Michael Ledger (born 15 November 1996) is an English footballer who plays as a

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 ...

for Spennymoor Town. He has previously played for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, Notodden, Queen of the South and Greenock Morton, and on loan at Viking and Hartlepool United.

Career

Sunderland

Born in

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

, Ledger joined the Sunderland Academy at the age of seven. After progressing through the youth system at Sunderland, Ledger was captain for the under-18 team and his impressive displays resulted in him signing his first professional contract. Soon after that he was promoted to the development squad in June 2015. Whilst progressing through the development squad at Sunderland, Ledger started to feature during the 2016-17 season, as he played on four occasions in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

campaign. On 2 January 2017, Ledger was called up to the first-team squad for the first time, although he was an unused substitute in the 2–2 draw versus Liverpool. After his loan spell with Viking ended, Ledger signed a full-time contract with the ''Black Cats'' in June 2017.

Loan Spells

In November 2016, Ledger was sent out on loan to Norwegian club Viking until their close season in February 2017 and debuted for the club on 3 April 2017, in a 1–0 defeat away to

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

. He then claimed an assist for

Samuel Adegbenro Samuel Adeniyi Adegbenro (born 3 December 1995) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan. A fast and skillful player able to operate at both flanks, Adegbenro can play in the center ...

in a 4–2 defeat versus

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...

on 29 May 2017. During his time at the club Ledger started in every match for Viking, with his final appearance coming on 18 June 2017, in a 1–0 defeat against Lillestrøm. Despite interest from clubs in the Bundesliga, Ledger was loaned out to Hartlepool United on 31 August 2017, until the end of the season, debuting in a 3–1 win versus

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 ...

on 14 September 2017. After suffering an injury set-back in late September 2017, Ledger remained in the first-team, despite competition from other squad players.

Notodden FK

On 13 March 2018, Ledger signed for Notodden FK in Norway on a two-year contract.

Queen of the South

On 31 January 2020, Ledger signed for

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

club Queen of the South until 30 June 2020.

Greenock Morton

On 25 September 2020, Ledger signed for Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton.

Spennymoor Town

On 20 August 2022, Ledger moved back to England when he signed for National League North side Spennymoor Town.

Career statistics

Personal life

Ledger is a

supporter.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ledger, Michael 1997 births Living people Men's association football defenders English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Hartlepool United F.C. players National League (English football) players Notodden FK players Queen of the South F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Viking FK players Eliteserien players Spennymoor Town F.C. players Norwegian First Division players Scottish Professional Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland English expatriate sportspeople in Norway Footballers from Consett