Dominic Ballard (born 1 April 2005) is an English professional footballer who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, on loan from club Southampton.

Early life

Ballard spent the formative years of his childhood living in Greece, before his family moved back to England in 2010 and settled in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. 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.

Club career

Southampton

Ballard signed his first professional contract with Southampton in April 2022. On 23 August 2022, he made his senior debut and scored his first goal for Southampton's first team in a 3–0 victory against Cambridge United in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. On 21 May 2023, Ballard made his Premier League debut in a 3–1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, replacing Joe Aribo in the 70th minute. On 27 June 2023, Ballard signed a two-year contract extension until 2026.

Reading (loan)

On 1 September 2023, Ballard joined League One side Reading on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 16 September 2023 in a 2–1 victory against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. On 19 September 2023, Ballard scored a

brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...

during a 0–9 victory against Exeter City in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

. He scored his first league goal for the club on 3 October 2023 in a 3–1 defeat to Northampton Town. 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. Three days later, head coach

Rubén Sellés Rubén Sellés Salvador (born 15 June 1983) is a Spanish professional football manager who is the head coach of League One club Reading. Sellés has also managed Southampton in the Premier League and the Valencia Under-18 team. With coac ...

confirmed that Ballard would be out for the season after snapping his patellar tendon.

Blackpool (loan)

On 13 August 2024, Ballard joined League One side

on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 17 August 2024 in a 3–0 home defeat against Stockport County after he replaced

Ashley Fletcher Ashley Michael Fletcher (born 2 October 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Wigan Athletic on loan from Watford. Fletcher began his professional career at Manchester United, having previo ...

in the 72nd minute. On 24 August 2024, Ballard scored his first goal for the club in a 4–4 draw with Cambridge United. He suffered a shoulder injury during a 2–0 victory against Huddersfield Town on 24 September 2024, with head coach

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...

later confirming Ballard was expected to be sidelined for several weeks.

International career

Having previously represented England U17s, Ballard made his U18 debut during a 1–0 win over the Netherlands in Pinatar on 21 September 2022. On 6 September 2023, Ballard made his England U19 debut during a 1–0 defeat to Germany in Oliva. On 6 September 2023, Ballard made a goalscoring England U20 debut during a 1–1 draw away to Turkey.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Dom 2005 births Living people English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Southampton F.C. players Reading F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Footballers from Guildford