Daniel_Ballard
Daniel Ballard
Northern Irish footballer
Daniel George Ballard (born 22 September 1999) is a professional footballer who plays for Sunderland as a centre back. Born in England, he represents Northern Ireland at international level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel George Ballard[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-09-22) 22 September 1999 (age 24)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Stevenage, England | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back[3] | ||
| 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 | 61 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Northern Ireland U18 | |||
| 2018– | Northern Ireland U21 | 4 | (1) |
| 2020– | Northern Ireland | 17 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:44, 5 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:45, 17 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
Arsenal
Born in Stevenage,[4] Ballard joined the Arsenal Academy at the age of eight. He signed his first professional contract in June 2018.[5]
Loan to Swindon Town
Ballard moved on loan from Arsenal to Swindon Town in July 2019.[6] 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.[7][8] He then scored his first career goal in an EFL Trophy tie against Chelsea U21s on 6 August 2019.[9] But his loan spell was cut short after just three appearances due to a severe knee injury that required 5 months of recovery time.[10]
Loan to Blackpool
In October 2020, he moved on loan to Blackpool, signing with the club until January 2021.[11][12] Ballard made his debut in a 1–0 loss against Charlton in League One on 20 October.[13] On 5 January 2021, it was announced that the loan had been extended to the end of the season.[14] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Crewe Alexandra on 2 March 2021.[15]
Loan to Millwall
He moved on loan to Millwall on 1 July 2021.[16] He scored his first goal for the club when he scored against West Bromwich Albion on 11 September 2021 in a 1–1 draw.[17]
Sunderland
On 30 June 2022, Ballard joined newly promoted Championship club Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[18][19] On 16 September 2023, Ballard scored his first goal for Sunderland in a 3–1 win against QPR.[20]
Born in England, Ballard qualifies to represent Northern Ireland as his mother was born there.[4]
He has represented Northern Ireland at Under-18 and Under-21 levels.[4][21] He was called up to the senior team for the first time in March 2019.[4][22] He made his senior debut in a 1–1 draw against Romania in a Nations League game in September 2020.[23][24]
In September 2023, Ballard was injured and ruled out of Euros qualifying matches.[25]
Club
- As of match played 4 May 2024
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2019–20[26] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020–21[27] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[28] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Swindon Town (loan) | 2019–20[26] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Blackpool (loan) | 2020–21[27] | League One | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| Millwall (loan) | 2021–22[28] | Championship | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 33 | 1 | |
| Sunderland | 2022–23[29] | Championship | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2023–24[20] | Championship | 42 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 43 | 3 | ||
| Total | 61 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 118 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 131 | 7 | ||
- Appearance in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in League One play-offs
International
- As of match played 26 March 2024[23]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2020 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 2 |
- Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ballard goal.[23]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Cap | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 September 2021 | LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 9 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 9 June 2022 | Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo |  Kosovo | 15 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
- "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- Daniel Ballard at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- Daniel Ballard at WorldFootball.net
- 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.
- "Daniel Ballard signs new professional contract". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Daniel Ballard: Arsenal loan defender to Swindon Town for the season". BBC Sport. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "Scunthorpe United 0–2 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk – Dan BALLARD – Player Profile". www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "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.
- "Daniel Ballard close to comeback after injury cut loan short". OneFootball. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Seasiders Sign Ballard On Loan". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Arsenal's Ballard joins Blackpool on loan". BBC Sport.
- "Report: Blackpool 0 Charlton Athletic 1". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Dan Ballard: Blackpool extend loan for Arsenal's Northern Ireland defender". BBC Sport. 5 January 2021.
- "Report: Blackpool 1 Crewe Alexandra 1". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Millwall sign Arsenal's Ballard on loan". BBC Sport.
- "West Brom 1-1 Millwall". BBC. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- "SAFC sign Daniel Ballard". safc.com. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- "Sunderland sign Arsenal defender Ballard". BBC Sport.
- "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- "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.
- "Northern Ireland squad in full: Arsenal defender Daniel Ballard earns first senior call-up". Belfast Telegraph. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "Daniel Ballard". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- "Ballard and Gretarsson join Blackpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Ballard is latest Northern Ireland injury concern" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 December 2022.