Daniel Ballard

Daniel George Ballard (born 22 September 1999) is a professional footballer who plays for Sunderland as a defender. Born in England, he represents Northern Ireland at international level.

Daniel Ballard
Personal information
Full name Daniel George Ballard[1]
Date of birth (1999-09-22) 22 September 1999[2]
Place of birth Stevenage, England
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Sunderland
Number 5
Youth career
0000–2019 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Arsenal 0 (0)
2019 → Swindon Town (loan) 1 (0)
2020–2021 → Blackpool (loan) 25 (2)
2021–2022 → Millwall (loan) 31 (1)
2022– Sunderland 32 (2)
International career‡
Northern Ireland U18
2018– Northern Ireland U21 4 (1)
2020– Northern Ireland 15 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:12, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:20, 10 June 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Arsenal

Born in Stevenage,[3] Ballard joined the Arsenal Academy at the age of eight. He signed his first professional contract in June 2018.[4]

Loan to Swindon Town

Ballard moved on loan from Arsenal to Swindon Town in July 2019.[5] He made his debut in a 2–0 win against Scunthorpe United in the League Two on 3 August 2019, coming off the bench in the 88th minute.[6][7] He then scored his first career goal in an EFL Trophy tie against Chelsea U21s on 6 August 2019.[8] But his loan spell was cut short after just three appearances due to a severe knee injury that required 5 months of recovery time.[9]

Loan to Blackpool

In October 2020, he moved on loan to Blackpool, signing with the club until January 2021.[10][11] Ballard made his debut in a 1–0 loss against Charlton in League One on 20 October.[12] On 5 January 2021, it was announced that the loan had been extended to the end of the season.[13] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Crewe Alexandra on 2 March 2021.[14]

Loan to Millwall

He moved on loan to Millwall on 1 July 2021.[15] He scored his first goal for the club when he scored against West Bromwich Albion on 11 September 2021 in a 1-1 draw.[16]

Sunderland

On 30 June 2022, Ballard joined newly promoted Championship club Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[17][18] On 16 September 2023, Ballard scored his first goal for Sunderland in a 3-1 win against QPR.[19]

International career

Born in England, Ballard qualifies to represent Northern Ireland as his mother was born there.[3]

He has represented Northern Ireland at Under-18 and Under-21 levels.[3][20] He was called up to the senior team for the first time in March 2019.[3][21] He made his senior debut in a 1–1 draw against Romania in a Nations League game in September 2020.[22][23]

In September 2023, Ballard was injured and ruled out of Euros qualifying matches.[24]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 24 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2019–20[25] Premier League 0000000000
2020–21[26] Premier League 0000000000
2021–22[27] Premier League 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Swindon Town (loan) 2019–20[25] League Two 1000101[lower-alpha 1]131
Blackpool (loan) 2020–21[26] League One 25220003[lower-alpha 2]0302
Millwall (loan) 2021–22[27] Championship 311002000331
Sunderland 2022–23[28] Championship 190300000220
2023–24[19] Championship 132000000132
Total 322300000352
Career total 8955030411016
  1. Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in the play-offs.

International
As of match played 26 March 2023[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Northern Ireland 202050
202171
202241
202320
Total182
Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ballard goal.[22]
List of international goals scored by Daniel Ballard
No. Date Venue Opponent Cap Score Result Competition
12 September 2021LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania Lithuania91–04–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
29 June 2022Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo Kosovo152–32–32022–23 UEFA Nations League C

References
  1. "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  2. Daniel Ballard at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  3. Gareth Hanna (12 March 2019). "Who is Daniel Ballard? Everything you need to know about the Arsenal defender called up to Northern Ireland's senior squad". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  4. "Daniel Ballard signs new professional contract". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  5. "Daniel Ballard: Arsenal loan defender to Swindon Town for the season". BBC Sport. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  6. "Scunthorpe United 0–2 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  7. "Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk – Dan BALLARD – Player Profile". www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  8. "Flashes of excellence, but Swindon Town lose to Chelsea U21s in EFL Trophy opener at the County Ground". swindonadvertiser.co.uk. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  9. "Daniel Ballard close to comeback after injury cut loan short". OneFootball. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  10. "Seasiders Sign Ballard On Loan". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  11. "Arsenal's Ballard joins Blackpool on loan". BBC Sport.
  12. "Report: Blackpool 0 Charlton Athletic 1". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  13. "Dan Ballard: Blackpool extend loan for Arsenal's Northern Ireland defender". BBC Sport. 5 January 2021.
  14. "Report: Blackpool 1 Crewe Alexandra 1". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  15. "Millwall sign Arsenal's Ballard on loan". BBC Sport.
  16. "West Brom 1-1 Millwall". BBC. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  17. "SAFC sign Daniel Ballard". safc.com. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  18. "Sunderland sign Arsenal defender Ballard". BBC Sport.
  19. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  20. "Arsenal's Daniel Ballard delivers last gasp win to keep Northern Ireland U21s' Euro hopes alive". Belfast Telegraph. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  21. "Northern Ireland squad in full: Arsenal defender Daniel Ballard earns first senior call-up". Belfast Telegraph. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  22. "Daniel Ballard". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  23. "Ballard and Gretarsson join Blackpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  24. "Ballard is latest Northern Ireland injury concern" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  25. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  26. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  27. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  28. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
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