Danny Whitehead

Daniel Whitehead (born 23 October 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League Two side Port Vale.

Danny Whitehead

Personal information
Full name	Daniel Whitehead[1]
Date of birth	23 October 1993[2]
Place of birth	Trafford, England[2]
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.79 m)[3]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Port Vale
Number	18
Youth career
2008–2011	Stockport County
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2013	Stockport County	59	(6)
2013–2015	West Ham United	0	(0)
2015	Accrington Stanley	2	(0)
2015–2016	Macclesfield Town	24	(4)
2016–2017	Wigan Athletic	0	(0)
2016–2017	→ Macclesfield Town (loan)	12	(2)
2016–2017	→ Cheltenham Town (loan)	6	(0)
2017	→ Macclesfield Town (loan)	9	(1)
2017–2018	Macclesfield Town	35	(6)
2018–2020	Salford City	50	(5)
2020	→ Macclesfield Town (loan)	10	(0)
2020–	Port Vale	10	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 9 January 2021 (UTC)

He began his career at Stockport County, making his first-team debut during the 2011–12 season. He was sold to West Ham United in June 2013 and featured in one FA Cup game before his contract was terminated in January 2015. He had a brief spell at Accrington Stanley two months later, before joining Macclesfield Town in July 2015. He was sold on to Wigan Athletic in January 2016, though returned to Macclesfield on loan for the rest of the 2015–16 season. He spent the first half of the 2016–17 season on loan at Cheltenham Town and ended the season back on loan at Macclesfield Town, for whom he was an unused substitute in the 2017 FA Trophy final.

His contract at Wigan was terminated in September 2017 and he went on to rejoin Macclesfield Town on a permanent basis. He was a key player as the club won promotion back to the English Football League after finishing top of the National League table in the 2017–18 season. He signed with Salford City in May 2018 and helped the club to win promotion out of the National League via the play-offs in 2019. He returned to Macclesfield Town for a third loan spell at the club in January 2020 and joined Port Vale on a free transfer in August 2020.

Career

Stockport County

Whitehead joined Stockport County at the age of 15.[4] At the age of 17 he sat on the bench in five games at the end of the 2010–11 season as the club were relegated out of the Football League.[3] He made his senior debut for the "Hatters" on 27 September 2011, coming on as a 75h-minute substitute for Michael Paton in a 4–2 defeat to Fleetwood Town at Edgeley Park.[5] He scored his first career goal on 6 October, in a 2–2 draw at Cambridge United.[6] He ended the 2011–12 season with 18 appearances to his name, as Stockport posted a 16th-place finish in the Conference Premier, and he signed a new contract in the summer.[7] He was a key player for manager Jim Gannon in the 2012–13 campaign, scoring six goals in 45 appearances as County dropped into the Conference North with a second relegation in three years. He then handed in a transfer request to new manager Ian Bogie.[8]

West Ham United

He was recommended to Premier League club West Ham United by former Stockport boss Dietmar Hamann and was signed for an undisclosed fee on 20 June 2013 after impressing "Hammers" manager Sam Allardyce whilst on trial; he signed a two-year contract with the option of a third year.[9][10] He made his first-team debut on 5 January 2014 at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup; West Ham lost the game 5–0.[11] This was his only appearance for West Ham and he left the Boleyn Ground when his contract was terminated on 28 January 2015 as part of a "massive cull of the development squad" by Terry Westley.[12][13]

Accrington Stanley

On 17 March 2015, Whitehead signed a short-term contract with League Two side Accrington Stanley.[14] He made his debut for Stanley later that day, coming on for Sean Maguire 75 minutes into a 2–2 draw at Wycombe Wanderers.[15] He made his first start in the Football League on 25 April, in a 4–0 defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge.[16] These were his only two appearances during his time at the Crown Ground and he was not retained by manager John Coleman at the end of the 2014–15 season.[17]

Macclesfield Town

On 31 July 2015, Whitehead signed a one-year deal with National League club Macclesfield Town after a successful trial period.[18] He scored his first goal for the club on 29 August, the opening goal of a 2–1 defeat to Chester, latching on to a cross from Danny Rowe to smash a shot from the edge of the area into the bottom right corner of the net.[19] Paul Turnbull picked up an injury early the next month, which gave Whitehead establish himself in the first team with a run of 18 successive starts.[4]

Wigan Athletic

On 8 January 2016, Whitehead signed a two-and-a-half-year-deal with League One side Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee; "Latics" boss Gary Caldwell cited the player's potential, saying "every club is on the lookout for fresh talent".[20] He was immediately loaned back to Macclesfield for the remainder of the 2015–16 season and scored seven goals from 41 appearances as Macclesfield posted a tenth place finish in the National League.

