![]() Staunton with Bradford City in 2021 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Reece Joseph Staunton [1] | ||
Date of birth | 10 December 2001 | ||
Place of birth | Bradford, England | ||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Defender, defensive midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Grimsby Town | ||
Number | 16 | ||
Youth career | |||
–2017 | Bradford City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017–2022 | Bradford City | 10 | (1) |
2019 | → Ossett United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2019–2020 | → Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2021 | → Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2022–2023 | Bradford (Park Avenue) | 35 | (0) |
2023–2025 | Spennymoor Town | 84 | (2) |
2025– | Grimsby Town | 3 | (0) |
International career | |||
Republic of Ireland U18 | |||
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:33, 31 August 2025 (UTC) |
Reece Joseph Staunton (born 10 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for EFL League Two side Grimsby Town.
Born in England, he represents Ireland at youth international level.
Staunton attended Bradford Academy. [3]
He made his senior debut for Bradford City on 7 November 2017, at the age of 15 years 332 days, becoming the club's youngest ever player. [4] [5] [6] He signed a two-year academy scholarship with the club in September 2017, having first joined at under-12 level. [7]
He made his first appearance of the 2018–19 season in a 4–1 home defeat in the EFL Trophy on 9 October 2018. [8] He was praised by manager David Hopkin for his performance in the match. [9]
In August 2019 he moved on loan to Ossett United. [10] He returned to Bradford City on 23 September 2019. [11] He made his first City appearance of the 2019–20 season a few days later, in the EFL Trophy. [12] [13]
In November 2019 he moved on loan to Bradford (Park Avenue). [14] The loan was extended in December 2019 for a further month, with Park Avenue manager Mark Bower praising Staunton. [15] Later that month he turned professional with Bradford City, signing a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season. [16] On 8 January 2020 the loan deal was ended early. [17]
At the end of the 2019–20 season he was praised by new City manager Stuart McCall, who said Staunton was one of potentially four youngsters who would join the first-team for the 2020–21 season. [18] Staunton was praised by club captain Richard O'Donnell after an impressive performance on the opening day of the 2020–21 season. [19] In September 2020 he signed a new four-year contract with the club. [20] Later that month he suffered an ankle injury, [21] missing matches before being back in first-team contention towards the end of October. [22]
In November 2020 he was one of a number of young Bradford City players playing in the first team who were praised by manager Stuart McCall. [23] Later that month Staunton spoke about how his first-team run was improving his skills. [3] On 30 November he was ruled out for 3 months due following a hamstring injury sustained in a match the week before. [24] By March 2021 he was still continuing his recovery from the injury. [25]
In July 2021, ahead of the start of the 2021–22 season, Staunton's teammate Niall Canavan told him to remain positive as he continued his rehabilitation from injury. [26]
He was made available for loan to National League clubs in September 2021. [27] He moved on loan to Bradford (Park Avenue) in November 2021. [28] After returning from his loan in late 2021, he was made available for loan again in January 2022. [29] The next month, following the departure of club captain and fellow defender Canavan, Staunton was challenged by manager Derek Adams to "push forward" and challenge for a first-team spot. [30]
In August 2022 he moved to Bradford (Park Avenue) for an undisclosed transfer fee, his third spell with the club. [31]
On 8 June 2023, Staunton signed for National League North side Spennymoor Town. [32] At the end of the 2023–24 season, he won the Supporters' Player and Players' Player of the Year awards. [33] The following season, he won the Players' Player of the Year award again; sharing the award with Glen Taylor. [34]
On 19 June 2025, it was announced that Staunton had signed for League Two side Grimsby Town on a two-year deal. [35] [36] The transfer saw Staunton return to the English Football League following an "impressive" season with Spennymoor. [37]
In November 2018 he was called up by the Republic of Ireland under-18 team, [38] having first been involved with the national team set-up since the previous year. [39]
Speaking in May 2020, Bradford City manager Stuart McCall described Staunton by saying "he's adaptable because he can play left back, left centre half in a three and can sit in front of the back four. He's got a really good passing range". [18]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Bradford City | 2017–18 [40] | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [a] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2018–19 [8] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2019–20 [13] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2020–21 [41] | League Two | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 [a] | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
2021–22 [42] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 [a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
Ossett United (loan) | 2019–20 [43] | Northern Premier League Division One North West | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) | 2019–20 [2] | National League North | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) | 2021–22 [2] | National League North | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [b] | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Bradford (Park Avenue) | 2022–23 [2] | National League North | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [b] | 0 | 36 | 0 |
Spennymoor Town | 2023–24 [2] | National League North | 42 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [b] | 0 | 43 | 2 |
2024–25 [2] | National League North | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 [b] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
Total | 62 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 66 | 2 | ||
Career total | 120 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 137 | 3 |
Spennymoor Town
Individual