Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Dominic Ballard [1] | ||
Date of birth | 1 April 2005 | ||
Place of birth | Guildford, England [2] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Southampton | ||
Youth career | |||
2013–2022 | Southampton | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
2022– | Southampton | 2 | (0) |
2023–2024 | → Reading (loan) | 10 | (3) |
International career‡ | |||
2022 | England U17 | 3 | (0) |
2022– | England U18 | 3 | (3) |
2023– | England U19 | 8 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:23, 29 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:39, 24 November 2023 (UTC) |
Dominic Ballard (born 1 April 2005) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Southampton.
Ballard spent the formative years of his childhood living in Greece, before his family moved back to England in 2010 and settled in Berkshire. [3] When he was first invited to train at Southampton, Ballard and his parents would commute to the south coast a couple of times a week. [3]
Ballard signed his first professional contract with Southampton in April 2022. [4]
On 23 August 2022, in the Carabao Cup, he made his senior debut and scored his first goal for Southampton's first team in a 3–0 win at Cambridge United in the EFL Cup. [5] On 21 May 2023, Ballard made his Premier League debut in a 3–1 defeat to Brighton, replacing Joe Aribo in the 70th minute. [6]
On 27 June 2023, Ballard signed a two-year contract extension until 2026. [7]
On 1 September 2023, Ballard joined League One side Reading on a season-long loan. [8] He made his debut for the club on 16 September 2023 in a 2–1 victory against Bolton Wanderers. [9] On 19 September 2023, Ballard scored a brace during a 0–9 victory against Exeter City in the EFL Trophy. [10] [11] He scored his first league goal for the club on 3 October 2023 in a 3–1 defeat to Northampton Town. [12] During a 1–2 victory against Wycombe Wanderers on 25 November 2023, Ballard was forced off in the first half after suffering a leg injury from a fall. [13] Three days later, Head Coach Rubén Sellés confirmed that Ballard would be out for the season after snapping his patellar tendon. [14]
Having previously represented England U17s, Ballard made his U18 debut during a 1–0 win over the Netherlands in Pinatar on 21 September 2022. [15]
On 6 September 2023, Ballard made his England U19 debut during a 1–0 defeat to Germany in Oliva. [16]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Southampton U23 | 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | 3 [a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
Southampton | 2022–23 [17] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | |
2023–24 [18] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | |||
Reading (loan) | 2023–24 [18] | League One | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [a] | 2 | 12 | 5 |
Career total | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 6 |