Stephen Christopher Wearne (born 16 December 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Milton Keynes Dons. Wearne came through the youth academies of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and Middlesbrough before signing professional terms with

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 ...

. His previous clubs include

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 ...

and Grimsby Town and Torquay United.

Playing career

Early career

A youth product of

and Middlesbrough, he signed his first professional contact with Middlesbrough on 15 April 2019.

Sunderland

He transferred to

on 9 September 2020. He made his professional debut with Sunderland in a 2–1

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 ...

win over Lincoln City on 5 October 2021, scoring the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute. On 7 January 2022, Wearne joined National League side Torquay United on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. He returned to Sunderland, and was later released following the clubs promotion to 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 ...

Grimsby Town

On 27 June 2022, Wearne signed for

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 Grimsby Town on a one-year deal. Upon signing, Wearne said he was convinced to sign for Grimsby when he was on holiday in Cancun, Mexico with his girlfriend. "Other managers were pressuring me to make a decision. I said to her - I need a sign. I went to bed that night, next morning, I came out of the lift and the first guy I see has a Grimsby top on. And I just said, 'That's the sign'. It's done". On 9 August, Wearne scored his first goal for The Mariners in a 4–0 win over Crewe Alexandra in the

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 ...

first round. On 1 November 2022, Wearne returned to National League side Torquay United on a one-month loan. Wearne played his first game back later that day and assisted the fourth goal in a 6–1 win over Aldershot Town. His loan was extended for a further month on 2 December 2022.

Gateshead

On 24 March 2023, Wearne signed for

on a free transfer until the end of the 2022-23 season. Wearne scored his first Gateshead goal against

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

in a 2–0 win on 7 April 2023. On 27 May 2023, signed a two-year contract with Gateshead. He was awarded the National League Player of the Month award for November 2023 having scored five goals in four matches.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 6 January 2024, Wearne returned to the EFL with a permanent transfer to League Two club Milton Keynes Dons, signing for an undisclosed fee and reuniting with former Gateshead head coach Mike Williamson. Having joined the club with a slight injury, Wearne made his debut on 27 January 2024 as a 76th-minute substitute. He went on to make an assist just twelve minutes later for the winning goal in a 2–1 home win over Gillingham.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * National League Player of the Month: November 2023

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wearne, Stephen 2000 births Living people Footballers from Stockton-on-Tees English men's footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Men's association football midfielders