Will Forrester

Last updated

Will Forrester
William Forrester.jpg
Forrester playing for Port Vale (August 2022)
Personal information
Full name William Samuel Forrester [1]
Date of birth (2001-06-29) 29 June 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth Alsager, England [3]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Bolton Wanderers
Number 15
Youth career
2007–2021 Stoke City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2022 Stoke City 4 (1)
2021 → Mansfield Town (loan) 4 (0)
2022–2023 Port Vale 35 (2)
2023– Bolton Wanderers 24 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:46, 21 January 2025 (UTC)

William Samuel Forrester (born 29 June 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Bolton Wanderers.

Contents

Forrester made his professional debut at Stoke City in May 2021 and spent time on loan at Mansfield Town before signing with Port Vale in July 2022. He was sold to Bolton Wanderers in July 2023.

Career

Stoke City

Forrester was born in Alsager and joined at the Stoke City academy at the age of six. [3] He progressed through the youth teams at Stoke, [4] and made his senior debut on 9 October 2018, playing for the U21s in the EFL Trophy against Morecambe. [5] [6] Forrester made his professional debut on 8 May 2021, scoring the opening goal on the final day of the 2020–21 season in a 2–0 away win against AFC Bournemouth in the Championship. [7] [8] On 31 August 2021, Forrester joined League Two side Mansfield Town on loan until January 2022. [9] [10] [11] Forrester's time at Field Mill was hampered by an ankle injury which restricted him to seven appearances. [12] Despite this, manager Nigel Clough still asked Stoke to extend the loan until the end of the campaign. [13] After returning to Stoke, Forrester made three first-team appearances at the end of the 2021–22 season. [14] Manager Michael O'Neill praised his composure on the ball and patience for waiting for game time in April 2022. [14] However, Forrester was sold just three months later, and O'Neill explained that it was because he refused to sign a long-term contract. The club already had 20-year-old centre-back Connor Taylor who also needed game time to develop. [15]

Port Vale

On 26 July 2022, Forrester joined League One side Port Vale for an undisclosed fee. [16] [17] [18] It was the first transfer between Stoke and Vale since 1978. [19] He started the 2022–23 season playing on the right of a back three, though also impressed playing in the centre of the three. [20] He was voted as Player of the Match for his performance in a 2–1 win at Derby County on 8 October, [21] and went on to win the club's Player of the Month award. [22] He was again voted as the club's Player of the Month for February, having featured in six of Vale's seven games, and admitted it was tough to experience a large number of games in a condensed period for the first time in his career. [23]

Bolton Wanderers

On 4 July 2023, Bolton Wanderers announced that Forrester had joined the club on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. [24] [25] He enjoyed a run in the first XI after Gethin Jones departed on international duty, earning plaudits for his performances, before he was sidelined with a hamstring injury in January. [26] He was an unused substitute in the 2024 League One play-off final defeat to Oxford United. [27]

Forrester suffered a fall at home in August 2024, breaking his toe and dislocating another, which left him sidelined for some weeks. [28]

Style of play

Forrester is a versatile defender and is equally adept at playing as a centre-back, left-back, or right-back. [29] [18]

Career statistics

As of match played 21 January 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City U21 2018–19 [30] ———1 [a] 010
Stoke City 2020–21 [7] Championship 110000—11
2021–22 [31] Championship300000—30
Total4100000041
Mansfield Town (loan) 2021–22 [31] League Two 4021001 [a] 071
Port Vale 2022–23 [32] League One 35200102 [a] 0382
Bolton Wanderers 2023–24 [33] League One14041204 [a] 0241
2024–25 [34] League One10010002 [a] 0130
Total240512060371
Career total6737230100875
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in the EFL Trophy.

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References

  1. ↑ "EFL Squad List: Season 2021/22" (PDF). EFL. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 Will Forrester at Soccerway
  3. 1 2 Smith, Peter (7 May 2021). "Forrester on standby for debut as Stoke City players hold meeting". StokeonTrentLive.
  4. ↑ Cope, Niall (5 March 2019). "Forrester On Breakthrough Campaign". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Smith, Peter (9 October 2018). "Morecambe v Stoke City u21s LIVE! Landmark win in Checkatrade Trophy". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "Morecambe 1-2 Stoke City U21". www.morecambefc.com. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Games played by Will Forrester in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  8. ↑ Smith, Peter (8 May 2021). "Stoke fan Will Forrester beaming after goal-scoring debut". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. ↑ Nicholson, Fraser (31 August 2021). "Stags switch for Forrester". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. ↑ Smith, Peter (31 August 2021). "Stoke City defender Forrester completes loan move to Mansfield Town". StokeonTrentLive.
  11. ↑ "Mansfield sign Forrester and Nartey". BBC Sport. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Smith, Peter (15 December 2021). "Stoke City defender Will Forrester a wanted man in January". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Lomas, John (18 January 2022). "Mansfield Town waiting for reply from Stoke City to take Will Forrester back on loan". www.chad.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  14. 1 2 Smith, Peter (10 April 2022). "Stoke boss Michael O'Neill praises patient Will Forrester". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  15. ↑ Smith, Peter; Sherwin, Phil (2 August 2022). "Michael O'Neill explains Will Forrester move to Port Vale". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  16. ↑ Mounteney, Luke (26 July 2022). "Will Forrester is a Valiant". Port Vale F.C. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  17. ↑ Cope, Niall (26 July 2022). "Forrester departs". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Port Vale sign Stoke defender Forrester". BBC Sport. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  19. ↑ Watson, Chris (26 July 2022). "Will Forrester signs for Port Vale from Stoke City". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  20. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (3 October 2022). "Forrester performance means selection dilemma for Port Vale at Derby". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Mounteney, Luke (1 November 2022). "October player of the month nominations". Port Vale F.C. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  22. ↑ Mounteney, Luke (8 November 2022). "Will Forrester wins Reels in Motion player of the month award". Port Vale F.C. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  23. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (8 March 2023). "Port Vale award means plenty to honest Will Forrester". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "Will's A Wanderer". Bolton Wanderers. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  25. ↑ "Bolton sign Port Vale defender Forrester" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  26. ↑ "Forrester To Miss A Few Weeks | Bolton Wanderers FC". www.bwfc.co.uk. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  27. ↑ "League One play-off final - Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Oxford United: Josh Murphy is U's hero with double". BBC Sport. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  28. ↑ Iles, Marc (12 August 2024). "Wanderers defender Will Forrester faces lay-off after freak accident". The Bolton News. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  29. ↑ "Will Forrester". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Will Forrester in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  31. 1 2 "Games played by Will Forrester in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  32. ↑ "Games played by Will Forrester in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  33. ↑ "Games played by Will Forrester in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  34. ↑ "Games played by Will Forrester in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
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