Luke James Hannant (born 4 November 1993) 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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, on loan from club

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

. He spent his youth with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

and

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

, before embarking on a degree at

Northumbria University , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = � ...

. During his time as a student he played non-league football for Dereham Town and Team Northumbria. He helped Dareham to win the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

Premier Division championship title in 2012–13. He joined

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

in 2016, and after returning from a dual registration spell at

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

managed to established himself in the first-team. He was signed by Port Vale in January 2018, before he made a return to

in May 2019 and helped the club to win promotion out of

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 ...

at the end of the 2020–21 season. He remained in League Two however, as he left Cambridge to join Colchester United. He joined Scottish Championship club Dundee on loan in January 2023.

Career

Early career

Hannant spent his youth at the

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

before being released at the age of 14, at which point he joined the

youth-team. Released by Cambridge at the age of 18, he took up a football scholarship at

, and would go on to graduate with a 2:1 degree in Sport & Exercise Science in 2016. During this time he also played in the

and

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

for Dereham Town and in the Northern League for Team Northumbria. He was an important part of the "Magpies" side that finished the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season as champions of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.

Gateshead

He spent the summer of 2016 on trial at

before agreeing to join the club on non-contract terms. He went on to join Northern League Division One club

on a dual registration deal. He scored on his debut for the "Mariners" in a 5–0 home win over Jarrow Roofing Boldon Community Association on 27 September. He played a total of four games for South Shields. He made his

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

debut for the "Tynesiders" on 22 October, in a 2–0 win at

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

. He scored his first goal for the "Heed" on New Year's Eve, in a 4–1 victory over Barrow at the

Gateshead International Stadium Gateshead International Stadium (GIS) is a multi-purpose, all-seater venue in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally known as the Gateshead Youth Stadium, the venue was built in 1955 at a cost of £30,000. It has since been extensively r ...

, where he was also named as Man of the Match. He was signed to a contract at Gateshead in March 2017, which would keep him tied to the club in summer 2018. He ended the 2016–17 season with two goals in 21 appearances, and scored three goals in 23 games in the first half of the 2017–18 campaign. Speaking in January 2018, manager

Steve Watson Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player. He was formerly the manager of club Chester. As a player, he was a right-back or midfielder. He played in the Premier League and Football ...

said that "Hannant has been one of our best players this season".

Port Vale

On 18 January 2018, Hannant signed an 18-month contract with

EFL 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

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

after being signed for an undisclosed fee – reported to be a low five-figure sum – by

Neil Aspin Neil Aspin (born 12 April 1965) is an English football manager and former player. A solid defender who could play at centre-back and right-back, he was a good marker and an adept tackler. He made his debut in the English Football League for L ...

, his former manager at Gateshead. Despite being a newcomer to the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

, he was described as "a rare positive for the Valiants in a difficult start to 2018", and credited his good start to his career to the support of fellow midfielders

Michael Tonge Michael William Eric Tonge (born 7 April 1983) is an English association football, football coach and former player. A midfielder, he scored 39 goals in 544 league and cup appearances in a 19-year career in the English Football League. A former ...

Antony Kay Antony Roland Kay (born 21 October 1982) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Cymru Premier side Bala Town. He began his career with hometown club Barnsley, and made his first-team debut in Aug ...

and

Danny Pugh Daniel Adam Pugh (born 19 October 1982) is an English professional football coach and former player. A versatile player, he could play in midfield or at left-back. He began his career with Manchester United, and made a handful of first team ...

. On 17 March, he scored his first goal in the Football League with curling effort from outside the box in a 2–2 draw with

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

; he went on to say that "I was a bit speechless when it went in". He began the 2018–19 season in good form on the left-side of midfield, scoring two goals in the opening five games, including a brilliant curling free-kick away at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. This led to reports that he was being monitored by

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

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 ...

. However, despite making 50 appearances during the campaign, manager

John Askey John Colin Askey (born 4 November 1964) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club York City. He is the son of former Port Vale player Colin Askey. Able to play as a winger or as a ...

confirmed that he would not be offering Hannant a new contract on 16 May.

Cambridge United

On 28 May 2019, Hannant returned to Cambridge United to sign on a two-year deal with an option for a further year. Manager

Colin Calderwood Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the assistant manager at Northampton Town. As a player, he was a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hots ...

said that "Luke has good experience in senior football and caught my eye against us at the

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

". He picked up an ankle injury in February 2020 and was sidelined for six weeks. However the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

meant that he had to wait until August to complete a full day's training with the club. He enjoyed a strong first half to the

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 ...

season, playing on both wings and either side of a midfield diamond, providing eight assists and scoring five goals by February. Cambridge went on to secure promotion at the end of the season, with Hannant scoring seven goals from 48 appearances.

Colchester United

Hannant opted to leave Cambridge after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract and chose to remain in League Two, joining

on a two-year deal on 10 June 2021. Hannant stated that "I'm 27 now and I needed to go somewhere where I know I'm going to play a lot of minutes". He made his debut at the

Colchester Community Stadium Colchester Community Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the JobServe Community Stadium, is a football stadium in Colchester, England. It is the home of Colchester United Football Club. It has a capacity of 10,105 and opened in August 200 ...

on 14 August 2021, coming on as a substitute in Colchester's 1–0 defeat to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. He was a regular first-team player under

Hayden Mullins Hayden Ian Mullins (born 27 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and current manager. He played primarily as a defensive midfielder, but he also played as a sweeper and at right-back. He was most recently the head coach at ...

, before being sidelined by interim head coach Wayne Brown. He made 27 starts and 16 substitute appearances in the 2021–22 season, picking up two assists and five yellow cards. He featured in 29 matches during the first half of the

2022–23 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 ...

campaign, scoring three goals.

Dundee (loan)

On 31 January 2023, Hannant joined

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

club

on loan until the end of the

season. He joined Colchester teammate Ryan Clampin, who was already on loan at Dundee. Hannant made his debut as a substitute on 12 February in a 3–0 league victory over

Cove Rangers Cove Rangers Football Club is a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Championship. They are based in the Cove Bay area of Aberdeen and play their football at Balmoral Stadium, having left their former home at Allan ...

Style of play

Hannant is a versatile two-footed attacking

, who is able to play in central midfield or as a winger. Port Vale teammate

Tom Pope Thomas John Pope (born 27 August 1985) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Centre forward, centre forward for side Congleton Town F.C., Congleton Town. A Crewe Alexandra F. ...

described him as a player with "good energy, is positive, doesn't mind a tackle, is decent in the air and can play as well".

Career statistics

Honours

Dereham Town *

Eastern Counties Football League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffol ...

Premier Division:

Cambridge United *

second-place promotion:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannant, Luke 1993 births Living people English footballers Association football midfielders Norwich City F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Dereham Town F.C. players Team Northumbria F.C. players South Shields F.C. (1974) players Gateshead F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Eastern Counties Football League players Isthmian League players Northern Football League players National League (English football) players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Alumni of Northumbria University