William Luke Patching (born 18 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Luke Patching[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 October 1998[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Stockport, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Derry City | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2018 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Notts County | 6 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Dundalk | 23 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Derry City (loan) | 16 | (6) |
| 2022– | Derry City | 84 | (23) |
| International career | |||
| 2013–2014 | England U16 | 7 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | England U17 | 16 | (1) |
| 2015 | England U18 | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:43, 29 June 2024 (UTC) | |||
He joined Notts County from the Manchester City Academy in July 2018. He was released by County in August 2019, and joined Irish club Dundalk in November 2019.
A former youth team player with England up until under-18 level, participating at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Club career
editNotts County
editBorn in Stockport, Patching joined the Academy at Manchester City at the age of six.[4] He signed a two-year contract with Notts County on 1 July 2018.[5] "Magpies" manager Kevin Nolan said that "when we spoke to a couple of people at Man City they were surprised Will had been released".[6] Patching had rejected a transfer move to Derby County only six months previously.[7] He picked up an injury in pre-season.[8] He made his professional debut on 14 August, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Noor Husin in a 3–3 draw at Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup; County lost the subsequent shoot-out despite him converting his penalty.[9] He made his first start at Meadow Lane on 9 October, in a 2–0 defeat to Newcastle United U21s in the EFL Trophy.[10] He made a total of ten appearances during the 2018–19 campaign as County were relegated out of the English Football League with a 23rd-place finish in League Two. On 12 August 2019, manager Neal Ardley stated that Patching could go out on loan to gain experience and match fitness,[11] but Patching left the club by mutual consent two days later.[12]
Dundalk
editHe began training with Port Vale in August 2019,[3] but was subsequently signed by League of Ireland Premier Division team Dundalk in November 2019 ahead of the 2020 season.[13]
On 22 February 2021 it was announced that Patching had joined fellow League of Ireland Premier Division side Derry City initially on loan until July 2021, with the option to buy.[14]
Upon his return to Dundalk, he scored in both legs to help defeat Newtown A.F.C. and FCI Levadia Tallinn in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round.[15]
Derry City
editOn 22 November 2021, it was announced that Patching had signed a two-year contract with Derry City following the expiry of his contract at Dundalk, from the 2022 season.[16]
International career
editPatching was selected by head coach Neil Dewsnip for England's under-17 squad for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, and came on as a substitute in the group stage draws with Guinea and South Korea.[17][18]
Style of play
editPort Vale assistant manager Dave Kevan described Patching as a "very promising young player" who was a very "creative" midfielder, "very comfortable in possession, [who] likes to join the front man and get forward".[3]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played on 14 September 2024
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Notts County | 2018–19[19] | EFL League Two | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Dundalk | 2020[2] | League of Ireland Premier Division | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2021[2] | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 3 | — | 25 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 23 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |||
| Derry City (loan) | 2021[2] | League of Ireland Premier Division | 16 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 6 | ||||
| Derry City | 2022[2] | League of Ireland Premier Division | 33 | 10 | 3 | 1 | — | 2[d] | 0 | — | 38 | 11 | ||
| 2023[2] | 29 | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | 6[d] | 2 | 1[e] | 1 | 38 | 11 | |||
| 2024[2] | 27 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 105 | 29 | 8 | 2 | — | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 124 | 34 | |||
| Career total | 134 | 28 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 168 | 37 | ||
- ^ Includes FA Cup & FAI Cup
- ^ Includes EFL Cup & League of Ireland Cup
- ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
- ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearances in President of Ireland's Cup
References
edit- ^ "Premier League clubs publish released lists". Premier League. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Will Patching at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ a b c Baggaley, Michael (23 August 2019). "Former Manchester City and Notts County midfielder training with Port Vale". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Porter, Alex (4 September 2015). "Introducing... Will Patching". mancity.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Will Patching: Notts County to sign Man City midfielder on 1 July". BBC Sport. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ Brennan, Stuart (3 July 2018). "Man City's release of England starlet 'a surprise' to academy staff". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Curtis, Leigh (5 June 2018). "How a twist of fate and help from Michael Owen led to Patching's move to Notts". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Davies, Matt (21 November 2018). "Patching pushing to become a first-team regular at Notts County". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Carabao Cup: Middlesbrough beat Notts County on penalties after 3-3 draw". BBC Sport. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Leasing.Com Trophy (Sky Sports)". SkySports. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Curtis, Leigh (12 August 2019). "Notts County to allow trio to leave the club on loan". nottinghampost.
- ^ "Patching leaves Notts County • West Bridgford Wire". West Bridgford Wire. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Dempsey, Andrew (20 November 2019). "Dundalk snap up former Manchester City youngster Will Patching". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ Barr, Ethan (22 February 2021). "City Sign Will Patching On Loan". Derry City Football Club.
- ^ Fallon, John (29 July 2021). "Vinny Perth 'proud' as Will Patching fires Dundalk to Euro win in Tallinn". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "Midfielder Will Patching makes move from Dundalk to Derry City". independent.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 - Matches - England - Guinea". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 - Matches - Korea Republic - England". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Games played by Will Patching in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 May 2019.