Ryan Sweeney (footballer)

Ryan Sweeney

Personal information
Full name	Ryan Joseph Sweeney[1]
Date of birth	15 April 1997
Place of birth	Kingston upon Thames, England
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Stoke City
Number	56
Youth career
2005–2015	AFC Wimbledon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	AFC Wimbledon	13	(0)
2016–	Stoke City	0	(0)
National team^‡
2015–	Republic of Ireland U18	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:19, 7 May 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:38, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

Ryan Joseph Sweeney (born 15 April 1997) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Stoke City.

Early life

Sweeney was born in Kingston upon Thames and attended Richard Challoner School in New Malden where he was captain of the school football team.^[2][3]

Playing career

AFC Wimbledon

Sweeney began his career with his local club AFC Wimbledon, joining their youth academy at the age of eight in 2005.^[4] Sweeney signed his first professional contract with AFC Wimbledon in February 2015.^[5] Sweeney made his Football league début for AFC Wimbledon on 6 April 2015, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute during the 4–0 away loss against Dagenham and Redbridge.^[6] He started Wimbledon's next match on 11 April 2015, a 0–0 draw against Oxford United at Kingsmeadow, and was named man of the match.^[7]

Sweeney began the 2015–16 season with the club's under-21 side before injury to Karleigh Osborne saw Neal Ardley give Sweeney his chance in defence against Luton Town on 13 February 2016.^[8] Wimbledon won the match 4–1 and Sweeney earned praise for his performance.^[9] He kept his place in the side until he was sent-off for conceding a penalty in a 2–1 defeat at Morecambe on 12 March 2016.^[10] Sweeney signed a new contract with Wimbledon in March 2016 after attracting interest from Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.^[11] On 4 August 2016 Wimbledon announced that they had agreed a fee with Stoke City for the transfer of Sweeney.^[12][13]

Stoke City

On 5 August 2016, Sweeney completed his move to Stoke City for an undisclosed fee, understood to be in the region of £250,000.^[14]

International career

On 18 May 2015 Sweeney was called up to the Ireland U-18s squad for the first time.^[15]

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2016

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
AFC Wimbledon	2014–15[16]	League Two	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2015–16[17]	League Two	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	Total		13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Career total			13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0

References

1. "Ryan Sweeney". Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
2. "Richard Challoner boys bag football trophy". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
3. "Challoner's goals just keep flying in". Your Local Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
4. Chris Slavin (2 December 2014). "A rise through the ranks". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
5. "Duo awarded pro deals". BBC Sport. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
6. "Dag & Red 4–0 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
7. "Wimbledon 0–0 Oxford Utd". AFC Wimbledon. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
8. "AFC Wimbledon 4-1 Luton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
9. "AFC Wimbledon 4-1 Luton". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
10. "Morecambe 2-1 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
11. "Ryan Sweeney signs new AFC Wimbledon contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
12. "Update on Ryan Sweeney". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
13. "Sweeney Agreement Reached". Stoke City. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
14. "Ryan Sweeney: Stoke City sign AFC Wimbledon defender". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
15. "Ardley thrilled as AFC Wimbledon youngster earns Republic of Ireland call". Get West London. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
16. "Games played by Ryan Sweeney in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
17. "Games played by Ryan Sweeney in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 August 2016.

External links

• Ryan Sweeney career statistics at Soccerbase
  
• Ryan Sweeney profile at Soccerway