Joe Hardy (footballer) – Wikipedia

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English footballer

Joseph Keith Hardy (born 26 September 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Marine as a forward, on loan from EFL League One club Accrington Stanley.

Hardy is a graduate of the Manchester City academy and began his professional career with the U23 teams at Brentford and Liverpool.

Manchester City[edit]

A forward or right winger, Hardy began his career with Tranmere Rovers at age eight and moved to the academy at Premier League club Manchester City at the age of 13.[4][5] He progressed through the ranks and made his U18 team debut while still an U16 and signed a two-year scholarship deal at the end of the 2014–15 season.[6] Hardy scored 11 goals in 20 U18 appearances during the 2015–16 season and had a spell on loan at the Stoke City academy.[7][8] He showed prolific form during the 2016–17 season,[7] scoring 12 goals in 11 starts, before departing the Etihad Campus in March 2017.[9]

Brentford[edit]

On 14 March 2017, Hardy joined the B team at Championship club Brentford on a three-year contract.[9] Over the course of the following 2+1⁄2 years, he scored 40 goals in 80 appearances and was voted the 2018–19 Brentford B Players’ Player of the Year.[10][11] Hardy gave a man of the match performance and scored two goals in Brentford B’s 4–0 2019 Middlesex Senior Cup Final victory over Harrow Borough on 16 April 2019.[12] He was frozen out of the B team during the first half of the 2019–20 season and departed the club in January 2020.[10]

Liverpool[edit]

After an attempt to sign him during the 2019 summer transfer window had failed,[5] Hardy transferred to the U23 team at Premier League club Liverpool in January 2020.[10] He signed a contract running until the end of the 2019–20 season for an undisclosed fee.[10][13] On 4 February, Hardy made his professional debut as a substitute for Liam Millar after 82 minutes of a 1–0 FA Cup fourth round replay win over Shrewsbury Town.[14] He signed a one-year contract extension in June 2020,[15] but missed the 2020–21 pre-season through injury.[16] After returning to fitness,[17] Hardy was included in Liverpool’s 25-man 2020–21 Premier League squad as a home grown player,[18] though he did not win a call into a matchday squad during the season.[19] After making five appearances and scoring one goal for the U23 and EFL Trophy squads, he was sidelined for 2+1⁄2 months with an ankle ligament injury sustained during a Premier League 2 match versus Southampton U23 on 21 November 2020.[19][20] Hardy finished the 2020–21 U23 season with 6 goals in 12 appearances and was released when his contract expired.[19][21]

Accrington Stanley[edit]

On 8 July 2021, Hardy signed a two-year contract with League One club Accrington Stanley on a free transfer.[22] He suffered a calf injury in pre-season, which required surgery and he returned to full training in late November.[23][24] On 27 January 2022, Hardy joined Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[25] In a season which concluded with defeat in the Scottish Premiership playoff Final,[26] Hardy made 18 appearances and scored his first senior goal, in a 4–0 win over Hamilton Academical on 29 April 2022.[27]

Hardy was again absent from the matchday squad throughout the 2022–23 season and on 17 March 2023,[19] he joined Northern Premier League Premier Division club Marine on loan until the end of the campaign.[28]

Personal life[edit]

Hardy attended St Winefride’s Catholic Primary School in Neston and St. Anselm’s College in Birkenhead.[5][29]

Career statistics[edit]

As of match played 1 April 2023

Honours[edit]

Brentford B

Individual

References[edit]

External links[edit]