Josh Grant (footballer)

Josh Grant

Grant playing for Bristol Rovers in 2022.
Personal information
Full name	Joshua William Grant [1]
Date of birth	(1998-10-11) 11 October 1998 (age 25)
Place of birth	Brixton, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Defender, defensive midfielder
Youth career
2006–2019	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2020	Chelsea	0	(0)
2019	→ Yeovil Town (loan)	8	(0)
2019–2020	→ Plymouth Argyle (loan)	22	(0)
2020–2024	Bristol Rovers	83	(5)
International career
2016–2017	England U18	6	(0)
2017	England U20	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:25, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

Joshua William Grant (born 11 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender and defensive midfielder.

Club career

Chelsea

Born in Brixton, London, Grant joined Chelsea at under-8 level. ^[3] In January 2019, Grant joined EFL League Two club Yeovil Town on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. ^[4] He made his English Football League debut the day after joining Yeovil in a 1–0 win against Mansfield Town, on 12 January 2019. ^[5] On 8 August 2019, Grant joined EFL League Two club Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of 2019. ^{[6] [7]}

On 26 June 2020, it was announced that Grant would leave Chelsea upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the month. ^[8]

Bristol Rovers

On 18 July 2020, Grant signed for League One club Bristol Rovers, signing a three-year deal. ^[9] He made his debut for the club on 5 September 2020, in a 3-0 League Cup defeat to Ipswich Town. ^[10] On 14 November, Grant scored his first goal for the club, halving the deficit to 2–1 in an eventual 4–1 defeat to Fleetwood Town. ^[11]

Grant featured in all of Rovers' first ten matches in all competitions for the 2021–22 season before a recurring foot injury that he had suffered with the previous season forced him out of action. ^[12] His return to action came on 7 November in a 2–2 FA Cup first round draw at League One Oxford United, Grant being utilised in a less-familiar left wing-back role in which he impressed. ^[13] His first league match back came the following week, Grant scoring his first goal of the season when he headed home a Harry Anderson cross at the back post to equalise as the Gas came from behind to defeat Northampton Town. ^[14] Despite an impressive run of form over the winter months, Grant again suffered from injuries, this time in the knee, that saw him ruled out for a number of weeks in February. ^[15] Grant made a return to first-team action in April 2022, the season ending in success as Rovers were promoted on the final day of the season, a 7–0 victory over Scunthorpe United seeing Rovers move into third place on goals scored. ^[16]

Having been limited to just ten minutes of action in the opening weeks of the 2022–23 season, manager Barton revealed in October 2022 that knee surgery would potentially be required. ^[17] Having undergone the surgery the same month, Grant was ruled out of action for the remainder of the season. ^[18] He was offered a new contract at the end of the season. ^[19] On 25 May, it was confirmed that he had been signed a new one-year contract with the option for a further year. ^[20]

Prior to the commencement of the 2023–24 season, it was confirmed that Grant was returning to full training having featured in only one pre-season friendly. ^[21] He made his return to first-team football as a substitute on the opening day of the season, his first appearance in nearly twelve months. ^[22] He was released by the club at the end of the 2023–24 season. ^[23]

International career

Grant made his debut for England under-18s in June 2016, before featuring for the victorious England under-20 side at the 2017 Toulon Tournament. ^[3]

Career statistics

As of end of 2023–24 season

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chelsea	2018–19 [24]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2019–20 [25]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Yeovil Town (loan)	2018–19 [24]	League Two	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Plymouth Argyle (loan)	2019–20 [25]	League Two	22	0	3	0	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	30	0
Bristol Rovers	2020–21 [26]	League One	32	1	3	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	39	1
	2021–22 [27]	League Two	21	3	2	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	25	3
	2022–23 [28]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2023–24 [29]	League One	29	1	3	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	36	1
	Total		83	5	8	0	3	0	7	0	101	5
Career total			113	5	11	0	5	0	10	0	139	5

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Bristol Rovers

• League Two promotion: 2021–22 ^[30]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Bristol Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 14. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. "Josh Grant". Bristol Rovers F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
3. "Josh Grant". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
4. "Yeovil Town: Chelsea's Josh Grant and Bournemouth's Alex Dobre join on loan". BBC Sport. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
5. "Mansfield Town 0–1 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
6. "Young defender joins Plymouth on loan". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
7. "Josh Grant: Plymouth Argyle sign Chelsea centre-back on half-season loan". BBC Sport. 8 August 2019.
8. "Clubs publish 2019/20 released lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
9. "Josh Grant Joins the Gas!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
10. "Ipswich Town 3-0 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 5 September 2020.
11. "Bristol Rovers 1–4 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. 14 November 2020.
12. Frost, Sam (15 October 2021). "Bristol Rovers injury report: Joey Barton gives latest on Grant, Hughes, Jaakkola and more". Bristol Post. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
13. Frost, Sam (7 November 2021). "Bristol Rovers player ratings vs Oxford United: Evans and Belshaw make their mark at both ends". Bristol Post. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
14. "Bristol Rovers 2–1 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 13 November 2021.
15. Frost, Sam (25 March 2022). "Joey Barton shares Josh Grant hopes but another Bristol Rovers player set to miss rest of season". Bristol Post.
16. "Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
17. Frost, Sam (7 October 2022). "Blow for Joey Barton with Bristol Rovers defender set for surgery as injury woes rumble on". Bristol Post. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
18. Frost, Sam (13 October 2022). "Season over for Bristol Rovers defender but Barton hopes Gas have found answers to injury woes". Bristol Post. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
19. "2022/23 Retained and Released List". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
20. "Grant Signs New Gas Deal". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
21. Hargraves, Daniel (31 July 2023). "Bristol Rovers injury update as preparations for Portsmouth begin". Bristol Post. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
22. "Portsmouth 1–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
23. "Bristol Rovers issue 2023/24 Retained List". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
24. "Games played by Josh Grant in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
25. "Games played by Josh Grant in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
26. "Games played by Josh Grant in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
27. "Games played by Josh Grant in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
28. "Games played by Josh Grant in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
29. "Games played by Josh Grant in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
30. "Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.