Joe Grayson

Joe Grayson

Personal information
Full name	Joseph Nicholas Grayson [1]
Date of birth	(1999-03-26) 26 March 1999 (age 25)
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2]
Position(s)	Defender, midfielder
Team information
Current team	Gateshead
Number	18
Youth career
2014–2018	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2021	Blackburn Rovers	0	(0)
2019	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	8	(2)
2021	→ Oxford United (loan)	4	(0)
2021–2023	Barrow	26	(2)
2022–2023	→ Dundee (loan)	13	(1)
2023	→ Stockport County (loan)	0	(0)
2023–	Gateshead	35	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:00, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Joseph Nicholas Grayson (born 26 March 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for National League club Gateshead.

Having come through the youth academy at Blackburn Rovers, he spent time on loan with Grimsby Town and Oxford United before signing a permanent contract with Barrow in 2021. He has since played for both Dundee and Stockport County on loan. After leaving Barrow, Grayson joined Gateshead, with whom he won the FA Trophy with at Wembley.

Early and personal life

His father is Simon Grayson. ^[3] He attended Moorland School. ^[4]

Career

Blackburn Rovers

Grayson joined Blackburn Rovers in the 2014, ^[4] turning professional in July 2017. ^[5] He made his senior debut on 28 August 2018, in the EFL Cup, in a 4–1 home victory against Lincoln City. ^[6] In doing so him and his father became the third father-son duo to both play for Blackburn Rovers. ^[4]

He moved on loan to Grimsby Town in January 2019 for the rest of the season. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

On 1 February 2021, Grayson joined League One side Oxford United on loan until the end of the season. ^{[10] [11]}

On 13 May 2021, Grayson announced on social media that he was being released by Rovers at the end of the 2020–21 season. ^[12]

Barrow

On 23 June 2021, it was announced that Grayson would join League Two side Barrow on a two-year contract following his release from Blackburn. ^{[13] [14]} He was injured between December 2021 and April 2022. ^[15]

On 9 August 2022, Grayson joined Scottish Championship side Dundee on a season-long loan. ^[16] He made his debut 3 days later in a home win over Arbroath. ^[17] Grayson scored his first goal for Dundee against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 17 September 2022. ^[18] On 18 January 2023, Grayson returned to his parent club after his loan was terminated. ^[19]

On 1 February 2023, Grayson was confirmed to have joined Stockport County on loan until the end of the season, with the clubs having beaten the previous day's deadline. ^{[20] [21]}

He was released by Barrow at the end of the 2022–23 season. ^[22]

Gateshead

In July 2023, Grayson joined Hartlepool United on trial. ^[23] In August 2023 he signed for Gateshead. ^[24] Grayson played in Gateshead's FA Trophy final victory over Solihull Moors in May 2024. ^[25] On 5 July 2024, Gateshead announced that Grayson had signed a two-year extension to his contract, keeping him with the Tynesiders until 2026. ^[26] Grayson scored his first goal for Gateshead on 30 November in a league draw away to Braintree Town. ^[27]

Style of play

Grayson was described by Blackburn Rovers as "a classy left-footed midfielder with a great delivery from set-plays". ^[4] He can also play as a defender, ^[7] and Grimsby Town manager Michael Jolley described him as somebody who "is versatile to play in several different positions and adds further strength, balance and competition to our squad". ^[8]

Career statistics

As of match played 1 January 2025

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
Blackburn Rovers	2018–19 [6]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	2019–20 [28]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	2020–21 [29]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
Grimsby Town (loan)	2018–19 [6]	League Two	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	2
Oxford United (loan)	2020–21 [29]	League One	4	0	0	0	0	0	2 [a]	0	6	0
Barrow	2021–22 [30]	League Two	26	2	3	0	2	0	2 [a]	0	33	2
	2022–23 [31]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		26	2	3	0	2	0	2	0	33	2
Dundee (loan)	2022–23 [31]	Scottish Championship	13	1	1	0	2	0	1 [b]	0	17	1
Stockport County (loan)	2022–23 [31]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gateshead	2023–24	National League	28	0	1	0	0	0	4 [c]	0	33	0
	2024–25	National League	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
	Total		35	1	1	0	0	0	4	0	40	1
Career total			86	6	5	0	6	0	9	0	106	6

1. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy.
2. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup.
3. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy.

Honours

Gateshead

• FA Trophy: 2023–24 ^[25]

References

1. https://www.efl.com/siteassets/efl-documents/efl-released-and-retained-list---2016-17.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
2. Joe Grayson at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
3. Parker, Simon (28 March 2018). "Bradford City: Grayson's son could have mixed emotions as Blackburn player". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
4. "Profile". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
5. Sharpe, Rich (18 July 2017). "Academy trio Joe Grayson, Stefan Mols and Charley Doyle sign professional deals with Blackburn Rovers". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
6. "Games played by Joe Grayson in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
7. "Grayson goes to Grimsby". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
8. "Grayson Signs On Loan Until End Of Season". Grimsby Town F.C. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
9. "Joe Grayson: Grimsby Town sign Blackburn Rovers midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
10. "Joe Grayson Joins Oxford United". Oxford United F.C. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
11. "Oxford sign Blackburn's Grayson on loan". BBC Sport.
12. "Joe Grayson to leave Rovers after 15 years at the club". Lancashire Telegraph. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
13. "Barrow AFC Sign Joe Grayson". Barrow A.F.C. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
14. "Barrow sign Grayson as Ntlhe commits". BBC Sport.
15. "Defender back to boost Bluebirds". The Mail. 1 April 2022.
16. "Joe is a Dee". Dundee Football Club – Official Website. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
17. "Dundee end Arbroath run in six-goal thriller". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
18. "Harper scores brace as Inverness beat Dundee". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
19. "Joe departs". Dundee Football Club – Official Website. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
20. "County complete transfer business with Grayson signing". www.stockportcounty.com. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
21. "Stockport sign Barrow defender Grayson on loan". BBC Sport.
22. "Barrow Confirm Retained List". www.barrowafc.com. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
23. Ramage, Joe. "John Askey's stance on Hartlepool United's trialists including ex-Blackburn Rovers and Burnley midfielders". hartlepoolmail.co.uk. Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
24. McGraghan, Jack (25 August 2023). "Joe Grayson signs". Gateshead FC.
25. "Gateshead 2–2 Solihull Moors: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
26. McGraghan, Jack (5 July 2024). "Joe Grayson extends Gateshead contract until 2026". Gateshead FC. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
27. "Braintree Town 2-2 Gateshead: National League stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
28. "Games played by Joe Grayson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
29. "Games played by Joe Grayson in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
30. "Games played by Joe Grayson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
31. "Games played by Joe Grayson in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2022.