Jack Walton (footballer)

Jack Walton

Personal information
Full name	Jack James Walton [1]
Date of birth	(1998-04-23) 23 April 1998 (age 26) [2]
Place of birth	Bury, England [2]
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.89 m) [2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Luton Town
Number	24
Youth career
	Bury
	Bolton Wanderers
2013–2015	Barnsley
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2023	Barnsley	47	(0)
2016	→ Stalybridge Celtic (loan)	1	(0)
2017–2018	→ Stalybridge Celtic (loan)	18	(0)
2023–	Luton Town	0	(0)
2023–2024	→ Dundee United (loan)	36	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jack James Walton (born 23 April 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Luton Town.

Club career

Walton started his youth career with Bolton Wanderers' Academy before switching to Barnsley in 2013, where he was named Academy Player of the year for 2014–15. In August 2015, he signed his first professional contract with the club, of three years. ^[3]

On 25 January 2016, Walton was loaned out to Conference North club Stalybridge Celtic on a 28-day youth loan. ^[4] He made his debut the same day in a goalless draw with Curzon Ashton. ^[5]

Walton returned to Stalybridge Celtic on 22 September 2017 for one month, ^[6] during which he played eight times and kept three clean sheets. Upon returning to his parent club, he said "I really enjoyed my time with Stalybridge and I can't thank them enough for taking the chance on me to play for them". ^[7] In January 2018, he was reloaned to Stalybridge Celtic for the remainder of the season, ^[8] but was recalled in March and was named on the bench for a Championship match at home to Millwall. ^[9] He made a brief return to Stalybridge ^[10] before, on 24 April 2018, making his debut for Barnsley in a 3–0 league defeat against Nottingham Forest. ^[11] He went on to play twice more during the season, and kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Brentford. ^{[12] [13]}

On 2 July 2018, Walton signed a two-year contract extension with Barnsley. ^[12] On 13 August 2020, Walton signed a new three-year contract extension with Barnsley. ^[14]

On 30 January 2023, after making just one league appearance all season, Walton moved up a division by signing for Luton Town for an undisclosed fee. Luton goalkeeper Harry Isted moved in the opposite direction on loan for the rest of the season on the same day. ^[15] Luton's season culminated in promotion to the Premier League, however, Walton failed to make an appearance. On 10 July 2023 it was announced that Walton had signed for Scottish Championship side Dundee United on loan until the end of the season. ^[16]

Career statistics

As of match played 12 July 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
Barnsley	2015–16 [17]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17 [17]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2017–18 [17]	Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	—		3	0
	2018–19 [18]	League One	3	0	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	6	0
	2019–20 [19]	Championship	9	0	0	0	0	0	—		9	0
	2020–21 [20]	Championship	24	0	0	0	1	0	—		25	0
	2021–22 [21]	Championship	7	0	2	0	1	0	—		10	0
	2022–23 [22]	League One	1	0	3	0	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	9	0
	Total		47	0	5	0	5	0	5	0	62	0
Stalybridge Celtic (loan)	2015–16 [5]	National League North	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2017–18 [5]	Northern Premier League	18	0	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	19	0
	Total		19	0	—		—		1	0	20	0
Career total			66	0	5	0	5	0	6	0	82	0

1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
2. Appearance in Cheshire Senior Cup

Style of play

Former Barnsley manager Lee Johnson described Walton as a player who is technically good and has good character. ^[3]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Barnsley" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
2. "J. Walton". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
3. "Walton is future number one after signing first pro deal". Barnsley Chronicle. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
4. "Walton joins Stalybridge Celtic on loan". Barnsley F.C. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
5. "Jack Walton". Stalybridge Celtic F.C. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
6. "Jack Walton joins Stalybridge Celtic on loan". Barnsley F.C. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
7. "Jack Walton returns to Oakwell". Barnsley F.C. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
8. "Jack's the lad for Stalybridge". Stalybridge Correspondent. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
9. "Reds equal club record after home defeat to Millwall". Barnsley Chronicle. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
10. "Jack Walton returns to Stalybridge". Barnsley F.C. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
11. Wobschall, Leon (26 April 2018). "Jack Walton justifies faith shown by Barnsley chief". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
12. "Jack Walton: Barnsley goalkeeper signs new contract". BBC Sport. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
13. Wobschall, Leon (30 April 2018). "Verdict: Barnsley 2 Brentford 0 – Mamma mia – Reds have survival fate in their own hands". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
14. "Jack Walton: Barnsley goalkeeper signs new three-year contract". Barnsley FC.
15. "Jack Walton: Jack Walton joins from Barnsley and Harry Isted heads the other way!". Luton Town FC.
16. "Jack Walton: JACK WALTON MAKES LOAN SWITCH TO TANNADICE FROM LUTON TOWN". Dundee United FC.
17. "Games played by Jack Walton in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
18. "Games played by Jack Walton in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
19. "Games played by Jack Walton in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
20. "Games played by Jack Walton in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
21. "Games played by Jack Walton in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
22. "Games played by Jack Walton in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 November 2022.