Robbie Gotts (born 9 November 1999) 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 for club

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

Career

He impressed for

Carlos Corberán Carlos Corberán Vallet (born 7 April 1983) is a Spanish football coach who is currently head coach of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Previously the head coach of Doxa and Ermis in the Cypriot First Division, Corberán was first ...

's Leeds United under 23's side over the course the 2018–19 season, winning the PDL Northern League 2018–19 season, then becoming the national

Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the The Football Association, Footbal ...

champions by beating

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

in the final. As of 12 December 2019, he had featured on the first-team substitute's bench over 30 times for the first team, but had yet to make his senior debut. He made his long-awaited debut by starting 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 ...

on 6 January 2020 in a 1–0 defeat against

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 ...

side

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

. After the English professional football season was paused in March 2020 due to Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football, the season was resumed during June, where Gotts earned promotion with Leeds to the

and also become the

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 ...

Champions for the 2019-20 season in July after the successful resumption of the season. Gotts won Leeds United's Academy Player of the Year award at the clubs end of season awards on 24 July 2020. On 15 October 2020, Gotts joined Lincoln City on a season-long loan deal. He would make his debut at home against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 3 November 2020 and would score his first goal in what would be his final game, a

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 ...

tie against Accrington Stanley on 12 January 2021. He was recalled by Leeds United a few days later and immediately sent on loan to Salford City for the remainder of the season. He was cup-tied for Salford's victory in the

2020 EFL Trophy Final The 2020 EFL Trophy Final (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2020 Papa John's Trophy Final) was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 13 March 2021. It decided the winners of the 2019–20 EFL Trophy, the 36th edition of EFL Trophy, th ...

(played in March 2021). Gotts left Leeds and signed for

on 31 August 2021. He won Player of the Year in his first season with the Bluebirds.

Style of play

Gotts was primarily a

but was converted by Marcelo Bielsa to play as a

central 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 ...

. Bielsa described that he had never seen a player as "dynamic" as Gotts in his career, saying that "he’s a number eight, a midfielder. He is not offensive and not defensive. He's a number eight."

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Player of the Year: 2021–22 * Leeds United Academy Player of the Year: 2019–20

References

1999 births Living people English men's footballers Leeds United F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Harrogate {{England-footy-defender-1990s-stub