Luke David Gambin (born 16 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL League Two club Sutton United. Born in England, he represents the Malta national team.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Luke David Gambin[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1993-03-16) 16 March 1993 (age 29)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Sutton, London, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Sutton United | ||
Number | 21 | ||
Youth career | |||
AFC Wimbledon | |||
2009–2011 | Barnet | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2017 | Barnet | 124 | (15) |
2011–2012 | → Hemel Hempstead Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2012 | → Hendon (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2017–2019 | Luton Town | 29 | (2) |
2018–2019 | → Crawley Town (loan) | 26 | (3) |
2019–2021 | Colchester United | 39 | (1) |
2021 | → Newport County (loan) | 11 | (1) |
2021–2022 | Ħamrun Spartans | 25 | (2) |
2022– | Sutton United | 0 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2016– | Malta | 34 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:10, 2 July 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:29, 13 June 2022 (UTC) |
Born in Sutton, London,[2] Gambin began his career in the youth system at AFC Wimbledon before moving to Barnet as an apprentice in 2009.[3][4] He made his first-team debut in a 4–0 win at home to former club AFC Wimbledon on 28 April 2012, coming on as a late substitute for Scott McGleish,[5] before signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2012.[6] Gambin made his first appearance of 2012–13 after being introduced as a 66th-minute substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Bradford City on 15 September 2012.[7] He found first-team opportunities limited, joining Isthmian League Premier Division club Hendon on loan in November 2012 and debuted as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat away to Aldershot Town in the FA Cup first round.[8][9] He completed the loan spell with three appearances.[8] Gambin broke into the Barnet first-team towards the end of the season and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 win at home to Morecambe on 9 March 2013.[7] He finished the season with two goals from 10 appearances,[7] but was unable to help Barnet prevent relegation to the Conference Premier.[10]
Gambin signed a new long-term contract with Barnet a little more than a week before the start of 2013–14.[11] He scored Barnet's first goal in a 3–0 win at home to Chester on the opening day of the season and finished 2013–14 with one goal from 25 appearances.[12] Gambin scored four goals in 26 league appearances for Barnet in 2014–15 as the club won the Conference Premier title and therefore promotion to League Two.[12] After the end of the season, Barnet took up the option to extend Gambin's contract.[13] In Barnet's first season back in the Football League, Gambin scored four goals in 49 appearances,[14] as they finished 15th in League Two.[15]
He made his first appearance of 2016–17 in the starting lineup away to Cambridge United on the opening day of the season, which finished as a 1–1 draw.[16] Barnet accepted a bid in excess of £100,000 from Leyton Orient for Gambin in August 2016, but he rejected the opportunity and instead stayed with the club.[17] His first goal of the season came on 8 October 2016 against Doncaster Rovers, when he scored a late equaliser in the 86th minute to make the score 2–2, although Barnet went on to lose 3–2.[18] After four goals from 21 appearances, Gambin was transfer listed after he rejected an offer of a new contract for the fourth time.[19]
Gambin signed for League Two club Luton Town on 16 January 2017 on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee, with the option of a further year.[4] He made his debut five days later, starting in Luton's 1–1 draw away to Wycombe Wanderers.[20] Gambin scored his first goal for Luton with the second goal in a 3–0 victory at home to Hartlepool United on 14 February.[21] He was an unused substitute in both legs of their 6–5 aggregate play-off semi-final defeat to Blackpool,[22][23] and finished 2016–17 with 17 appearances and one goal.[24]
He joined League Two club Crawley Town on 31 August 2018 on loan until the end of 2018–19.[25] Gambin was released by Luton when his contract expired at the end of the 2018–19 season.[26]
Gambin signed for League Two club Colchester United on 26 June 2019 on a two-year contract, effective from 1 July.[27] He made his club debut as a substitute for Jevani Brown in Colchester's 1–1 home draw with Port Vale on 3 August.[28] He scored his first goal for the club on 29 October 2019 in Colchester's 3–1 EFL Cup victory against his former club Crawley Town.[29][30]
He joined Colchester's divisional rivals Newport County on 20 January 2021 on loan until the end of the season.[31] His debut came three days later in a 3–2 away defeat to Oldham Athletic, in which he scored Newport's second goal.[32]
Gambin signed for Ħamrun Spartans in July 2021.[33]
On 16 July 2022, Gambin returned to England to join League Two club Sutton United having already featured in friendlies across pre-season.[34]
Gambin is of Maltese descent and joined the Malta squad for training in June 2015.[35] His application for Maltese citizenship was successful and he was called up to the national team in May 2016.[36] He debuted later that week, starting in a 6–0 friendly defeat to the Czech Republic.[37] Gambin scored his first international goal in a 2–2 draw with Slovakia in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match on 27 March 2021.[12]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Barnet | 2011–12[5] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2012–13[7] | League Two | 10 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
2013–14[12] | Conference Premier | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
2014–15[12] | Conference Premier | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 30 | 4 | ||
2015–16[14] | League Two | 44 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 49 | 4 | |
2016–17[24] | League Two | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | |
Total | 124 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 136 | 15 | ||
Hemel Hempstead Town (loan) | 2011–12[38] | Southern League Premier Division | 4 | 0 | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
Hendon (loan) | 2012–13[8] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
Luton Town | 2016–17[24] | League Two | 16 | 1 | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
2017–18[39] | League Two | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 20 | 2 | |
2018–19[40] | League One | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 3 | ||
Crawley Town (loan) | 2018–19[40] | League Two | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |
Colchester United | 2019–20[29] | League Two | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 37 | 2 |
2020–21[41] | League Two | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
Total | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 2 | ||
Newport County (loan) | 2020–21[41] | League Two | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
Ħamrun Spartans | 2021–22[12] | Maltese Premier League | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 2 | ||
Career total | 260 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 299 | 26 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Malta | |||
2016 | 6 | 0 | |
2017 | 7 | 0 | |
2018 | 4 | 0 | |
2019 | 5 | 0 | |
2020 | 6 | 0 | |
2021 | 4 | 1 | |
2022 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 35 | 1 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
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1 | 27 March 2021 | Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia | 27 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [44] |
Barnet
Luton Town
Sutton United F.C. – current squad | |
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