Jon Gallagher (born 23 February 1996) is an Irish 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

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club Austin FC. He can also play as a right-back or midfielder.

Early life

Born in Dundalk in Ireland, growing up Gallagher also spent time in the United States, Jamaica, Singapore and England. While moving around, Gallagher played with Beachside SC in Connecticut, Home United in Singapore and

England Schoolboys England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in England. He also spent time on trial with the likes of

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

, Marseille,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and Blackburn Rovers. Gallagher played four years of college soccer at the University of Notre Dame between 2014 and 2017. In his senior year, he was named USC Second Team All-American, USC First Team All-South Region, First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference, and Atlantic Coast Conference All-Tournament Team. Overall, Gallagher scored 39 goals and tallied 15 assists in 84 appearances for the Fighting Irish.

Club career

Ahead of the

2018 Major League Soccer season The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on Oc ...

, it was announced that Gallagher had signed a contract with

, making him eligible for the

2018 MLS SuperDraft The 2018 MLS SuperDraft was the nineteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. As customary, the SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the annual United Soccer Coaches convention. The 2018 UCS was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania be ...

. On 19 January 2018, Gallagher was selected 14th overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Atlanta United. Gallagher made his professional debut on 24 March 2018, scoring two goals for Atlanta's United Soccer League affiliate side in a 3–1 win over New York Red Bulls II. Gallagher was loaned to Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen from Atlanta United on 22 June 2019. The loan was initially for the remainder of the 2019 MLS season, but was subsequently extended to the end of the 2019–20 Scottish season. He played in 31 matches in all competitions for Aberdeen and scored his only goal against

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

in a 2–2 draw on 4 December 2019. Gallagher was traded to Austin FC in exchange for $225,000 in General Allocation Money on 13 December 2020, ahead of Austin's inaugural season in 2021. Gallagher scored the first ever goal at Q2 Stadium for Austin FC on July 1, 2021. It was his first MLS goal. In 2022, he transitioned from winger to right-back and became a first team regular in this position. He scored his only goal of 2022 in a 4–3 comeback win against Sporting Kansas City. He scored the team’s second goal of the 2023 season in a 3–2 loss against St. Louis, coming off the bench.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Notre Dame Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Jon 1996 births Living people Men's association football forwards Association footballers from County Louth Atlanta United FC draft picks Atlanta United FC players Atlanta United 2 players Austin FC players Irish emigrants to the United States Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer players People from Dundalk Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Soccer players from Connecticut USL Championship players Aberdeen F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Major League Soccer players