Wikipedia

Danny Ward (Welsh footballer)

For the English player, see Danny Ward (English footballer). For other people, see Daniel Ward (disambiguation).

Daniel Ward (born 22 June 1993) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Leicester City and the Wales national team.

Danny Ward
Ward warming up for Liverpool in 2014
Personal information
Full name Daniel Ward[1]
Date of birth (1993-06-22) 22 June 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Wrexham, Wales
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 1
Youth career
2007–2011 Wrexham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Wrexham 0 (0)
2011 → Tamworth (loan) 1 (0)
2012–2018 Liverpool 2 (0)
2015 → Morecambe (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2016 → Aberdeen (loan) 21 (0)
2016–2017 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 43 (0)
2018– Leicester City 29 (0)
International career‡
2010–2011 Wales U19 5 (0)
2013–2014 Wales U21 6 (0)
2016– Wales 44 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:50, 22 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:31, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

Ward has previously played for Liverpool and Wrexham, as well as having loan spells at Tamworth, Morecambe, Aberdeen and Huddersfield Town. He was first called up to the Welsh national team in 2013 and made his debut in 2016. He was part of their squad that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016, and the last 16 of Euro 2020.

Club career

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Wrexham

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Ward was born in Wrexham.[2] He is a product of the Wrexham Academy, signing for them as a 14-year-old in 2007.[citation needed] In the 2010–11 season, Ward was briefly loaned out to fellow Conference Premier team Tamworth, making just one appearance in a league match on 12 March 2011 in a 3–2 loss against Hayes & Yeading United.[4] He returned to Wrexham for the 2011–12 season and was promoted to the first team squad but only made it as far as the bench on a handful of occasions.[citation needed]

 
Ward with Brad Jones and Péter Gulácsi in 2012

Liverpool

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On 30 January 2012, it was announced that Liverpool had signed Ward for a fee of around £100,000.[5] He was quickly promoted to the reserve team and featured in the 2011–12 NextGen Series where he played in the semi-finals.[6]

Ward got his first call-up to the Liverpool senior squad in a League Cup game against Swansea City on 31 October 2012 as an unused substitute.[7] His next senior call up wasn't until 12 January 2014 for a Premier League game against Stoke City where Ward was deputising for the injured Brad Jones.[citation needed]

In March 2015, he was loaned to League Two side, Morecambe for one month.[8][9] On 21 March 2015, he made his Football League debut in an away game against Carlisle United.[10]

By the end of the 2014–15 season, Ward had been Liverpool's substitute goalkeeper in 23 of the club's 58 games, taking his tally of squad call-ups to 25.[citation needed]

On 23 June 2015, Ward signed a new five-year contract at Liverpool, keeping him at the club until 2020.[11] A few days later, he was loaned to Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen.[12] He made his debut for Aberdeen on 2 July 2015, against FK Shkëndija in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.[13] After the game, Aberdeen informed UEFA officials that Ward had been targeted by laser beams.[14]

 
Ward after the 2018 UEFA Champions League final

On 10 January 2016, Liverpool cut short Ward's loan at Aberdeen and he returned after impressing with 13 clean sheets in all competitions for the Dons, making him a firm fan favourite.[15] On 17 April 2016, Ward made his debut for Liverpool against Bournemouth in place of Simon Mignolet, where Liverpool won 2–1. The Welshman was called into action on several occasions in the second half, denying King twice before making a great late save from Grabban's close-range header.[16][17]

On 11 July 2016, he signed a season-long loan with Championship side Huddersfield Town.[18] He made his competitive debut for the Terriers in their 2–1 win over Brentford on 6 August 2016.[19] Ward played in the play-offs for promotion, saving a total of three penalties, including the crucial fifth penalty in the final against Reading, to help Huddersfield to promotion to the Premier League.[20][21]

Leicester City

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On 20 July 2018, as the arrival of Alisson Becker relegated him to fourth choice at Liverpool, Ward completed a move to fellow Premier League side Leicester City for around £12.5 million on a four-year contract.[22][23] He made his debut on 28 August in the second round of the EFL Cup, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Fleetwood Town.[24] A month later in the next round, he saved three penalties in a shootout win at Wolverhampton Wanderers after keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw, and was praised by teammate Marc Albrighton.[25] Ward played only 14 times in his first three seasons at Leicester, and not at all in the league.[26]

On 15 May 2022, Ward made his first Premier League appearance for Leicester—and his first overall since 2016—as the Foxes beat Watford 5–1 at Vicarage Road.[27] Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said that this was because he had chosen for Kasper Schmeichel to play three of the final five games in goal, and the other two for Ward.[28]

Ward became Leicester's first-choice keeper for the 2022–23 season after Schmeichel's departure to Nice.[29][30] He was dropped in favour of teammate Daniel Iversen in March 2023 after his form was called into question.[31][32]

International career

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Ward has represented Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He was called up to the senior team for the first time for a friendly match against Finland, and was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw on 16 November 2013 at the Cardiff City Stadium.[33][34]

He made his senior debut as a half-time substitute for Wayne Hennessey in an international friendly against Northern Ireland on 24 March 2016, conceding from Craig Cathcart in a 1–1 draw at the same ground.[35] Ward was selected in Wales' 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 and was handed his first start for his country in his third cap in their opening game of the tournament, a 2–1 victory over Slovakia, after Hennessey suffered a back spasm prior to the match.[36]

