Antwoine Hackford (born 20 March 2004) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a striker for

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...

, on loan from

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

Club career

Born in

Arbourthorne Park & Arbourthorne ward—which includes the districts of Arbourthorne, Gleadless, and Norfolk Park—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southeastern part of the city and covers an are ...

, Hackford began his career at

, joining the club at the age of 9, and taking part in the first team's pre-season preparations ahead of the 2020–21 season. He became a scholar that year, and was included in ''The Guardians 'Next Generation 2020' list of the best young players at Premier League clubs. He made his senior debut for the club on 2 January 2021, appearing as an 80th-minute substitute for Ben Osborn in a 2–0 away league defeat by

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

. At the age of 16 years and 288 days, he became their youngest ever Premier League player. Sheffield United manager

Chris Wilder Christopher John Wilder (born 23 September 1967) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a right-back. He was most recently the manager of club Middlesbrough ...

said he was "delighted" for Hackford. He turned professional in June 2021. In December 2021, he moved

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

side

on a one-month loan, going straight into the squad for the fixture against

Curzon Ashton Curzon Ashton Football Club is an association football club based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1963 and nicknamed "The Nash", the club is affiliated to the Manchester Football Association and currently compete ...

where he scored on his debut in a 2–1 win.

International career

Hackford has represented England at under-15 and under-16 levels.

Career statistics

References

2004 births Living people English footballers Sheffield United F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Premier League players National League (English football) players Association football forwards Black British sportspeople England youth international footballers Footballers from Sheffield {{England-footy-forward-2000s-stub