Paul Smyth (footballer)

Paul Smyth

Smyth with Queens Park Rangers in 2025.
Personal information
Full name	Paul Patrick Smyth [1]
Date of birth	(1997-09-10) 10 September 1997 (age 28) [2]
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) [3]
Position	Forward
Team information
Current team	Queens Park Rangers
Number	11
Youth career
0000–2015	Linfield
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2017	Linfield	52	(14)
2017–2021	Queens Park Rangers	19	(2)
2019	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	15	(3)
2019–2020	→ Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	19	(1)
2020–2021	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	14	(1)
2021	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	21	(3)
2021–2023	Leyton Orient	62	(13)
2023–	Queens Park Rangers	90	(5)
International career‡
2016	Northern Ireland U19	3	(0)
2016–2018	Northern Ireland U21	13	(1)
2018–	Northern Ireland	21	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:10, 30 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 October 2025

Paul Patrick Smyth (born 10 September 1997) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers and the Northern Ireland national football team.

Club career

Linfield

Smyth broke into the Linfield first team as an 18-year-old in 2015, making his NIFL Premiership debut in a 2–1 defeat to Cliftonville on 14 November 2015. ^[4] In the 2016–17 season he helped the club lift a treble of trophies; the NIFL Premiership, the Irish Cup, and the County Antrim Shield, while picking up a host of individual awards including the Ulster Young Player of the Year 2016–17. ^[5]

Queens Park Rangers (first spell)

Smyth in action for Queens Park Rangers in 2018.

On 29 August 2017, Smyth joined Queens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee on a two-year contract. ^[6]

On 1 January 2018, Smyth made his QPR, EFL Championship and professional debut against Cardiff City, scoring the winning goal in the 72nd minute. ^[7] He would go onto win the Supporters Young Player of the Year, after an impressive first few months in the first team. ^[8]

On 20 May 2021, Smyth was released by QPR at the expiry of his contract. ^[9]

Wycombe Wanderers (loan)

Following a loan spell on loan at Accrington Stanley, Smyth joined Wycombe Wanderers on a season-long loan. ^[10]

Charlton Athletic (loan)

On 16 October 2020, Smyth joined Charlton Athletic on a season-long loan. ^[11] He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 4-2 defeat to Burton Albion on 24 November 2020. ^[12]

Accrington Stanley (loan)

On 28 January 2021, Smyth joined Accrington Stanley on loan until the end of the season, returning to the club he had previously spent time on loan with two seasons before. ^[13]

Leyton Orient

Upon his contract expiry, Leyton Orient announced that they signed Smyth on 25 June 2021. ^[14]

Queens Park Rangers (second spell)

On 27 June 2023, Smyth rejoined Queens Park Rangers on a three-year deal. ^[15]

International career

Having played for Northern Ireland U21 on 22 March 2018, Smyth was called into the senior Northern Ireland squad for the friendly with South Korea on 24 March 2018. ^[16] He made his debut as an 82nd minute substitute and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory three minutes later. ^[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 October 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Linfield	2015–16 [18]	NIFL Premiership	19	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	24	5
	2016–17 [19]	NIFL Premiership	29	8	3	0	0	0	2 [c]	0	34	8
	2017–18	NIFL Premiership	4	1	0	0	0	0	5 [d]	1	9	2
	Total		52	14	8	0	0	0	7	1	67	15
Queens Park Rangers	2017–18 [20]	Championship	13	2	1	0	0	0	—		14	2
	2018–19 [21]	Championship	3	0	0	0	2	0	—		5	0
	2019–20 [22]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [23]	Championship	3	0	0	0	1	0	—		4	0
	Total		19	2	1	0	3	0	—		23	2
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2018–19 [24]	League One	15	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	16	3
Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	2019–20 [25]	League One	19	1	1	0	0	0	1 [e]	0	21	1
Charlton Athletic (loan)	2020–21 [26]	League One	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	1
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2020–21 [27]	League One	21	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	3
Leyton Orient	2021–22 [28]	League Two	24	3	1	0	0	0	1 [e]	1	26	4
	2022–23 [29]	League Two	38	10	1	0	1	0	2 [e]	0	42	10
	Total		62	13	2	0	1	0	3	1	68	14
Queens Park Rangers	2023–24 [30]	Championship	44	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	45	3
	2024–25 [31]	Championship	43	1	1	0	3	1	0	0	47	2
	2025–26 [32]	Championship	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	3
	Total		93	7	2	0	3	1	0	0	98	8
Career total			295	44	15	0	7	1	11	2	328	47

