Gavin Whyte

Gavin Whyte (born 31 January 1996) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and winger for Hull City on loan from Cardiff City and the Northern Ireland national team.

Gavin Whyte

Whyte with Northern Ireland national team in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	31 January 1996
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1]
Position(s)	Winger / Forward
Club information
Current team	Hull City (on loan from Cardiff City)
Number	23
Youth career
2009–2014	Crusaders
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2018	Crusaders	132	(43)
2018–2019	Oxford United	36	(7)
2019–	Cardiff City	31	(0)
2021–	→ Hull City (loan)	4	(1)
National team^‡
2015–2018	Northern Ireland U21	7	(0)
2018–	Northern Ireland	10	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:32, 26 January 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:28, 4 September 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Crusaders

Whyte's Crusaders team won three league titles in four years between 2015 and 2018 and he attracted interest from Scotland and England, most notably in trials with Premier League side Everton and Scottish side Celtic during the summer of 2016.[2]

Whyte received the Player of the Round after his performance in the Scottish Challenge Cup quarter-finals in a game against defending champions Dundee United, when he netted an injury-time winner to send Crusaders into the semi-finals against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[3][4]

During the 2017–18 season he scored 23 goals in 20 games,[5] winning his third NIFL Premiership league title[6] and also the County Antrim Shield[7] with Crusaders, and was voted the Ulster Footballer of the Year award for 2017–18[8] and also the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Player of the Year award for 2017–18.[9]

Oxford United

On 13 July 2018, Oxford United announced the signing of Whyte on a three-year deal, for an undisclosed transfer fee.[10][11] He made his debut as an 82nd-minute substitute in Oxford's opening league match of the season, a 4–0 away defeat at Barnsley.[12] His first start, and first goal, came in the first round of the EFL Cup against Coventry City ten days later; Whyte scored the second goal in a 2–0 win for Oxford.[13] His first league goal followed in the next game, when he scored the opener in a 2–3 home defeat to Accrington Stanley.[14] On 22 April 2019, Whyte scored his first hat-trick for the club, in a 2–3 away win against Shrewsbury Town. By the end of his first and only season with Oxford, he had scored 9 times in 47 appearances (7 of them in League One matches).[15]

Cardiff City

On 30 July 2019, Whyte signed for Championship club Cardiff City for an undisclosed seven-figure fee.[16] He made his debut on the opening day of the 2019–20 season as a substitute in place of Josh Murphy during a 3–2 defeat to Wigan Athletic.[17]

Hull City (loan)

Whyte joined League One club Hull City on a six-month loan deal on 14 January 2021.[18] He made his debut on 16 January 2021 in a 1–1 draw at home to Blackpool.[19] The following match on 19 January 2021, he scored in the 3–0 home win against Accrington Stanley.[20]

Controversy

Whyte was spoken to by police, and publicly apologised, in January 2019 after filmed footage appeared of him exposing his genitals in the street during an evening out with friends in Belfast.[21]

International career

On 14 March 2018, after impressing for Crusaders, Whyte was called up the Northern Ireland U21 squad by Manager Ian Baraclough for matches against Spain U21s and Iceland U21s in the European Under-21 Championships qualifying group stage fixtures.[22] He impressed on 26 March 2018, as Northern Ireland U21 played out a goalless draw with Iceland.[23]

On 16 May 2018, after impressing at club level and for the U21s, Whyte was named in Northern Ireland's squad ahead of friendlies against Panama and Costa Rica.[24]

On 11 September 2018 Whyte scored on his Northern Ireland senior debut, scoring after 108 seconds in a 3–0 win against Israel at Windsor Park.[25]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 January 2021.

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
Crusaders	2013–14[15]	NIFL Premiership	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2014–15[15]	NIFL Premiership	34	9	2	1	1	0	0	0	37	10
	2015–16[15]	NIFL Premiership	27	3	3	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	31	3
	2016–17[15]	NIFL Premiership	34	10	1	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	37	10
	2017–18[15]	NIFL Premiership	36	21	1	1	2	1	5[lower-alpha 3]	1	44	24
	Total		132	43	7	2	3	1	8	1	150	47
Oxford United	2018–19[15]	League One	36	7	4	0	3	2	4[lower-alpha 4]	0	47	9
Cardiff City	2019–20[15]	Championship	24	0	4	1	1	0	1[lower-alpha 5]	0	30	1
	2020–21[15]	Championship	7	0	0	0	0	0	–		7	0
	Total		31	0	4	1	1	0	1	0	37	1
Hull City	2020–21[15]	League One	4	1	0	0	0	0	–		4	1
Career total			203	51	15	3	7	3	13	1	238	58

1. Appearance(s) in NIFL Charity Shield
2. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one in NIFL Charity Shield
3. Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, three appearances and one goal in Scottish Challenge Cup
4. Appearances in EFL Trophy
5. Appearances in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 16 November 2019[26]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	2018	4	1
	2019	5	0
	2020	1	1
Total		10	2

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	11 September 2018	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Israel	3–0	3–0	Friendly
2.	4 September 2020	Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania	Romania	1–1	1–1	2020–21 UEFA Nations League B

References

1. "Gavin Whyte". Cardiff City F.C. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
2. O'Keeffe, Greg (18 May 2015). "Everton trialist Gavin Whyte extra determined after Finch Farm spell". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
3. "Dundee United 1–2 Crusaders". BBC Sport. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
4. Chalk, Paul (14 November 2017). "It's Inverness Caley Jags v Crusaders in Irn-Bru Cup semis". Inverness Courier. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
5. "Games played by Gavin Whyte in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
6. "Irish Premiership: Crusaders are crowned champions". BBC Sport. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018. Crusaders' title triumph was their third in four seasons and the seventh in the Seaview club's history.
7. Jackson, Lyle (23 January 2018). "County Antrim Shield final: Ballymena United 2-4 Crusaders". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
8. "Gavin Whyte: Winger named Ulster Footballer of the Year". BBC Sport. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
9. Hanna, Gareth (7 May 2018). "Gavin Whyte scoops Player of the Year double at NI Football Awards". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
10. Edwards, Mark (13 July 2018). "Oxford United sign winger Gavin Whyte for undisclosed fee". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
11. "Gavin Whyte: Oxford United sign Crusaders winger for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
12. "Barnsley 4 Oxford United 0". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
13. Pritchard, David (14 August 2018). "Oxford United 2 (Browne 39, Whyte 50), Coventry City 0". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
14. "Oxford United 2 Accrington Stanley 3". BBC Sport. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
15. "G. Whyte: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
16. "Done Deal Gavin Whyte joins the Bluebirds". Cardiff City F.C. 30 July 2019. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
17. "Wigan Athletic 3–2 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
18. "Gavin Whyte Arrives On Loan". Hull City. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
19. "Hull City 1-1 Blackpool Town". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
20. "Hull City 3–0 Accrington Stanley". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
21. "Gavin Whyte apologises over lewd act video". BBC Sport. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
22. "Bailey Peacock-Farrell continues magnificent March with international call-up". Leeds Live. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
23. "Whyte impresses again but Northern Ireland U21s draw a blank against Iceland". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
24. "Northern Ireland Announce Squad of Central America". Belfast Live. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
25. Petrie, Richard (11 September 2018). "Northern Ireland 3 Israel 0". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
26. "Whyte, Gavin". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 24 September 2016.

External links

• Gavin Whyte at Soccerway
• Gavin Whyte at Soccerbase