| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jack James Walton [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 April 1998 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bury, England [2] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Preston North End | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Bury | |||
| Bolton Wanderers | |||
| 2013–2015 | Barnsley | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2023 | Barnsley | 47 | (0) |
| 2016 | → Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Luton Town | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | → Dundee United (loan) | 72 | (0) |
| 2025– | Preston North End | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:36, 17 May 2025 (UTC) | |||
Jack James Walton (born 23 April 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Preston North End.
Walton started his youth career with Bolton Wanderers' Academy before switching to Barnsley in 2013, where he was named Academy Player of the year for 2014–15. In August 2015, he signed his first professional contract with the club, of three years. [3]
On 25 January 2016, Walton was loaned out to Conference North club Stalybridge Celtic on a 28-day youth loan. [4] He made his debut the same day in a goalless draw with Curzon Ashton. [5]
Walton returned to Stalybridge Celtic on 22 September 2017 for one month, [6] during which he played eight times and kept three clean sheets. Upon returning to his parent club, he said "I really enjoyed my time with Stalybridge and I can't thank them enough for taking the chance on me to play for them". [7] In January 2018, he was reloaned to Stalybridge Celtic for the remainder of the season, [8] but was recalled in March and was named on the bench for a Championship match at home to Millwall. [9] He made a brief return to Stalybridge [10] before, on 24 April 2018, making his debut for Barnsley in a 3–0 league defeat against Nottingham Forest. [11] He went on to play twice more during the season, and kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Brentford. [12] [13]
On 2 July 2018, Walton signed a two-year contract extension with Barnsley. [12] On 13 August 2020, Walton signed a new three-year contract extension with Barnsley. [14]
On 30 January 2023, after making just one league appearance all season, Walton moved up a division by signing for Luton Town for an undisclosed fee. Luton goalkeeper Harry Isted moved in the opposite direction on loan for the rest of the season on the same day. [15] Luton's season culminated in promotion to the Premier League, but Walton failed to make an appearance. He left on loan prior to the season starting.
On 10 July 2023, it was announced that Walton had signed for Scottish Championship side Dundee United on loan until the end of the season. [16] On 26 June 2024, having enjoyed a successful spell, which saw United promoted to the Scottish Premiership, Walton returned to Tannadice on another season-long loan deal. [17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barnsley | 2015–16 [18] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016–17 [18] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 [18] | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 [19] | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 [c] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 [20] | Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 [21] | Championship | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 [22] | Championship | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 [23] | League One | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 [c] | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 47 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 62 | 0 | ||
| Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 2015–16 [5] | National League North | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 [5] | Northern Premier League | 18 | 0 | — | — | 1 [d] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| Total | 19 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||||
| Luton Town | 2023–24 [24] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Dundee United (loan) | 2023–24 [24] | Scottish Championship | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 [e] | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| 2024–25 [25] | Scottish Premiership | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 138 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 167 | 0 | ||
Former Barnsley manager Lee Johnson described Walton as a player who is technically good and has good character. [3]