Daniel Ballard

Daniel George Ballard (born 22 September 1999) is a professional footballer who plays for Millwall, on loan from Arsenal, 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
Club information
Current team
 Millwall
(on loan from Arsenal)
Number 26
Youth career
0000–2019 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Arsenal 0 (0)
2019 → Swindon Town (loan) 1 (0)
2020–2021 → Blackpool (loan) 25 (2)
2021– → Millwall (loan) 31 (1)
National team‡
Northern Ireland U18
2018– Northern Ireland U21 4 (1)
2020– Northern Ireland 13 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:12, 23 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:49, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Arsenal

Born in Stevenage,[3] Ballard has been at the Arsenal Academy since 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]

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][17] He was called up to the senior team for the first time in March 2019.[3][18] He made his senior debut in a 1–1 draw against Romania in a Nations League game in September 2020.[19][20]

Career statistics

Club statistics
As of 23 April 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2019–20[21] Premier League 0000000000
2020–21[22] Premier League 0000000000
2021–22[23] Premier League 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Swindon Town (loan) 2019–20[21] League Two 1000101[lower-alpha 1]131
Blackpool (loan) 2020–21[22] League One 25220003[lower-alpha 2]0302
Millwall (loan) 2021–22[23] Championship 311002000331
Career total 573203041664
  1. Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in the Play-Offs.

International statistics
As of 29 March 2022[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Northern Ireland 202050
202171
202210
Total131

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" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  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" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  16. "West Brom 1-1 Millwall". BBC. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  17. "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.
  18. "Northern Ireland squad in full: Arsenal defender Daniel Ballard earns first senior call-up". Belfast Telegraph. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  19. "Daniel Ballard". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  20. "Ballard and Gretarsson join Blackpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  21. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  22. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  23. "Games played by Daniel Ballard in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
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