Michael Cooper (footballer)

Michael Cooper

Personal information
Full name	Michael John Cooper [1]
Date of birth	(1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Exeter, [3] England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper [2]
Team information
Current team	Sheffield United
Number	1
Youth career
2009–2017	Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2024	Plymouth Argyle	151	(0)
2024–	Sheffield United	19	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:54, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

Michael John Cooper (born 8 October 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Sheffield United.

Career

Plymouth Argyle

Michael Cooper made his professional debut for Plymouth Argyle in a League One game away to Blackburn Rovers aged 18 years and 6 days old. With starting goalkeeper Kyle Letheren going off injured, Cooper came on for the second half, as the game finished 1–1. ^{[3] [4] [5]} He was also a key member of the Plymouth Argyle Youth Team who reached the last 16 of the FA Youth Cup, making crucial saves in victories over Manchester City and Burnley in 3rd and 4th rounds of the competition.

On 17 December 2019, Cooper signed a new long-term deal at Plymouth Argyle, until the end of the 2021–22 season. ^[6]

On 5 September 2020, Cooper started in the first match of the Argyle season, playing Queens Park Rangers in the first round of the EFL Cup. Argyle won 3–2 after a spectacular performance from Cooper. Cooper held onto the starting position for the 2020–21 season.

In April 2021, Cooper signed a new long-term deal with Argyle, signing on until 2024. ^[7] He was also voted Young Player of the Season 2020–21 by Plymouth Argyle supporters, ^[8] coming second in the senior vote to squad Vice-Captain, Joe Edwards. ^[9]

The following season he received the EFL League One Golden Glove (jointly with Wycombe's David Stockdale) for keeping the most clean sheets, having kept 18 clean sheets across 46 league games. ^[10] He was also named as Plymouth's Player of the Season and in the EFL League One Team of the Year. ^[11]

Sheffield United

On 15 August 2024, Cooper joined Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee. ^[12] Upon arrival, he became their first-choice goalkeeper following the departure of Wes Foderingham on 30 June. On 24 August, Cooper made his debut in a 1–1 draw away at Norwich City. ^[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 September 2024

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
Plymouth Argyle	2017–18 [14]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2018–19 [15]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	1 [a]	0	2	0
	2019–20 [16]	League Two	0	0	0	0	2	0	2 [a]	0	4	0
	2020–21 [17]	League One	46	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	52	0
	2021–22 [18]	League One	46	0	5	0	1	0	0	0	52	0
	2022–23 [19]	League One	29	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	31	0
	2023–24 [20]	Championship	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
	Total		151	0	10	0	6	0	3	0	170	0
Sheffield United	2024–25 [21]	Championship	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Career total			164	0	10	0	6	0	3	0	183	0

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Plymouth Argyle

• EFL League One: 2022–23 ^[22]
• EFL Trophy runner-up: 2022–23 ^[23]

Individual

• Plymouth Argyle Young Player of the Season: 2020–21 ^[8]
• Plymouth Argyle Player of the Season: 2021–22, 2022–23 ^[11]
• EFL Golden Glove: League One 2021–22 ^[10]
• EFL League One Team of the Season: 2021–22, ^[24] 2022–23 ^[25]

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
2. "Michael Cooper". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
3. James, Stuart (18 October 2017). "Who is Michael Cooper and why is he regarded as one of England's young stars?". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
4. "Blackburn Rovers 1 Plymouth Argyle 1". The Plymouth Herald. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
5. "'Brilliant' debut for Argyle's Cooper". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
6. "Coops for Keeps". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
7. "Cooper Signs New Long-Term Deal". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
8. "20/21 Player of the Season Revealed". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
9. 🏆 Young Player of the Season | Mike Cooper , retrieved 1 May 2021
10. Wanderers, Wycombe (30 April 2022). "Stocko claims Golden Glove trophy". Wycombe Wanderers. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
11. "Cooper wins Player of the Season vote | Plymouth Argyle – PAFC". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
12. FC, Sheffield United (15 August 2024). "'Keeper arrives". Sheffield United FC. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
13. "Norwich 1 – 1 Sheff Utd – Match Report & Highlights". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
14. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
15. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
16. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
17. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
18. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
19. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
20. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
21. "Games played by Michael Cooper in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
22. "Plymouth beat Port Vale to win League One title". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
23. Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton crush Plymouth to win Papa Johns Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
24. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". English Football League. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
25. "EFL Team of the Season line-ups revealed". English Football League. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.