Daniel Ward (born 22 June 1993) is a Welsh 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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and the Wales national team. Ward has previously played for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, as well as having

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

spells at Tamworth, Morecambe,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

. He was first called up to the Welsh national team in 2013 and made his debut in 2016. He was part of their squad that reached the semi-finals of

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

, and the last 16 of

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Club career

Wrexham

Ward was born in

. He is a product of the

Academy, signing for them as a 14-year-old in 2007. In the 2010–11 season, Ward was briefly loaned out to fellow

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...

team Tamworth, making just one appearance in a league match on 12 March 2011 in a 3–2 loss against Hayes & Yeading United. He returned to Wrexham for the 2011–12 season and was promoted to the first team squad but only made it as far as the bench on a handful of occasions. Danny Ward, Brad Jones, Peter Gulacsi

Liverpool

On 30 January 2012, it was announced that

had signed Ward for a fee of around £100,000. He was quickly promoted to the reserve team and featured in the 2011–12 NextGen Series where he played in the semi-finals. Ward got his first call-up to the Liverpool senior squad in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

game against Swansea City on 31 October 2012 as an unused substitute. His next senior call up wasn't until 12 January 2014 for a

game against Stoke City where Ward was deputising for the injured Brad Jones. In March 2015, he was loaned to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side, Morecambe for one month. On 21 March 2015, he made his Football League debut in an away game against Carlisle United. By the end of the 2014–15 season, Ward had been Liverpool's substitute goalkeeper in 23 of the club's 58 games, taking his tally of squad call-ups to 25. On 23 June 2015, Ward signed a new five-year contract at Liverpool, keeping him at the club until 2020. A few days later, he was loaned to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

club

. He made his debut for Aberdeen on 2 July 2015, against

FK Shkëndija FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place ...

in the first qualifying round of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

. After the game, Aberdeen informed

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

officials that Ward had been targeted by laser beams. LFC players after the 2018-UCL final (cropped2)

On 10 January 2016, Liverpool cut short Ward's loan at Aberdeen and he returned after impressing with 13 clean sheets in all competitions for the Dons, making him a firm fan favourite. On 17 April 2016, Ward made his debut for Liverpool against Bournemouth in place of Simon Mignolet, where Liverpool won 2–1. The Welshman was called into action on several occasions in the second half, denying King twice before making a great late save from Grabban's close-range header. On 11 July 2016, he signed a season-long loan with Football League Championship side

. He made his competitive debut for the Terriers in their 2–1 win over Brentford on 6 August 2016. Ward played in the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for promotion, saving a total of three penalties, including the crucial fifth penalty in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against Reading, to help Huddersfield to promotion to the

Leicester City

On 20 July 2018, as the arrival of

Alisson Becker Álisson Ramsés Becker (born 2 October 1992), known as Alisson Becker or simply Alisson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. He is widely regarded to ...

relegated him to fourth choice at Liverpool, Ward completed a move to fellow Premier League side

for around £12.5 million on a four year contract. He made his debut on 28 August in the second round of the EFL Cup, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

. A month later in the next round, he saved three penalties in a shootout win at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

after keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw, and was praised by teammate

Marc Albrighton Marc Kevin Albrighton (born 18 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back for Championship side West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Premier League club Leicester City. Albrighton joined Aston Vil ...

. Ward played only 14 times in his first three seasons at Leicester, and not at all in the league. On 15 May 2022, Ward made his first Premier League appearance for Leicester—and his first overall since 2016—as the Foxes beat

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

5–1 at

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...

. Leicester manager

Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Leicester City. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed ...

said that this was because he had chosen for

Kasper Schmeichel Kasper Peter Schmeichel (born 5 November 1986) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Nice and the Denmark national team. Schmeichel began his career with Manchester City, but had loan spells with Darlington, B ...

to play three of the final five games in goal, and the other two for Ward. Ward became Leicester's first-choice keeper for the 2022–23 season after Schmeichel's departure to

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

International career

Ward has represented Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He was called up to the senior team for the first time for a friendly match against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw on 16 November 2013 at the

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team. Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2 ...

. He made his senior debut as a half-time substitute for

Wayne Hennessey Wayne Robert Hennessey (born 24 January 1987) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Wales national team. Hennessey's first professional games saw him set a new Football ...

in an international friendly against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

on 24 March 2016, conceding from

Craig Cathcart Craig George Cathcart (born 6 February 1989) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Watford and the Northern Ireland national team. He has also captained his country's under-21 side. A ...

in a 1–1 draw at the same ground. Ward was selected in Wales' 23-man squad for

and was handed his first start for his country in his third cap in their opening game of the tournament, a 2–1 victory over

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, after Hennessey suffered a

back spasm Back pain is pain felt in the back. It may be classified as neck pain (cervical), middle back pain (thoracic), lower back pain (lumbar) or coccydynia (tailbone or sacral pain) based on the segment affected. The lumbar area is the most common ...

prior to the match. Ward missed Wales' participation in the

2018 China Cup The 2018 Gree China Cup International Football Championship (Chinese: 2018年格力中国杯国际足球锦标赛) was the second edition of the China Cup, an international football tournament held in China annually. It was played from 22 to 26 Mar ...

when his passport got lost in the post during his visa application, and Michael Crowe was called up in his place. In May 2021 he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

tournament. Having held down the starting place since Hennessey's thigh strain in November 2020, Ward played all of Wales's matches at the tournament, being knocked out in the last 16 by his Leicester teammate

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

. He made his World Cup debut on 25 November 2022 against Iran when Hennessey was sent off in the 86th minute, with the game finishing 2–0 to Iran due to two late goals in stoppage time.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Liverpool *

runner-up: 2015–16 Huddersfield Town * EFL Championship play-offs:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Leicester City *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

* FA Community Shield:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Leicester City F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Danny 1993 births Living people Footballers from Wrexham Welsh footballers Association football goalkeepers Wrexham A.F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Premier League players Wales youth international footballers Wales under-21 international footballers Wales international footballers UEFA Euro 2016 players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players