On 22 July 2016, he joined League Two club Cheltenham Town on a season-long loan after manager Gary Johnson saw him as a player who "will fit our game perfectly".[21] He started the "Robins" opening game of the 2016–17 season, a 1–1 draw with Leyton Orient at Whaddon Road.[22] However he was dropped to the bench at the end of the month and his loan spell was terminated on 1 January after he went nearly two months without playing a game.[23]

Return to Macclesfield

On 20 January 2017, he rejoined former side Macclesfield Town on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season.[24] He played ten games for Macclesfield, scoring two goals, including the only goal of the third round FA Trophy game with Forest Green Rovers.[25] Macclesfield went on to reach the 2017 FA Trophy final, though Whitehead was an unused substitute at Wembley Stadium as his teammates were beaten 3–2 by York City.[26]

On 14 September 2017, his contract at Wigan was mutually terminated and he rejoined Macclesfield Town on a contract until the end of the 2017–18 season.[27][28] He scored seven goals in 38 games, helping Macclesfield to win promotion back into the Football League as champions of the National League. He was offered a new contract in the summer.[29]

Salford City

On 17 May 2018, he joined Salford City; "Ammies" manager Graham Alexander that "Whitehead had a fantastic season last year at this level, scored some important goals but his overall play, he was one of the best players at this level so we were delighted to get him on board".[30][31] He made his debut in the opening match of the 2018–19 season on 4 August as Salford drew 1–1 with Leyton Orient at Moor Lane.[32] He scored four goals from 44 appearances throughout the campaign and played in the National League play-off final as Salford secured a place in the EFL with a 3–0 victory over AFC Fylde at Wembley.[33]

He scored his first goal in League Two on 24 August 2019, converting a penalty as Salford drew 2–2 at Carlisle United.[34] On 21 January 2020, he rejoined Macclesfield Town for a fourth spell, on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.[35] He featured ten times, helping Mark Kennedy's "Silkmen" to avoid relegation despite having had 13 points deducted.

Port Vale

On 3 August 2020, Whitehead cancelled the last year of his contract with Salford and signed a two-year deal with League Two rivals Port Vale.[36] The move reunited him with former Macclesfield boss John Askey, who brought Whitehead in to compete with Luke Joyce, Manny Oyeleke, Scott Burgess and Tom Conlon for one of three places in central midfield.[37] He failed to make much on an impact early in the 2020–21 season having struggled with injuries and poor form.[38]

Style of play

Whitehead is an energetic, versatile and hard working midfielder.[39][40]

Career statistics

As of match played 12 January 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stockport County	2010–11[41]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2011–12[3]	Conference Premier	17	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	18	1
	2012–13[3]	Conference Premier	42	5	2	1	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	45	6
	Stockport County total		59	6	3	1	0	0	1	0	63	7
West Ham United	2013–14[42]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2014–15[43]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	West Ham United total		0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Accrington Stanley	2014–15[43]	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Macclesfield Town	2015–16[3]	National League	24	4	2	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	1	27	5
Wigan Athletic	2015–16[44]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17[45]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2017–18[46]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Wigan Athletic total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Macclesfield Town (loan)	2015–16[3]	National League	12	2	0	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	14	2
Cheltenham Town (loan)	2016–17[45]	League Two	6	0	1	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	10	0
Macclesfield Town (loan)	2016–17[3]	National League	9	1	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	1	10	2
Macclesfield Town	2017–18[3]	National League	35	6	2	1	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	38	7
Salford City	2018–19[3]	National League	38	4	3	1	0	0	3[lower-alpha 3]	0	44	4
	2019–20[47]	League Two	12	1	1	0	1	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	17	1
	Salford City total		50	5	4	1	1	0	6	0	61	6
Macclesfield Town (loan)	2019–20[47]	League Two	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	Macclesfield Town total		90	13	4	1	0	0	5	1	99	16
Port Vale	2020–21[48]	League Two	10	0	0	0	2	1	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	15	1
Career total			217	24	13	3	4	1	17	2	251	30

