Joseph Keith Hardy (born 26 September 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays for EFL League One club Accrington Stanley as a forward. He is a graduate of the Manchester City academy and began his professional career with Brentford and Liverpool.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Keith Hardy[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-09-26) 26 September 1998 (age 24) | ||
| Place of birth | Wirral, England[2] | ||
| Height | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward, right winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Accrington Stanley | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–2012 | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| 2012–2017 | Manchester City | ||
| 2016 | → Stoke City (loan) | ||
| 2017–2020 | Brentford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
| 2021– | Accrington Stanley | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:44, 4 July 2022 (UTC) | |||
A forward or right winger, Hardy began his career with Tranmere Rovers at age eight and moved to the academy at Premier League club Manchester City at the age of 13.[4][5] He progressed through the ranks and made his U18 team debut while still an U16 and signed a two-year scholarship deal at the end of the 2014–15 season.[6] Hardy scored 11 goals in 20 U18 appearances during the 2015–16 season and had a spell on loan at the Stoke City academy.[7][8] He showed prolific form during the 2016–17 season,[7] scoring 12 goals in 11 starts, before departing the Etihad Campus in March 2017.[9]
On 14 March 2017, Hardy joined the B team at Championship club Brentford on a three-year contract.[9] Over the course of the following 2+1⁄2 years, he scored 40 goals in 80 appearances and was voted the 2018–19 Brentford B Players' Player of the Year.[10][11] Hardy gave a man of the match performance and scored two goals in Brentford B's 4–0 2019 Middlesex Senior Cup Final victory over Harrow Borough on 16 April 2019.[12] He was frozen out of the B team during the first half of the 2019–20 season and departed the club in January 2020.[10]
After an attempt to sign him during the 2019 summer transfer window had failed,[5] Hardy transferred to the U23 team at Premier League club Liverpool in January 2020.[10] He signed a contract running until the end of the 2019–20 season for an undisclosed fee.[10][13] On 4 February, Hardy made his professional debut as a substitute for Liam Millar after 82 minutes of a 1–0 FA Cup fourth round replay win over Shrewsbury Town.[14] He signed a one-year contract extension in June 2020,[15] but missed the 2020–21 pre-season through injury.[16] After returning to fitness,[17] Hardy was included in Liverpool's 25-man 2020–21 Premier League squad as a home grown player,[18] though he did not win a call into a matchday squad during the season.[19] After making five appearances and scoring one goal for the U23 and EFL Trophy squads, he was sidelined for 2+1⁄2 months with an ankle ligament injury sustained during a Premier League 2 match versus Southampton U23 on 21 November 2020.[19][20] Hardy finished the 2020–21 U23 season with 6 goals in 12 appearances and was released when his contract expired.[19][21]
On 8 July 2021, Hardy signed a two-year contract with League One club Accrington Stanley on a free transfer.[22] He suffered a calf injury in pre-season, which required surgery and he returned to full training in late November.[23][24] In January 2022, Hardy departed the club on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[25]
On 27 January 2022, Hardy joined Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[25] In a season which concluded with defeat in the Scottish Premiership playoff Final,[26] Hardy made 18 appearances and scored his first senior goal, in a 4–0 win over Hamilton Academical on 29 April 2022.[27]
Hardy attended St Winefride's Catholic Primary School in Neston and St. Anselm's College in Birkenhead.[5][28]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2019–20[14] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Liverpool U21 | 2020–21[29] | — | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Accrington Stanley | 2022–23[27] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan) | 2021–22[30] | Scottish Championship | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 6[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 18 | 1 | |||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
Brentford B
Individual
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Accrington Stanley F.C. – current squad | |
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