| Reece Staunton | |
| Fullname: | Reece Joseph Staunton[1] |
| Birth Date: | 10 December 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Bradford, England |
| Position: | Defender, defensive midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Spennymoor Town |
| Clubnumber: | 3 |
| Youthclubs1: | Bradford City |
| Years1: | 2017–2022 |
| Clubs1: | Bradford City |
| Caps1: | 10 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 2019 |
| Clubs2: | → Ossett United (loan) |
| Caps2: | 3 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs3: | → Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) |
| Years4: | 2021 |
| Clubs4: | → Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) |
| Caps4: | 4 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs5: | Bradford (Park Avenue) |
| Caps5: | 35 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2023– |
| Clubs6: | Spennymoor Town |
| Caps6: | 41 |
| Goals6: | 2 |
| Nationalteam1: | Republic of Ireland U18 |
| Club-Update: | 12:49, 21 April 2024 (UTC) |
Reece Joseph Staunton (born 10 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for Spennymoor Town.
Born in England, he represents Ireland at youth international level.
Staunton attended Bradford Academy.[2]
He made his senior debut for Bradford City on 7 November 2017, at the age of 15 years 332 days, becoming the club's youngest ever player.[3] [4] [5] He signed a two-year academy scholarship with the club in September 2017, having first joined at under-12 level.[6]
He made his first appearance of the 2018–19 season in a 4–1 home defeat in the EFL Trophy on 9 October 2018. He was praised by manager David Hopkin for his performance in the match.[7]
In August 2019 he moved on loan to Ossett United.[8] He returned to Bradford City on 23 September 2019.[9] He made his first City appearance of the 2019–20 season a few days later, in the EFL Trophy.[10]
In November 2019 he moved on loan to Bradford (Park Avenue).[11] The loan was extended in December 2019 for a further month, with Park Avenue manager Mark Bower praising Staunton.[12] Later that month he turned professional with Bradford City, signing a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season.[13] On 8 January 2020 the loan deal was ended early.[14]
At the end of the 2019–20 season he was praised by new City manager Stuart McCall, who said Staunton was one of potentially four youngsters who would join the first-team for the 2020–21 season.[15] Staunton was praised by club captain Richard O'Donnell after an impressive performance on the opening day of the 2020–21 season.[16] In September 2020 he signed a new four-year contract with the club.[17] Later that month he suffered an ankle injury,[18] missing matches before being back in first-team contention towards the end of October.[19]
In November 2020 he was one of a number of young Bradford City players playing in the first team who were praised by manager Stuart McCall.[20] Later that month Staunton spoke about how his first-team run was improving his skills.[2] On 30 November he was ruled out for 3 months due following a hamstring injury sustained in a match the week before.[21] By March 2021 he was still continuing his recovery from the injury.[22]
In July 2021, ahead of the start of the 2021–22 season, Staunton's teammate Niall Canavan told him to remain positive as he continued his rehabilitation from injury.[23]
He was made available for loan to National League clubs in September 2021.[24] He moved on loan to Bradford (Park Avenue) in November 2021.[25] After returning from his loan in late 2021, he was made available for loan again in January 2022.[26] The next month, following the departure of club captain and fellow defender Canavan, Staunton was challenged by manager Derek Adams to "push forward" and challenge for a first-team spot.[27]
In August 2022 he moved to Bradford (Park Avenue) for an undisclosed transfer fee, his third spell with the club.[28]
On 8 June 2023, Staunton signed for National League North side Spennymoor Town.[29] At the end of the 2023–24 season, he won the Supporters' Player and Players' Player of the Year awards.[30]
In November 2018 he was called up by the Republic of Ireland under-18 team,[31] having first been involved with the national team set-up since the previous year.[32]
Speaking in May 2020, Bradford City manager Stuart McCall described Staunton by saying "he's adaptable because he can play left back, left centre half in a three and can sit in front of the back four. He's got a really good passing range".[15]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Bradford City | 2017–18 | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | League Two | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |||
| Ossett United (loan) | 2019–20[33] | Northern Premier League Division One North West | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) | 2021–22 | National League North | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Career total | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 1 | |||
Individual