Regan Poole

Regan Poole

Personal information
Full name	Regan Leslie Poole [1]
Date of birth	(1998-06-18) 18 June 1998 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Cardiff, Wales
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [3]
Position(s)	Centre-back [4]
Team information
Current team	Portsmouth
Number	5
Youth career
0000–2014	Cardiff City
2014	Newport County
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Newport County	15	(0)
2015–2019	Manchester United	0	(0)
2017–2018	→ Northampton Town (loan)	22	(0)
2019	→ Newport County (loan)	20	(0)
2019–2021	Milton Keynes Dons	41	(1)
2021–2023	Lincoln City	111	(3)
2023–	Portsmouth	14	(3)
International career‡
2014	Wales U17	6	(0)
2016	Wales U19	3	(0)
2017	Wales U20	3	(0)
2016–2020	Wales U21	23	(0)
2023–	Wales	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:12, 5 November 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:14, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

Regan Leslie Poole (born 18 June 1998) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a centre back for EFL League One club Portsmouth and the Wales national team.

Early life

Poole was born in Cardiff. ^[5]

Club career

Newport County

Poole was a member of the Cardiff City academy and joined the Newport County Academy as a scholar in June 2014. In September 2014, he was on trial at Manchester United before he had made his debut for the Newport County first team. ^[6] His Newport County debut came on 20 September 2014, at the age of 16 years and 94 days, when he was named in the starting line-up for a League Two match against Shrewsbury Town which ended in a 0–0 draw. ^[7] Poole became the youngest Newport County player, surpassing the record set by Steve Aizlewood in 1969. He retained his place for the EFL Trophy first round match against Swindon Town on 23 September 2014. Swindon won the game 2–1. ^[8] In February 2015, Poole was shortlisted for the Football League Apprentice of the Year award. ^[9] On 18 May 2015, Poole had a one-week trial with Liverpool. ^[10]

Manchester United

On 1 September 2015, Newport County confirmed Poole had joined Premier League club Manchester United for an initial fee of £100,000, potentially rising to £400,000 with future add-ons. ^{[11] [12]} It was assumed that Poole would join the club's Academy squad and "possibly be required for Under-21 and UEFA Youth League" matches. ^[13] On 7 October, it was reported that Poole had yet to receive international clearance to move from Wales to England, and consequently was unable to play in a competitive match for Manchester United. ^[14] On 1 February 2016, five months after joining Manchester United, Poole received international clearance and was free to play competitive football; ^[15] that evening he appeared as an 89th-minute substitute for the under-21 side in a 2–0 defeat to Everton. ^[16]

Poole was included in Manchester United's squad for the knockout phase of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League and given the number 41 shirt. He was an unused substitute in their last 32 first leg match away to Midtjylland on 18 February; in the home leg a week later he made his United debut as a last-minute substitute for Ander Herrera in a 5–1 win. ^[17]

Loans

On 7 July 2017, Poole agreed a season-long loan deal with League One side Northampton Town, where he would reunite with manager Justin Edinburgh, who gave Poole his Newport County debut three years earlier. ^[18] Poole's debut for Northampton came on 12 August in a 1–0 defeat to Fleetwood Town at Sixfields. ^[19] While naturally a defender, after the appointment of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as manager on 4 September, Poole featured regularly as a midfielder – a position he has played in for the Manchester United Reserves, first doing so against Wigan Athletic on 19 September. ^[20]

Poole was a regular in the Manchester United reserve team during the 2018–19 season, but was unable to break into the first team and on 18 January 2019 he returned to Newport County on loan for the remainder of the season. ^[21] He was part of the team that reached the League Two playoff final at Wembley Stadium on 25 May 2019. Newport lost to Tranmere Rovers, 1-0 after a goal in the 119th minute. ^[22]

Milton Keynes Dons

Following his release from Manchester United, on 14 June 2019 Poole signed for newly promoted League One club Milton Keynes Dons on a free transfer on a contract of undisclosed length. ^[23] On 8 September 2020, Poole scored his first career professional goal in a 3–1 EFL Trophy win over Northampton Town. ^[24] On 29 December 2020 he scored his first professional league goal in a 4–1 away win over Swindon Town. ^[25]

Lincoln City

On 30 January 2021, it was announced that Poole had signed a multi-year contract for Lincoln City for an undisclosed fee. ^[26] He made his debut less than a week later, coming on as a second-half substitute at Gillingham on 5 February. ^[27] He scored his first goal for the club on 16 October 2021, a last-minute winner against Charlton Athletic. ^[28] Following the end 2021-22 season, Poole would be named Lincoln City's Player and Players Player of the Season at the end of season awards. ^[29] On 10 May 2023, it was announced Poole would be leaving in the clubs retained list, despite the club trying to keep him, Poole wanted to play at a higher level. ^[30]

Portsmouth

On 11 July 2023, Poole signed for fellow League One club Portsmouth. ^[31]

International career

In October 2014, Poole was named in the Wales Under-17 squad for the matches against Russia, Belarus and Montenegro. He was an unused substitute in the first two games, but made his debut in the third against Montenegro in Minsk, when he started the 2–1 win. ^[32] In November 2015, Poole was named in the Wales under-19 squad for the Euro Under-19 qualifying matches against Georgia, Albania and Austria.^{[ citation needed ]}