1. Includes Irish Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Two appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance and one goal in NIFL Charity Shield
5. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 13 October 2025

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	2018	2	1
	2019	0	0
	2020	0	0
	2021	1	0
	2022	0	0
	2023	5	1
	2024	8	0
	2025	5	0
Total		21	2

International goals

As of match played 25 March 2025. Northern Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Smyth goal. ^[33]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 March 2018	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	1	South Korea	2–1	2–1	Friendly
2	14 October 2023	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	6	San Marino	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

Honours

Linfield

• NIFL Premiership: 2016-17 ^[34]
• Irish Cup: 2016-17 ^[35]
• County Antrim Shield: 2016-17 ^[36]
• NIFL Charity Shield: 2017 ^[37]

Leyton Orient

• EFL League Two: 2022–23 ^[38]

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2022–23 League Two ^[39]

References

1. "CLUB LIST OF REGISTERED PLAYERS" (PDF). EFL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
2. "Paul Smyth". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
3. https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=89636
4. "Interview: Paul Smyth programme article". The Official Website of Linfield FC. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
5. "Latest News: Paul Smyth - Linfield career stats". The Official Website of Linfield FC. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
6. "QPR complete deal for Northern Ireland youngster". QPR FC. 29 July 2017. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
7. "MATCH REPORT: QPR 2, Cardiff City 1". BBC. 1 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
8. "Luongo wins Supporters' Player of the Year award". Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
9. "New deal for Carroll as Smyth is among six released by QPR". West London Sport. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
10. "Paul Smyth joins Wycombe Wanderers on loan".
11. "DONE DEAL: Paul Smyth signs on loan from Queens Park Rangers". Charlton Athletic. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
12. "Burton 4-2 Charlton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
13. "SIGNING: Smyth rejoins on loan". www.accringtonstanley.co.uk. 28 January 2021.
14. "Leyton Orient sign Paul Smyth". BBC Sport.
15. "Paul Smyth is back". Queens Park Rangers Official Site.
16. Beacom, Steven (23 March 2018). "It's a night of heartache and joy for Paul Smyth as he gets ready for senior debut". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
17. Jurejko, Jonathan Jurejko (24 March 2018). "Smyth scores winner seconds into NI debut". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
18. "Linfield FC statistics 2015/16" (PDF). Linfield FC official website. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
19. "Linfield FC statistics 2016/17" (PDF). Linfield FC official website. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
20. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
21. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
22. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
23. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
24. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
25. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
26. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
27. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
28. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
29. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
30. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
31. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
32. "Games played by Paul Smyth in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
33. "Smyth, Paul". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
34. "Linfield crowned Premiership champions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
35. "Irish Cup Final: Linfield 3 Coleraine 0 - Rampant Andy Waterworth seals win with hat-trick". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 18 March 2021.
36. "Crusaders 1-3 Linfield: David Healy banishes County Antrim Shield blues". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 18 March 2021.
37. "CHARITY SHIELD: Linfield see off Coleraine at the Oval". www.newsletter.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
38. "Leyton Orient 2-0 Crewe: Richie Wellens' side seal League Two title". Sky Sports. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
39. "Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.

External links

• Paul Smyth at Soccerbase
• Paul Smyth – UEFA competition record ( archive )