Luke Arthur Pilling (born 25 July 1997) is a 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

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 ...

. Born in England, he has represented Wales at several youth levels.

Club career

Pilling began his career with Tranmere Rovers, joining the club at the age of six. He made his senior debut on 29 April 2017 in a 1–0 victory over

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. He spent the 2018–19 season on loan with

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

side

Ashton United Ashton United Football Club is a football club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of and play at Hurst Cross. History The club was founded in 1878 as Hurst Football Club and the earliest known match ...

, making 17 league appearances. Pilling signed a new one-year contract with Tranmere following the club's promotion to League One at the end of the 2018–19 season. Pilling made his Football League debut on 7 December 2019 as a first half substitute in place of injured starting goalkeeper Scott Davies during a 1–1 draw with Accrington Stanley. On 4 September 2020, Pilling signed for

side Notts County.

International career

In May 2017, Pilling was named in the Wales under-20 squad for the

2017 Toulon Tournament The 2017 Toulon Tournament (officially french: 45ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 45th edition of the Toulon Tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the tournament in 1967 a ...

. After making his debut for the side in the tournament opener against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, Pilling played in Wales' remaining group matches against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

as they were eliminated in the group stage. Pilling was later named Goalkeeper of the Tournament for his performances.

Personal life

Pilling is the maternal grandson of former Tranmere Rovers player Terry Stephens (footballer).

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * Toulon Tournament Best Goalkeeper:

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 ser ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilling, Luke 1997 births Living people Footballers from Birkenhead Welsh men's footballers Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers English men's footballers English people of Welsh descent Men's association football goalkeepers Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Ashton United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players English Football League players Stafford Rangers F.C. players