Stephen Walker (footballer)

Stephen Walker

Walker, playing for Crewe Alexandra at Morecambe, 29 February 2020.
Personal information
Full name	Stephen John Walker [1]
Date of birth	(2000-10-11) 11 October 2000 (age 24) [2]
Place of birth	Middlesbrough, England [3]
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Whitby Town
Youth career
0000–2016	Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2023	Middlesbrough	7	(0)
2019	→ Milton Keynes Dons(loan)	7	(0)
2020	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	6	(1)
2020–2021	→ Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	12	(2)
2021	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	6	(1)
2021–2022	→ Tranmere Rovers (loan)	0	(0)
2023	West Auckland Town	5	(1)
2023–	Whitby Town	21	(5)
International career‡
2017	England U17	3	(1)
2018	England U18	5	(2)
2018–2019	England U19	9	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:17, 26 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:17, 26 March 2019 (UTC)

Stephen John Walker (born 11 October 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Whitby Town.

Club career

Middlesbrough

Walker signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 July 2016. ^[3] He made his debut for the club on 14 August 2018, assisting an Ashley Fletcher goal and scoring a penalty in the penalty shoot-out during an EFL Cup tie with Notts County at the Riverside Stadium. ^[4] On 30 January 2019, Walker signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Middlesbrough. ^[5]

The following day, Walker was loaned to League Two club Milton Keynes Dons until the end of the season. ^[6] Exactly one year later, on 31 January 2020, he joined League Two side Crewe Alexandra on loan until the end of the season, ^[7] making his debut at Gresty Road against Oldham Athletic on 8 February 2020. ^[8] He scored his first professional goal, for Crewe in a 2–0 win over Macclesfield Town at Gresty Road, on 22 February 2020. ^[9]

On 16 October 2020, Stephen Walker signed a season-long loan deal with MK Dons, returning to stadium mk for a second spell with the Buckinghamshire outfit. ^[10] After appearing in twelve league games for the Dons, Walker was recalled by Middlesbrough on 13 January 2021. ^[11]

On 22 January 2021, Walker was then loaned again to Crewe until the end of the 2020–21 season. ^[12] He scored the first goal of his new loan spell, equalising in a 1–1 draw at Blackpool on 2 March 2021. ^[13]

On 31 August 2021, Walker joined League Two side Tranmere Rovers on a season-long loan deal. ^[14]

After being released by Middlesbrough in the early parts of 2023, Walker spent time on trial with Carlisle United in the summer. ^[15] In September 2023, he joined Northern Football League side West Auckland Town. ^[16]

In December 2023, he signed for Northern Premier League side Whitby Town. ^[17] At the end of the season, Walker signed a new contract with Whitby. ^[18]

International career

Walker has represented England at U17, U18 and U19 level. In March 2018, Walker scored twice for England's under-18s against Qatar. ^[19]

In October 2018, Walker scored a hat-trick for the under-19s against Macedonia. ^[20] He then scored the winner in a qualifier against Iceland U19. ^[21]

Career statistics

As of end of 2023–24 season ^[22]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Middlesbrough	2018–19 [23]	Championship	0	0	1	0	1	0	1 [a]	0	3	0
	2019–20 [24]	Championship	7	0	0	0	0	0	1 [a]	0	8	0
	2020–21 [25]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2021–22 [26]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		7	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	11	0
Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	2018–19 [23]	League Two	7	0	—		—		0	0	7	0
Crewe Alexandra (loan)	2019–20 [24]	League Two	5	1	—		—		0	0	5	1
Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	2020–21 [25]	League One	12	2	2	0	—		3 [a]	3	17	5
Crewe Alexandra (loan)	2020–21 [25]	League One	6	1	—		—		0	0	6	1
Tranmere Rovers (loan)	2021–22 [26]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	3 [a]	1	3	1
Whitby Town	2023–24 [27]	NPL Premier Division	21	5	—		—		3 [b]	3	24	8
Career totals			58	9	3	0	1	0	11	7	73	16

1. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in North Riding Senior Cup

References

1. "EFL Squad Numbering" (PDF). English Football League. p. 79. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
2. "Stephen Walker". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
3. "11v11". 11v11.com. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
4. "Middlesbrough 3-1 Notts County". BBC Sport. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
5. "Stephen Walker Pens New Boro Deal". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
6. "Ste Walker Makes MK Dons Loan Move". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
7. Morse, Peter (31 January 2020). "Crewe Alex sign Middlesbrough striker Stephen Walker on loan until the end of the season". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
8. "Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Oldham Athletic". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
9. "Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Macclesfield Town". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
10. "Striker Walker returns to MK Dons on loan". MK Dons. mkdons.com. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
11. "Walker returns to Middlesbrough". Milton Keynes Dons. 13 January 2021.
12. "Stephen Walker Returns On Loan!". Crewe Alexandra F.C. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
13. "Blackpool 1-1 Crewe Alexandra". BBC Sport. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
14. "Rovers complete double swoop for Maynard and Walker". www.tranmererovers.co.uk. 31 August 2021.
15. "Ex-Middlesbrough striker Ste Walker on trial at Carlisle". thenorthernecho.co.uk. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
16. "Former Middlesbrough striker Ste Walker makes surprise move to non-league club". gazettelive.co.uk. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
17. "Stephen Walker signs for Seasiders". whitbytownfc.com. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
18. "Striker Walker signs new contract". whitbytownfc.com. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
19. "Stephen Walker and Ian Poveda-Ocampo among the scorers as young Lions beat Qatar". The Football Association. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
20. "Stephen Walker's treble helps young Lions to big win ahead of next month's Euro trip". The Football Association. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
21. "England 3-1 Iceland". UEFA. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
22. "Soccerway player profiles". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
23. "Games played by Stephen Walker in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
24. "Games played by Stephen Walker in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
25. "Games played by Stephen Walker in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
26. "Games played by Stephen Walker in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
27. "Whitby Town – Appearances – Stephen Walker – 2023-2024". www.fwp.co. Retrieved 19 December 2024.