John Buckley (footballer, born 1999)

John Buckley

Buckley in action for Blackburn Rovers U18s in November 2017
Personal information
Full name	John Keaton Buckley [1]
Date of birth	(1999-10-13) 13 October 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Manchester, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Blackburn Rovers
Number	21
Youth career
2006–2019	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–	Blackburn Rovers	135	(6)
2023–2024	→ Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	13	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 January 2025 (UTC)

John Keaton Buckley (born 13 October 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers.

Career

Blackburn Rovers

Born in Manchester, Greater Manchester, Buckley joined the academy of then Premier League club Blackburn Rovers at the age of 6 in 2006. He signed his scholarship with Rovers in June 2015 before agreeing to his first professional contract on 26 January 2018, agreeing a deal that would run until 30 June 2020. ^[3]

On 1 March 2019, Buckley signed a new three-year deal with Blackburn which would run until 30 June 2022. ^[4] Just over two weeks later, Buckley made his professional debut for Blackburn on 16 March, with the club being defeated 4–2 in its EFL Championship fixture against Sheffield Wednesday. ^[5]

On 2 November, Buckley scored the first senior goal of his career in his club's 2–1 win against Sheffield Wednesday at Ewood Park. His first goal came against the same club the player had made his professional debut against at the beginning of the year. ^[6]

On 8 March 2020, Buckley received the first red card of his professional career, with the youngster being sent off in the 93rd minute against Derby County. ^[7] In his first full season with the club's first-team, Buckley made 23 competitive appearances for Blackburn, scoring twice.

Sheffield Wednesday (loan)

On 1 September 2023, Buckley joined Sheffield Wednesday on a season-long loan. ^[8] He made his debut coming off the bench against Ipswich Town on 16 September 2023. ^[9] On 2 January 2024, he was recalled from his loan spell to continue his rehabilitation at Blackburn following shoulder surgery, having played a total of 13 times for Sheffield Wednesday. ^{[10] [11]}

Career statistics

As of match played 5 May 2024

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Blackburn Rovers	2018–19 [12]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2019–20 [13]	Championship	20	2	1	0	2	0	23	2
	2020–21 [14]	Championship	28	1	1	0	1	0	30	1
	2021–22 [15]	Championship	42	3	1	0	1	0	44	3
	2022–23 [16]	Championship	21	0	3	0	4	0	28	0
	2023–24 [17]	Championship	11	0	1	0	2	3	14	3
	Total		124	6	7	0	10	3	141	9
Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	2023–24 [17]	Championship	13	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Career total			137	6	7	0	10	3	154	9

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
2. "John Buckley". Rovers.co.uk . Retrieved 18 December 2021.
3. Sharpe, Rich (26 January 2018). "Rovers prospect John Buckley signs his first professional contract". Lancashire Telegraph . Retrieved 18 December 2021.
4. Sharpe, Rich (1 March 2019). "John Buckley signs new Blackburn Rovers contract". Lancashire Telegraph . Retrieved 18 December 2021.
5. "Sheffield Wednesday 4-2 Blackburn Rovers: Steve Bruce's side continue play-off charge". BBC Sport . 1 March 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
6. "Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday: John Buckley's late winner sees off Owls". BBC Sport . 2 November 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
7. "Derby County 3-0 Blackburn Rovers: Louie Sibley and Chris Martin on target in Rams win". BBC Sport . 8 March 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
8. "Owls sign John Buckley". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
9. "Wednesday 0-1 Ipswich". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
10. "Buckley returns to Blackburn". Sheffield Wednesday FC. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
11. "Buckley returns to Rovers". Blackburn Rovers FC. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
12. "Games played by John Buckley in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
13. "Games played by John Buckley in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
14. "Games played by John Buckley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
15. "Games played by John Buckley in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
16. "Games played by John Buckley in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
17. "Games played by John Buckley in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2020.