Josh Earl (footballer)

Josh Earl

Personal information
Full name	Joshua John Francis Earl [1]
Date of birth	(1998-10-24) 24 October 1998 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Southport, England
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Barnsley
Number	43
Youth career
2007–2017	Preston North End
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2022	Preston North End	67	(1)
2017	→ Lancaster City (loan)	6	(0)
2019–2020	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	9	(0)
2020	→ Ipswich Town (loan)	7	(0)
2021	→ Burton Albion (loan)	8	(0)
2022–2024	Fleetwood Town	61	(3)
2024–	Barnsley	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:26, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

Joshua John Francis Earl (born 24 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Barnsley.

Career

Preston North End

Earl joined Preston North End at the age of nine and signed a scholarship in July 2015. He featured for the youth team as a defender midfielder and striker. He was also part of the side that reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals and scored two goals during the campaign. ^[3] Earl signed his first professional deal in April 2017. ^[4]

On 19 August 2017, Earl made his debut in a 1–0 win over Reading. He was called into the side after Greg Cunningham was ruled out due to injury. ^[5]

Lancaster City (loan)

On 24 March 2017, Earl joined Northern Premier League Division One North champions Lancaster City on loan for the remainder of the season. ^[6] Earl made his debut off the bench in a 3–0 win at Radcliffe Borough the following day. ^[7]

Bolton Wanderers (loan)

On 3 August 2019, Earl joined League One side Bolton Wanderers on loan until January 2020. ^[8] He made his debut in a 2–0 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers the same day but had to be substituted after 15 minutes due to an injury ^[9] which kept him out of action for three months. ^[10] He returned to the bench on 19 October for Bolton's 1–3 defeat against Rochdale ^[11] and started in the next game, Bolton's first win of the season, on 22 October, a 2–0 away win against Bristol Rovers. ^[12]

Ipswich Town (loan)

On 13 January 2020, Earl joined League One side Ipswich Town on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season. ^[13] He made his debut on 8 February, featuring as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 loss to Sunderland. ^[14] He made 7 appearances before returning to Preston on 4 May. ^[15]

Burton Albion (loan)

On 1 February 2021, Earl was loaned out again, this time joining League One side Burton Albion until the end of the season. ^[16]

Fleetwood Town

On 27 June 2022, Earl joined League One club Fleetwood Town on a two-year contract ^[17] after his Preston contract was terminated by mutual consent. ^[18]

Barnsley

On 1 February 2024, Earl signed for League One side Barnsley on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. ^{[19] [20]}

Career statistics

As of match played 27 January 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Preston North End	2017–18 [21]	Championship	19	0	1	0	0	0	—		20	0
	2018–19 [22]	Championship	14	0	0	0	2	0	—		16	0
	2019–20 [23]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [24]	Championship	5	0	1	0	1	0	—		7	0
	2021–22 [25]	Championship	29	1	1	0	1	0	—		31	1
	Total		67	1	3	0	4	0	0	0	74	1
Lancaster City (loan)	2016–17	NPL Division One North	6	0	0	0	—		0	0	6	0
Bolton Wanderers (loan)	2019–20 [23]	League One	9	0	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	11	0
Ipswich Town (loan)	2019–20 [23]	League One	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Burton Albion (loan)	2020–21 [24]	League One	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Fleetwood Town	2022–23 [26]	League One	37	1	4	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	44	1
	2023–24 [27]	League One	24	2	1	1	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	1	28	4
	Total		61	3	5	1	3	0	3	1	72	5
Career total			158	4	10	1	7	0	4	1	179	6

Notes

1. Appearance in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Lancaster City

• Northern Premier League Division One North: 2016–17

References

1. "EFL Released and Retained List 2017-18" (PDF). English Football League. p. 30. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
2. "Josh Earl". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
3. "Preston North End - First Team - Winger - Josh Earl". www.pnefc.net. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
4. "Preston North End Academy Trio Awarded Professional Deals" . Retrieved 19 August 2017.
5. "Preston North End vs Reading on 19 Aug 17 - Match Centre - Preston North End". www.pnefc.net. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
6. "New Signing: Josh Earl signs from PNE - News - Lancaster City FC Official Website". www.lancastercityfc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
7. "PNE loanee Earl impresses Lancaster boss". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
8. "Weir & Earl join Bolton on opening day". BBC Sport.
9. "Eight make Bolton debuts in Wycombe loss". BBC Sport.
10. "Wanderers dealt with a double injury blow".
11. "Bolton Wanderers 1-3 Rochdale". BBC Sport.
12. "Bolton get 'deserved' first win of season". BBC Sport.
13. Seddon, Dave (13 January 2019). "Preston North End defender Josh Earl joins Ipswich Town on loan". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
14. "Sunderland 1-0 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport . 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
15. "Earl Returns to Preston". Ipswich Town . 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
16. "Burton Albion Sign Josh Earl on Loan from Preston". Burton Albion F.C. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
17. "Josh Earl pens two-year deal with the Cods". www.fleetwoodtownfc.com. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
18. "Josh Earl Exit Confirmed". www.pnefc.net. 27 June 2022.
19. "Barnsley sign defender Earl from Fleetwood". BBC Sport. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
20. O'Kane, Doug (1 February 2024). "Reds make Earl second January signing". Barnsley Chronicle. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
21. "Games played by Josh Earl in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
22. "Games played by Josh Earl in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
23. "Games played by Josh Earl in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
24. "Games played by Josh Earl in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
25. "Games played by Josh Earl in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
26. "Games played by Josh Earl in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
27. "Games played by Josh Earl in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

External links

• Josh Earl at Soccerbase