In August 2016, Poole was promoted to the Wales Under-21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship matches against Denmark and Luxembourg in September 2016 in place of the injured Lee Evans. In May 2017, Poole was named in the Wales under-20 squad for the 2017 Toulon Tournament. He was named in the starting line-up in all three of Wales' group matches against the Ivory Coast, France and Bahrain as Wales were eliminated in the group stage. ^{[33] [34] [35]}

Poole was named in a preliminary senior Wales squad in May 2018 for a friendly against Mexico, but was left out of the final selection. ^[36] Poole replaced Chris Mepham, who withdrew from injury, in the senior Wales squad for their UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Slovakia and Croatia in October 2019. ^[37]

On 11 October 2023, he made his senior debut for Wales, starting in a 4–0 friendly win over Gibraltar. ^[38]

Career statistics

As of 5 November 2023

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
Newport County	2014–15 [39]	League Two	11	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	12	0
	2015–16 [40]	League Two	4	0	—		1	0	—		5	0
	Total		15	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	17	0
Manchester United	2015–16 [40]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	1	0
	2016–17 [41]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2017–18 [42]	Premier League	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2018–19 [43]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Northampton Town (loan)	2017–18 [42]	League One	22	0	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	24	0
Newport County (loan)	2018–19 [43]	League Two	20	0	3	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 4]	0	26	0
Milton Keynes Dons	2019–20 [44]	League One	19	0	1	0	3	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	25	0
	2020–21 [45]	League One	22	1	3	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	3	28	4
	Total		41	1	4	0	3	0	5	3	53	4
Lincoln City	2020–21 [45]	League One	22	0	0	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 5]	0	25	0
	2021–22 [46]	League One	44	1	1	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	50	1
	2022–23 [47]	League One	45	2	1	0	4	0	6 [lower-alpha 3]	1	56	3
	Total		111	3	2	0	5	0	13	1	130	4
Portsmouth	2023–24 [48]	League One	14	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	16	3
Career total			223	7	11	0	10	0	24	4	268	11

1. Appearance in Football League Trophy
2. Appearance in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
4. Appearances in League Two play-offs
5. Appearances in League One play-offs

Honours

Individual

• Lincoln City Player of the Season: 2021–22 ^[49]

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
2. "Regan Poole". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
3. "Regan Poole". Lincoln City FC. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
4. "Regan Poole". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
5. Luckhurst, Samuel (9 March 2016). "Manchester United defender Regan Poole can become new Rio Ferdinand". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
6. "Man Utd trial for Newport teenager" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
7. "A star is born as Regan Poole shines on Football League debut". South Wales Argus. 22 September 2014.
8. "County 1 Swindon 2". South Wales Argus. 23 September 2014.
9. "County's Regan Poole represents Wales u17s in Newport". South Wales Argus. 17 February 2015.
10. "Newport's Poole has Liverpool trial" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
11. "We Are Exiles Forum". Newport County AFC Trust. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
12. "Regan Poole secures a switch to Manchester United". Newport County AFC. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
13. "Manchester United sign Regan Poole". Manchester United. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
14. Penman, Andrew (7 October 2015). "Red tape delays Man Utd debut for ex-County teen Regan Poole". South Wales Argus. Newport. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
15. Penman, Andrew (1 February 2016). "Former Newport County star Regan Poole finally cleared to play for Manchester United". South Wales Argus. Newport. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
16. Butler, Cliff (1 February 2016). "Under-21s: Everton 2 United 0". Manchester United. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
17. Johnston, Neil (25 February 2016). "Manchester United 5–1 FC Midtjylland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
18. Marshall, Adam (7 July 2017). "United defender Poole agrees loan move". Manchester United. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
19. "Northampton Town 0–1 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
20. "Wigan Athletic 1–0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
21. Marshall, Adam (18 January 2019). "Poole heads to Newport County on loan". Manchester United. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
22. Pearlman, Michael (25 May 2019). "League Two play-off final: Newport County 0-1 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
23. "Regan Poole: MK Dons sign former Manchester United defender". BBC Sport. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
24. "Report: MK Dons 3-1 Northampton Town". Milton Keynes Dons. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
25. "Swindon Town 1-4 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
26. "Imps Welcome Welsh Defender". Lincoln City F.C. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
27. "Gillingham v Lincoln City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
28. "'What a moment!' - Regan Poole's joy at overdue Lincoln City goal". LincolnshireLive. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
29. "Poole honoured at Awards". Lincoln City FC. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
30. "Retained list". Lincoln City FC. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
31. "Portsmouth sign ex-Lincoln City defender Poole" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
32. "County starlet Regan Poole in Wales U17 call-up". South Wales Argus. 14 October 2014.
33. "Wales U20 2–2 Cote D'Ivoire". Foot Espoirs. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
34. "Toulon Tournament: France U20 0–0 Wales U20". BBC Sport. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
35. "Toulon Tournament: Wales U20 1–0 Bahrain U20". BBC Sport. 2 June 2017.
36. "Hal Robson-Kanu not included in Wales squad for Mexico friendly". BBC Sport. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
37. "Chris Mepham: Injured Bournemouth defender out of Wales squad". BBC Sport. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
38. Wales debut
39. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
40. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
41. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
42. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
43. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
44. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
45. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
46. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
47. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
48. "Games played by Regan Poole in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
49. Karran, Ellis (3 May 2022). "Regan Poole the big winner at Lincoln City's end of season awards". The Lincolnite. Retrieved 29 July 2022.

External links

• Regan Poole at Soccerbase