William Anthony Patrick Smallbone (born 21 February 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Championship club Stoke City on loan from Premier League club Southampton. Born in England, Smallbone represents the Republic of Ireland internationally.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | William Anthony Patrick Smallbone[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2000-02-21) 21 February 2000 (age 22)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Basingstoke, England[3] | ||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[4] | ||
Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team |
Stoke City (on loan from Southampton) | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2019 | Southampton | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019– | Southampton | 16 | (0) |
2022– | → Stoke City (loan) | 19 | (1) |
National team‡ | |||
2017 | Republic of Ireland U18 | 1 | (0) |
2018–2019 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 5 | (2) |
2020–2022 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 8 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:52, 12 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:54, 27 September 2022 (UTC) |
On 21 February 2017, Smallbone signed a professional contract with Southampton.[5] Smallbone made his professional debut for Southampton in a 2–0 FA Cup victory over Huddersfield Town on 4 January 2020, scoring the opening goal.[6]
On 22 February 2020, Smallbone went on to make his Premier League debut in a 2–0 victory over Aston Villa.[7]
Having just started to appear regularly for the first team, on 16 January 2021, Smallbone suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a 2–0 defeat at Leicester. As a result, he was expected to be out of action for up to six months.[8]
On 26 October 2021, Smallbone made his first professional appearance since his injury, replacing Stuart Armstrong in Southampton’s defeat to Chelsea after a penalty shootout in the EFL Cup.[9]
On 23 July 2022, Smallbone joined Stoke City on a season-long loan.[10] He scored his first goal for Stoke in a 2-0 win at Preston North End on 15 October 2022.[11]
Smallbone made his debut for Republic of Ireland U21s against Italy U21s in October 2020.[12] On 3 June 2022, he scored his first goals for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, scoring a brace in a 3–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 at Tallaght Stadium.[13] He followed that up by scoring a volley from outside the box three days later, to open the scoring in an eventual 3–1 win over Montenegro U21.[14][15] In November 2022, Smallbone was included in Stephen Kenny's senior squad for forthcoming friendlies.
Smallbone was diagnosed with alopecia in 2021 whilst recovering from his ACL injury.[16][17]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Southampton U21 | 2016–17[18] | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
2017–18[19] | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
2018–19[20] | — | — | — | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
2019–20[21] | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
2021–22[22] | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
Total | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||||
Southampton | 2019–20[21] | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | |
2020–21[23] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
2021–22[22] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
Total | 16 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | |||
Stoke City (loan) | 2022–23[24] | Championship | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | |
Career total | 35 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 47 | 2 |
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Stoke City F.C. – current squad | |
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