Conor Masterson
 Masterson in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Conor Ciaran Masterson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 September 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Celbridge, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gillingham | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Lucan United | ||
| 2014–2018 | Liverpool | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2023 | Queens Park Rangers | 17 | (1) |
| 2021 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Gillingham (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Gillingham (loan) | 20 | (2) |
| 2023– | Gillingham | 37 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 2014–2015 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 11 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 13 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:20, 2 April 2024 (UTC) | |||
Conor Ciaran Masterson (born 8 September 1998) is an Irish footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL League Two club Gillingham.
Club career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Originally from Celbridge, County Kildare, in Ireland,[2] Masterson played for Lucan United before joining Liverpool on his 16th birthday for a reported fee of €1m after being spotted playing for a Dublin & District Schoolboys League select team in 2012.[3][4]
He made his U18s debut in 2014–15. Masterson went on to captain the under-18s and was an unused sub for Liverpool in their FA Cup tie at Exeter City in January 2016.[5] He moved to the U23s squad ahead of the 2017–18 season.[6]
He was named on the bench for Liverpool's UEFA Champions League 3–0 quarter final victory against Manchester City on 4 April 2018.[7][8] He was named in Liverpool's Premier League squad for the match against Everton on 7 April 2018 and was included on the substitutes' bench.[9]
Masterson was released by Liverpool at the end of the 2018–19 season.[10]
Queens Park Rangers
[edit]On 3 July 2019, Masterson signed a two-year deal with Queens Park Rangers.[11][12] On 5 January 2020, he made his debut for the club in an FA Cup third round 5–1 defeat of Swansea City.[13] On 18 July 2020, Masterson scored his first senior goal when he opened the scoring in an eventual 4–3 victory over Millwall.[14]
On 19 January 2021, Masterson joined League One side Swindon Town on loan until the end of the 2020-21 season[15] On 21 August 2021, Masterson joined another League One side, Cambridge United, on loan until January 2022.[16] Masterson was named in the starting line-up on the same day as the U's faced Burton Albion. On 4 January 2022, Masterson returned to QPR.[17] On 28 January 2022, Masterson joined a third League One club, Gillingham, on loan until 30 April 2022.[18] He again joined Gillingham on loan in January 2023.[19]
Gillingham
[edit]After Queens Park Rangers opted not to renew his contract at the end of the 2022–23 season, Masterson signed a permanent contract with Gillingham to take effect on 1 July.[20] He was named as the Kent side's Player of the Year for the 2023–24 season.[21]
International
[edit]On 6 March 2014, Masterson made his debut for Republic of Ireland Under-17s in a 2–1 friendly win over Austria at Dalymount Park.[4][22] At the 25th Annual FAI International Football Awards Masterson was named as the Under-16 International Player of the Year for 2014.[23]
Masterson graduated to the Under-19 side on 10 October 2015 as an unused substitute in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ukraine, before making his debut in a 1–2 loss against the same side two days later.[4]
He was first called up to the Under-21 side in March 2019 ahead of a European Championships qualifier against Luxembourg, going on to play the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 victory.[24][25]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 9 February 2024[26]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 2019–20[27] | Championship | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |
| 2020–21[28] | Championship | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| Swindon Town (loan) | 2020–21[28] | League One | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Cambridge United (loan) | 2021–22[28] | League One | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Gillingham (loan) | 2021–22 | League One | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Gillingham (loan) | 2022–23 | League Two | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Gillingham | 2023–24 | League Two | 27 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 5 |
| Career total | 103 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 119 | 9 | ||
Honours
[edit]Individual
- FAI Under-16 International Player of the Year: 2014[23]
- Gillingham Player of the Season: 2023–24[21]
References
[edit]- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "Liverpool bench role for Ireland's Conor Masterson next step in steady rise". Irish Independent. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
[Though he played] at Lucan where his father, Ciarán, was a coach [..] Masterson [..] actually grew up across the Kildare border in Celbridge
- ^ Ste McGovern. "Who Is Conor Masterson? The Irish Starlet Who Could Make His Champions League Debut Tonight". Balls.ie. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Donaghy, Gerard (5 September 2017). "All you need to know about Conor Masterson, the Irish youngster in Liverpool's Champions League squad". The Irish Post. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "Liverpool youngster Conor Masterson could be named on the bench against Man City". Liverpool Echo. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ "Liverpool FC". liverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ "Champions League: Liverpool v Manchester City & Barcelona v Roma - Live - BBC Sport". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ "Watch: Jurgen Klopp reveals the ultra-confident reaction of Ireland's Conor Masterson to his Champions League bench role". Independent.ie. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Reddy, Melissa (7 April 2018). "#LFC starting XI v #EFC: Karius, Clyne, Lovren, Van Dijk, Klavan, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Milner, Mane, Ings, Solanke \ Subs: Mignolet, Masterson, Moreno, Alexander-Arnold, Jones, Ox, Firmino \ Clyne's first start of the season. First squad involvement for Curtis Jones, 17".
- ^ Shaw, Chris (7 June 2019). "Liverpool confirm Premier League retained list". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Conor Masterson signs for QPR". QPR. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Conor Masterson: QPR sign defender after Liverpool exit". BBC Sport. 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Queens Park Rangers 5–1 Swansea City". BBC Sport. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Queens Park Rangers 4–3 Millwall". BBC Sport. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "CONOR MASTERSON SIGNS ON LOAN FROM QPR". www.swindontownfc.co.uk. 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Cambridge United sign QPR centre-back on loan until January". BBC Sport. 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Cambridge United defender Conor Masterson returns to QPR after loan spell ends". Cambridge News. 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Gills sign Conor Masterson on loan". Gillingham FC. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Conor Masterson returns on loan". Gillingham FC. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ "Conor Masterson signs permanent Gills deal". Gillingham FC. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Conor Masterson voted Player of the Year". Gillingham FC. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ Barrow, Pete (6 March 2014). "Huddersfield Town academy player Danny Kane impresses in international win". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ a b "John O'Shea named Ireland player of the year". RTÉ. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "Parrott and Masterson named in Ireland U-21 squad". RTÉ. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "History: Republic of Ireland-Luxembourg | Under-21 2021". UEFA.com. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland - C. Masterson - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
- ^ "Conor Masterson | Football Stats | Queen's Park Rangers | Season 2019/2020 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "Conor Masterson | Football Stats | Queen's Park Rangers | Season 2020/2021 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
External links
[edit]- Conor Masterson at Gillingham F.C. website
- Conor Masterson at Premier League
- Football Association Ireland profile
- Conor Masterson – UEFA competition record (archive)
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
- Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers
- Association footballers from Dublin (city)
- Men's association football central defenders
- Liverpool F.C. players
- Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
- Swindon Town F.C. players
- Cambridge United F.C. players
- Gillingham F.C. players
- English Football League players
- Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers
- 21st-century Irish sportsmen