| Tom Bradshaw | |
| Fullname: | Thomas William Bradshaw[1] |
| Birth Date: | 27 July 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Shrewsbury, England |
| Position: | Striker |
| Currentclub: | Millwall |
| Clubnumber: | 9 |
| Youthyears1: | 2004–2008 |
| Youthclubs1: | Aberystwyth Town |
| Years1: | 2008–2009 |
| Caps1: | 9 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2009–2014 |
| Caps2: | 89 |
| Goals2: | 17 |
| Years3: | 2014–2016 |
| Caps3: | 70 |
| Goals3: | 34 |
| Years4: | 2016–2019 |
| Caps4: | 85 |
| Goals4: | 18 |
| Years5: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs5: | → Millwall (loan) |
| Caps5: | 10 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2019– |
| Caps6: | 175 |
| Goals6: | 43 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2010–2011 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 2 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2011–2013 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2016– |
| Nationalcaps3: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 23:06, 20 August 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 08:55, 12 October 2023 (UTC) |
Thomas William Bradshaw (born 27 July 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Millwall and the Wales national team.
Bradshaw started his career at Aberystwyth Town and was signed by Shrewsbury Town in May 2009 (Aberystwyth later received a retrospective fee of £30,000 under the FIFA training compensation scheme).[2] [3] He made his debut in a League Two match against Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road on 10 April 2010, replacing Jamie Cureton for the final 15 minutes and scoring two goals in a 3–0 win.[4] At the end of the 2009–10 season he signed a two-year professional contract.[5]
Despite scoring six goals in the 2010–11 season, Bradshaw found first team opportunities more limited in 2011–12, making only 8 appearances and scoring once against Accrington Stanley.
Bradshaw was handed the number nine shirt for the 2012–13 campaign, in which he made 22 appearances, mostly as a substitute, but failed to score. He signed a contract extension of an undisclosed length on 23 May 2013[6] and scored his first senior goal for nearly two years in a 2–0 home win over Swindon Town on 17 August.[7]
On 23 June 2014, Bradshaw signed a two-year contract with League One side Walsall for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £50,000, following the relegation of Shrewsbury Town to League Two.[8] [9] He scored his first goal for the Saddlers on his debut for the club on 9 August 2014 against Port Vale in a 1–1 away draw.[10] Bradshaw injured his hamstring in a 1–1 draw with Bristol City on 4 October 2014,[11] which sidelined him for most of the month.[12] He also scored a last–minute equaliser in a 2–2 draw against his former side Shrewsbury in the FA Cup first round on 8 November 2014.[13] Bradshaw enjoyed a prolific start to the season and scored his tenth goal of the campaign in all competitions in a 3–1 win against Barnsley on 13 December 2014.[14]
Bradshaw scored Walsall's second goal in their 2–0 victory over Preston North End in the first leg of the Football League Trophy Northern area final on 7 January 2015.[15] He started in the final on 22 March, Walsall's first match at Wembley Stadium, a 0–2 defeat to Bristol City.[16] On 24 June, he extended his contract until the end of the 2016–17 season.[17]
Bradshaw scored his first career hat-trick on 11 August 2015 in a 4–3 win at Championship side Nottingham Forest in the first round of the League Cup, finishing with an added-time penalty.[18]
After making his international debut for Wales, and Walsall subsequently losing to Barnsley in the League One play-off semi-final, Bradshaw requested to be placed on the transfer list in July 2016.[19]
After his transfer request was accepted by the Saddlers, Bradshaw joined newly promoted Championship club Barnsley for an undisclosed fee on 14 July.[20] He scored his first goal for the Reds in a 4–0 win against Rotherham United on 27 August 2016.[21] He scored eight times in his first season and in 2017–18 he was the club's top scorer with 12 goals, as they were relegated.[22] On 7 April 2018, he scored a later winner in a 3–2 win over South Yorkshire rivals at Sheffield United at Oakwell; it was only his club's second win in 14 games.[23]
On 23 August 2018, Bradshaw joined Millwall initially on loan until January, when the deal became permanent. He signed a "long-term contract" of undisclosed length, and the fee broke Millwall's record of £800,000 paid for Paul Goddard in 1989.[24] His season ended in November after ten goalless appearances, with a knee ligament injury against Brentford.[25]
Bradshaw scored his first goal for the Lions on 13 August 2019 in an EFL Cup first-round game away to West Bromwich Albion, equalising in a 2–1 win.[26] Eleven days later he recorded a first league goal with his first touch after coming on, to earn a 1–1 draw at Middlesbrough.[27] In October, he scored five goals across four consecutive games, ending with both of a draw with Cardiff City at The New Den.[28] He won the Championship Player of the Month award for February 2023 after scoring five goals.[29]
Born in Shrewsbury, England, Bradshaw grew up in Tywyn, Wales,[30] and attended Ysgol Penglais School in Aberystwyth.[31] Therefore he was eligible to represent Wales or England internationally.
Bradshaw was called up to the Wales under−19 squad for the first time in September 2010,[32] scoring on his debut during a 2–0 win over Liechtenstein.[33] He scored again in a 3–3 draw with Turkey on 20 October 2010.[34] He was called into the Wales under−21 squad in September 2011 for the away game with Montenegro, scoring on his debut.
Bradshaw was capped eight times for the Wales U−21 squad, making his last appearance as a substitute against Moldova U−21s on 10 September 2013.[35] He opted to withdraw from the squad when called up a month later in order to remain available for first-team duties with Shrewsbury Town.[36] This effectively ended his international youth career, with under−21s manager Geraint Williams indicating he would not select him again, although Bradshaw was in any case in his last few months of eligibility for the under−21 squad.[37]
A year later, Bradshaw was put on the standby list for the senior Wales national football team for the Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Cyprus in October 2014, but had to withdraw due to picking up a hamstring injury in a match against Bristol City for new club Walsall.[38] On 4 November 2015 he was called up to the senior squad for a friendly against the Netherlands,[39] and was an unused substitute in a 3–2 defeat.[40] He made his debut the following 28 March, replacing Tom Lawrence for the final 17 minutes of a 1–0 friendly loss to Ukraine in Kyiv.[41] Bradshaw was in Wales manager Chris Coleman's preliminate squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 finals tournament, but he withdrew due to a calf injury.[42]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Shrewsbury Town | 2009–10 | League Two | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | |
| 2010–11 | League Two | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | League Two | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | League One | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | League One | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 7 | ||
| Total | 89 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 98 | 17 | |||
| Walsall | 2014–15 | League One | 29 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 20 | |
| 2015–16 | League One | 41 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 20 | ||
| Total | 70 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 86 | 40 | |||
| Barnsley | 2016–17 | Championship | 42 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 45 | 8 | ||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 39 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | — | 43 | 12 | |||
| 2018–19 | League One | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 85 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 21 | |||
| Millwall (loan) | 2018–19 | Championship | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Millwall | 2019–20 | Championship | 45 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 48 | 10 | ||
| 2020–21 | Championship | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| 2021–22 | Championship | 24 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 28 | 9 | |||
| 2022–23 | Championship | 41 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 43 | 17 | |||
| 2023–24 | Championship | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 4 | |||
| Total | 183 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | — | 198 | 44 | ||||
| Career total | 427 | 111 | 15 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 475 | 122 | |||
Walsall
Wales
Individual
February 2023[29]