Harry Darling

Harry Darling
Personal information
Full name Harry Jack Darling
Date of birth 8 August 1999
Place of birth Cambridge, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Swansea City
Number 6
Youth career
2011–2012 Cambridge United
0000–2015 Newmarket Town
2015–2016 Cambridge United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2021 Cambridge United 55 (2)
2017 → Bishop's Stortford (loan) 2 (0)
2017 → Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) 2 (0)
2017 → Royston Town (loan) 8 (0)
2018 → East Thurrock United (loan) 5 (0)
2021–2022 Milton Keynes Dons 64 (7)
2022– Swansea City 57 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:31, 20 January 2024 (UTC)

Harry Jack Darling (born 8 August 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Swansea City.

Career

Cambridge United

Darling joined Cambridge United at the age of 12, but left a year later. After being spotted again playing for Newmarket Town's youth team, he rejoined the club in 2015. Darling joined the first team for pre-season ahead of the 2016–17 campaign. On 8 November 2016, he made his debut in a 2–0 EFL Trophy defeat to Scunthorpe United.

He signed his first professional contract with the club in October 2016. On 8 August 2017, Darling started in a 4–1 EFL Cup defeat at Bristol Rovers. He made his full league debut for the club on 13 January 2018 in a 0–0 draw against Mansfield Town. On 17 August 2019, he scored his first professional goal, an 86th-minute winner against Colchester United.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 22 January 2021, Darling joined EFL League One club Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed fee, and made his debut four days later in a 0–1 home defeat to Charlton Athletic. Despite only being with the club since the January transfer window, he was named MK Dons' Young Player of the Year for the 2020–21 season having made just 21 appearances.

On 31 August 2021, whilst captaining the side, Darling scored his first goal for the club, on his 100th start as a professional, in a 2–1 EFL Trophy group stage win away over Burton Albion. He scored his first league goal on 27 November 2021, in a 4–0 away win over Morecambe.

After an impressive first full season at the club in which he scored 10 goals in all competitions from centre-back, Darling was named in both the EFL League One Team of the Season and PFA Team of the Year for 2021–22 alongside teammate Scott Twine.

Swansea City

On 18 June 2022, Darling signed for EFL Championship club Swansea City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reuniting with former coach Russell Martin.

Career statistics

As of 13 January 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cambridge United 2016–17 League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
2017–18 League Two 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 5 0
2018–19 League Two 12 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 17 0
2019–20 League Two 24 2 1 0 2 0 3 0 30 2
2020–21 League Two 16 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 20 1
Total 55 2 1 0 4 0 13 1 73 3
Bishops Stortford (loan) 2016–17 National League South 2 0 — — — 2 0
Hampton & Richmond (loan) 2017–18 National League North 2 0 — — — 2 0
Royston Town (loan) 2017–18 Southern Premier 8 0 — — 2 1 10 1
East Thurrock United (loan) 2017–18 National League North 5 0 — — — 5 0
Milton Keynes Dons 2020–21 League One 23 0 — — 0 0 23 0
2021–22 League One 41 7 2 2 1 0 5 1 49 10
Total 64 7 2 2 1 0 5 1 72 10
Swansea City 2022–23 Championship 31 4 1 0 1 0 — 33 4
2023–24 Championship 25 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 27 3
Total 56 7 1 0 3 0 0 0 60 7
Career total 192 16 4 2 8 0 20 3 224 21
  1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy.
  2. Two appearances and a goal in FA Trophy, one appearance in Southern League Cup.
  3. Three appearances and a goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in 2021–22 EFL League One play-offs.

Honours

Cambridge United

Individual