1. Appearance in the FA Trophy
2. Appearance in the EFL Trophy
3. 1 appearance in the FA Trophy and 2 appearances in the play-offs

Honours

Macclesfield Town

• FA Trophy runner-up: 2017[3]
• National League: 2017–18[3]

Salford City

• National League play-offs: 2019[33]

References

1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 4 February 2014. p. 35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2020/2021". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
3. Danny Whitehead at Soccerway
4. "A Macclesfield fan's view of Danny Whitehead". LOS THREE AMIGOS. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
5. "Stockport 2-4 Fleetwood". BBC Sport. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
6. "Cambridge 2-2 Stockport". BBC Sport. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
7. "Jim Gannon already eager to get season started". Manchester Evening News. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
8. Browne, Gavin (19 June 2013). "Stockport's Ian Bogie: We want those who want to stay here". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
9. "West Ham sign Danny Whitehead after Didi Hamann call". BBC Sport. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
10. Davies, Matt (21 June 2013). "'Big step up' for Stockport County youngster: West Ham sign midfielder Danny Whitehead". mancunianmatters.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
11. Sanghera, Mandeep (5 January 2014). "Nottingham Forest 5-0 West Ham United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
12. Ralph, Vincent (28 January 2015). "Confirmed: Daniel Whitehead terminates West Ham contract with immediate effect". HITC. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
13. Whetstone, Sean (28 January 2015). "Massive Dev Squad clear-out on the way". Claretandhugh. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
14. "Accrington snap up Whitehead". Sky Sports. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
15. "Wycombe 2-2 Accrington Stanley". BBC Sport. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
16. "Dagenham & Redbridge 4-0 Accrington Stanley". BBC Sport. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
17. "Accrington Stanley: Five players exit but 10 offered new deals". BBC Sport. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
18. "Danny Whitehead Signs For Macclesfield". Macclesfield Town F.C. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
19. "Macclesfield 1–2 Chester". BBC Sport. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
20. "Danny Whitehead: Wigan Athletic sign Macclesfield Town midfielder". BBC Sport. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
21. "Danny Whitehead: Cheltenham Town loan Wigan Athletic midfielder". BBC Sport. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
22. "Cheltenham Town 1-1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
23. "Diego De Girolamo and Emmanuel Onariase: Cheltenham Town sign duo on loan". BBC Sport. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
24. "Danny Whitehead: Macclesfield Town re-sign Wigan midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
25. "Macclesfield Town vs. Forest Green Rovers - 4 February 2017 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
26. "FA Trophy final - Macclesfield Town v York City". BBC Sport. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
27. "Danny Whitehead Rejoins Macclesfield Town". Wigan Athletic FC. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
28. "Danny Whitehead: Macclesfield Town sign ex-Wigan Athletic midfielder". BBC Sport. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
29. "Macclesfield Town offer Nathan Blissett and Callum Evans deals and release six". BBC Sport. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
30. "Danny Whitehead Agrees Terms With Salford City FC". Salford City FC. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
31. ""I'll throw myself into it!" says Alexander". Salford City Football Club. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
32. "Salford City 1–1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
33. Rindl, Josef (11 May 2019). "AFC Fylde 0–3 Salford City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
34. "Carlisle United 2-2 Salford City". BBC Sport. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
35. "Macclesfield sign Derby's Jonathan Mitchell and Salford's Danny Whitehead". BBC Sport. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
36. "Danny Whitehead: Port Vale sign former Salford City midfielder". 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
37. Baggaley, Michael (3 August 2020). "Port Vale sign midfielder Danny Whitehead". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
38. Fielding, Rob (29 November 2020). "Five thoughts after Port Vale's poor loss to Leyton Orient". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
39. Watson, Chris (3 August 2020). "Who is Port Vale new signing Danny Whitehead?". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
40. Baggaley, Michael (4 August 2020). "Versatility and winning mentality - John Askey on Port Vale's Danny Whitehead". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
41. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
42. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
43. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
44. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
45. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
46. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
47. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
48. "Games played by Daniel Whitehead in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 January 2016.