Marcus Dinanga

Dinanga graduated from the Burton Albion academy, signing his first professional contract with the club ahead of the 2016–17 season.[3][4] Having previously spent time on a work-experience loan at Mickleover Sports in February 2016,[5] he joined Matlock Town of the Northern Premier League in August 2016 on an initial one-month loan deal.[5] He scored his first goal for Matlock in the club's 3–1 victory over Sutton Coldfield Town on 23 August 2016.[5] Dinanga scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win against Stourbridge on 10 September 2016.[5] After scoring five goals within the space of a month, the loan agreement was extended until 2 January 2017.[5] He continued to represent Burton's reserve team during his time on loan at Matlock, playing in reserve matches, as well as in the Birmingham Senior Cup.[3] Having scored 18 goals in all competitions for Matlock, the loan deal was extended for the remainder of the 2016–17 season.[3] He went on to score 34 goals in all competitions for the club during the loan spell.[6] Dinanga was also named in the Northern Premier League Team of the Year at the end-of-season awards ceremony.[7]

He returned to Burton and, having scored five goals for the first team in pre-season ahead of the 2017–18 season,[4] signed a one-year contract extension on 31 July 2017.[4] Dinanga joined National League North club AFC Telford United on a season-long loan deal on 14 August 2017.[8] He had featured for AFC Telford in a pre-season friendly against Shrewsbury Town prior to signing the agreement, impressing manager Rob Edwards enough to earn the loan deal.[8] On the same day as his signing was announced, Dinanga made his Telford debut in the club's 1–0 away defeat to Curzon Ashton.[2][9] He scored the winning goal in the club's next match; a 1–0 away victory at Darlington on 19 August 2017.[2][10] Dinanga ended the season as the club's top goalscorer, scoring 25 goals in all competitions.[11][12] With his contract at Burton set to expire, the club took up the option to extend it for a further year on 4 May 2018.[12] Dinanga was loaned out again, this time making another step up in division, joining National League club Hartlepool United on a season-long loan on 18 July 2018.[6] He made 19 appearances, of which five were as a starter, during the first half of the 2018–19 season, without scoring any goals.[2]

With Dinanga's game-time at Hartlepool limited to mainly substitute appearances,[2] Burton manager Nigel Clough stated he would talk to the player about what he wanted to do for the second half of the season.[13] Dinanga's loan agreement with Hartlepool was subsequently cut short in December 2018.[14] He signed an 18-month contract to rejoin AFC Telford United, this time on a permanent basis, on 4 January 2019.[15] Telford manager Gavin Cowan stated the club had secured his signing ahead of a number of other teams.[15] The agreement was made just in time to ensure he was eligible to play the following day,[15] making his second debut for the club in a 2–1 victory against Spennymoor Town.[2][16] He scored twice in 15 appearances, of which eight were as a substitute, during the remainder of the 2018–19 season.[2] Dinanga scored five goals during the first half of the 2019–20 season,[2] including scoring a second-half hat-trick in a 3–2 comeback victory away at Darlington on 30 November 2019.[2][17] He ended the season by scoring seven goals in his last eight games, stating he had benefited from the service from wingers Ryan Barnett and Brendon Daniels.[2][18] Dinanga scored twelve goals in 31 appearances during the season.[2]

Following a successful trial period, Dinanga signed for League Two club Stevenage on 21 August 2020.[19] He scored on his debut for Stevenage in the club's 2–1 EFL Trophy victory over Southampton U21s on 22 September 2020.[20] After making nine appearances for Stevenage during the first half of the 2020–21 season,[21]

Dinanga joined National League club Chesterfield on 5 January 2021, signing a loan agreement for the remainder of the season.[22] He made his debut for Chesterfield on the same day as his signing was announced, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute in a 2–1 away defeat to Solihull Moors.[23] Dinanga scored once in 12 appearances during his time on loan at Chesterfield.[21]

Dinanga joined National League club Altrincham for an undisclosed fee on 10 June 2021.[24][25] He debuted for Altrincham in the club's first match of the 2021–22 season, scoring the opening goal of the game in a 3–1 away victory against Torquay United.[26]

On 24 December 2021, Dinanga joined National League North side Kidderminster Harriers on loan for roughly five weeks.[27]

On 1 February 2022, Dinanga joined National League South side Dartford on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[28] After scoring three goals in four matches, Dinanga was awarded the league's Player of the Month award for February 2022.[29]

On 4 February 2023, Dinanga signed for fellow National League club Gateshead for an undisclosed fee on an eighteen-month contract.[30]

A stellar start to the 2023–24 season saw Dinanga awarded the National League Player of the Month award for September 2023 having scored eight goals across the month.[31]