Liam Shephard (born 22 November 1994) 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 le ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for club Salford City.

Early life

Shephard grew up in

Pentre Pentre is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward near Treorchy in the Rhondda valley, falling within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's name is taken from the Welsh word Pentref, which translates as ...

, Rhondda Cynon Taf. He is son of former footballer Garry Shephard.

Club career

Shephard joined

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

from

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

in the summer of 2011, and progressed through Swansea City's Academy. Shephard signed his first professional deal with Swansea at the start of the 2013–14 season. Shephard broke into the first-team squad in the first half of the 2014–15 season, and was included on the bench for four

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 Foo ...

matches and two cup games. Shephard was rewarded for his progress with a new -year contract until June 2017. On 17 January 2015, Shephard joined League One team

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

on a youth loan deal and made his professional debut three days later against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. Yeovil later extended the loan until the end of the season. Shephard went on to make 20 appearances for the Glovers and was awarded Young Player of the Year, as Yeovil were relegated 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 ...

. Shephard made his first team debut for Swansea City in the

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 ...

against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

, on 10 January 2016, in a 3–2 third round defeat. On 24 March 2016, Shephard returned to Yeovil Town on a month loan deal. Initially brought in as cover for fellow Swansea loanee Connor Roberts, Shephard started six matches all in a defensive midfield role as he helped Yeovil to avoid relegation. On 1 July 2016, Shephard joined Yeovil Town for a third time on a six-month loan deal. Upon his return from his loan spell with Yeovil, Shephard was released by Swansea at the end of the 2016–17 season. On 10 July 2017, Shephard signed for League One club Peterborough United on a two-year contract. On 28 June 2018, Shephard joined

club Forest Green Rovers for an undisclosed fee on a two-year contract. Shephard was released by Forest Green Rovers at the end of the 2019–20 season. On 2 September 2020 Shephard joined Newport County on a one-year contract. He made his debut for Newport on 5 September 2020 in the 2-0

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 ...

win against Swansea City. He scored his first goal for Newport on 19 September 2020 in the League Two 2–1 win against Barrow. Shephard played for Newport in the League Two playoff final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 31 May 2021 which Newport lost to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

, 1-0 after a 107th-minute penalty. In June 2021 Shephard rejected a contract extension at Newport and signed a two-year contract at Salford City. In June 2023 Shephard extended his Salford contract until the end of the 2024-25 season.

International career

Shephard was called up to Wales under-21 squad to face

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

in March 2015. Later in the qualification campaign, Shephard made his debut in a 2–1 win over

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Style of play

Shephard is primarily a

but can also play at

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shephard, Liam 1994 births Living people People from Pentre Footballers from Rhondda Cynon Taf Welsh men's footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Salford City F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders