dons". BBC. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  14. "Games played by Harry Darling in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  15. "Games played by Harry Darling in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  16. "Games played by Harry Darling in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  17. "Games played by Harry Darling in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Games played by Harry Darling in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 "H. Darling". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  20. "Appearances/Scorers". Royston Town . Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  21. "Games played by Harry Darling in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  22. "Games played by Harry Darling in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  23. "Harry Darling | Football Stats | Swansea City | Age 24 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  24. "League Two: Bolton and Cambridge earn promotion, Cheltenham take title". The Observer, The Guardian. 8 May 2021. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  25. "Scott Twine named MK Dons Player of the Year". Milton Keynes Dons. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.