Ward missed Wales' participation in the 2018 China Cup when his passport got lost in the post during his visa application, and Michael Crowe was called up in his place.[37]

In May 2021 he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[38] Having held down the starting place since Hennessey's thigh strain in November 2020, Ward played all of Wales's matches at the tournament, being knocked out in the last 16 by his Leicester teammate Kasper Schmeichel's Denmark.[26][39]

In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[40] He made his World Cup debut on 25 November 2022 against Iran when Hennessey was sent off in the 86th minute, with the game finishing 2–0 to Iran due to two late goals in stoppage time.[41]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 22 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wrexham 2010–11[42] Conference Premier 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2011–12[43] Conference Premier 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
Tamworth (loan) 2010–11[44] Conference Premier 1 0 — — — 1 0
Liverpool 2014–15[45] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015–16[46] Premier League 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2017–18[47] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
Morecambe (loan) 2014–15[45] League Two 5 0 — — — 5 0
Aberdeen (loan) 2015–16[46] Scottish Premiership 21 0 1 0 1 0 6[a] 0 29 0
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2016–17[48] Championship 43 0 0 0 1 0 2[b] 0 46 0
Leicester City 2018–19[49] Premier League 0 0 1 0 4 0 — 5 0
2019–20[50] Premier League 0 0 2 0 2 0 — 4 0
2020–21[51] Premier League 0 0 2 0 1 0 2[a] 0 5 0
2021–22[52] Premier League 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 5 0
2022–23[53] Premier League 26 0 0 0 2 0 — 28 0
2023–24[54] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2024–25[55] Premier League 2 0 0 0 3 0 — 5 0
Total 29 0 7 0 14 0 2 0 52 0
Career total 101 0 8 0 17 0 10 0 136 0
  1. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs

International

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As of match played 19 November 2024[56]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Wales 2016 3 0
2017 1 0
2018 1 0
2019 2 0
2020 3 0
2021 14 0
2022 4 0
2023 10 0
2024 6 0
Total 44 0

Honours

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Liverpool

Huddersfield Town

Leicester City

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Danny Ward". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Danny Ward". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Danny Ward season details 2010/11". Tamworth Mad. Digital Sports Group. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Liverpool sign up Wrexham keeper Danny Ward". BBC Sport. 30 January 2012. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Match Report: Liverpool Reserves 0–6 Ajax". Liverpool F.C. 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Liverpool 1–3 Swansea". BBC Sport. 31 October 2012. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Morecambe: Danny Ward and Aaron Wildig join on loan". BBC Sport. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Ward completes Morecambe switch". Liverpool F.C. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Carlisle 1–1 Morecambe". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  11. ^ Lynch, David (23 June 2015). "Danny Ward agrees new Reds deal". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 2 August 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Liverpool keeper joins The Dons". Aberdeen F.C. 26 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  13. ^ Spence, Jim (2 July 2015). "Shkendija 1–1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
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  27. ^ Blackwell, Jordan (15 May 2022). "Leicester City team news v Watford as Ward starts amid three changes". Leicestershire Live. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  28. ^ Blackwell, Jordan (15 May 2022). "Rodgers explains Ward over Schmeichel selection as 'unhealthy' wait ends". Leicestershire Live. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  29. ^ "Brendan Rodgers happy to make Danny Ward his first-choice goalkeeper". Messenger Newspapers. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  30. ^ "Big shoes to fill - an early review of Danny Ward". fosseposse.sbnation.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  31. ^ "'We have seen that Ward is not a number one at Premier League level'". BBC Sport. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  32. ^ Blackwell, Jordan (30 March 2023). "Danny Ward reacts to being dropped by Leicester City as Brendan Rodgers opts for Daniel Iversen". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
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  34. ^ Pope, Bruce (16 November 2013). "Wales 1–1 Finland". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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  37. ^ Jacob, Gary (15 March 2018). "Danny Ward out of Ryan Giggs' Wales squad after losing passport". The Times. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
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  39. ^ Watson, Chris (26 June 2021). "Leicester City fans love what happened after Schmeichel vs Ward battle at Euro 2020". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  40. ^ "The players carrying Welsh hopes at the World Cup". Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  41. ^ Pritchard, Dafydd. "Iran loss leaves Wales in danger of World Cup exit". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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  44. ^ Williams; Williams (eds.). Non-League Club Directory 2012. pp. 144–145.
  45. ^ a b "Games played by Danny Ward in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  46. ^ a b "Games played by Danny Ward in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  47. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  48. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  49. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  50. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  51. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  52. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  53. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  54. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  55. ^ "Games played by Danny Ward in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  56. ^ "Ward, Danny". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  57. ^ McNulty, Phil (18 May 2016). "Liverpool 1–3 Sevilla". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  58. ^ Woodcock, Ian (29 May 2017). "Huddersfield Town 0–0 Reading". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  59. ^ McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021). "Chelsea 0–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  60. ^ Hafez, Shamoon (7 August 2021). "Leicester City 1–0 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  61. ^ "Championship: 2023/24: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
    "Leicester: Squad details: 2023/24". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
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