Thomas John Barkhuizen (born 4 July 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, rugb ...
who plays a
forward for EFL League One club
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
.
Career
Blackpool
Born in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
, Barkhuizen played junior football on the
Fylde coast
The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...
with Blackpool Rangers.
In May 2009 he signed on as a first-year scholar with Blackpool's
youth department. Before that he had been at the Centre of Excellence for four months, and had scored in every game he played at both under-16 and under-17 levels.
On 24 August 2010, whilst still a second-year youth scholar, he made his first team debut in the
second round
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
of the
2010–11
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. ...
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, against
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
at
Stadium MK
Stadium MK is a football ground in the Denbigh district of Bletchley in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Designed by Populous and opened in 2007, it is the home ground of EFL League One side Milton Keynes Dons F.C., Milton Keynes Dons ...
.
Assistant manager
Steve Thompson said of Barkhuizen: "Tom has come through the youth set up and I felt he handled himself very well for his debut. He is not the finished article by a long shot but once he gets a little bit of strength I think we've got a decent player there. I thought he did fantastic."
In August 2011, he made a late substitute appearance in the League Cup defeat to
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
before joining
League Two side
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
on loan until the end of the year. He scored on his debut in a 4–1
Football League 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 ...
defeat to
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
on 30 August. His first league goal came on 10 September 2011, in a 3–1 loss against
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
. On 20 December, after scoring seven goals for ''the Bulls'', Barkhuizen stated that he wanted to stay at
Edgar Street
Edgar Street is a football stadium in Hereford and was the home of Hereford United Football Club from the club's formation in 1924 until December 2014, when the club was wound up. It is now the home of Hereford FC, a phoenix club formed to rep ...
until the end of the season.
His loan deal was extended until the end of the season on 9 January 2012.
Then in late February, Barkhuizen would score his first brace despite losing 5–4 to
Gillingham and then scored in a 2–1 win over
Wimbledon, to end "a run of 10 home games without a win". Following the club's relegated to the Conference from League Two at the end of the 2011–12 season and made thirty eight appearances and scoring eleven times, Barkuizen was praised by Manager
Jamie Pitman
Jamie Pitman (born 6 January 1976) is an English footballer turned football manager, who was the manager of Hereford United until 5 March 2012.
Playing career
He progressed through the youth system at Swindon Town, eventually making three lea ...
for his role as a striker and helping the club go into positive forms. Barkhuizen contract with Blackpool was extended for another year.
On 29 August 2012, Barkhuizen joined Blackpool's
Fylde coast
The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...
neighbours
Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed i ...
on loan until January 2013, together with teammate
Ashley Eastham
Ashley "Ash" Martin Eastham (born 22 March 1991) is an English professional footballer who last played as a defender for League Two club Salford City.
Eastham began his career at Blackpool. He made only three appearances for Blackpool, but ...
who joined on loan for one month.
He made his debut three days later in a 4–1 win over
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...
at
Highbury Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as "Highbury" due to its location and was given the affectionate nickname ...
.
He scored his first and only goal for Fleetwood in a 2–1 win over
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
on 29 September 2012. After five months at Fleetwood Town, Barkhuizen returned to his parent club. After this, Barkhuizen signed a one-year contract with the club following the end of the 2012–13 season.
On 24 August 2013, in his second league appearance for the club, Barkhuizen scored his first goal for Blackpool in a 1–0 win over
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
. His second goal for the club came 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 ...
against
Bolton Wanderers on 4 January 2014. However, his season soon was disrupted with fractured and dislocated collarbone injury that kept him out for six weeks and then made his return to action in early March. After the end of 2013–14 season, Barkhuizen making fourteen appearances, his contract with Blackpool after his 12-month contract was activated further.
Shortly after returning to Blackpool, Barkhuizen soon fractured his arm in a practice match that left him out for a month.
Morecambe
Barkhuizen joined League Two side
Morecambe on 17 October 2014 for one month. The next day, on 18 October 2014, Barkhuizen made his debut for Morecambe, where he came on as a substitute for
Paul Mullin in the second half, which Morecambe won 2–0 against
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...
. After making five appearances for Morecambe, it announced on 17 November that Barkhuizen would return to his parent club in conclusion to his loan spell at Morecambe.
On 9 May 2015, Barkhuizen joined Morecambe permanently on a two-year contract.
After Morecambe were late paying staff wages in November 2016 due to cash-flow problems, the option of selling a player was proposed. Barkhuzien's contract was duly cancelled by mutual consent on 9 November 2016, and Morecambe's wages were paid the same day.
Preston North End
On 17 November 2016, Barkhuizen agreed a pre-contract agreement with
Preston, signing a -year contract and taking the number 29 shirt.
In July 2019 he signed a new three-year contract. He was released at the end of the
2021–22 season.
Derby County
On 2 July 2022, Barkhuizen joined
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract. He scored his first goal for Derby in an
EFL Cup win over
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
on 9 August 2022. He scored 6 times in 48 first team appearances during
2022–23 season as Derby finished 7th in the league, missing out on the play-offs by 1 point.
Barkhuizen picked up a calf injury in Derby's first pre-season friendly ahead of the
2023–24 season against
Matlock Town
Matlock Town Football Club is a football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane.
History
The club was established in 1878 as Matlock Football Club.< ...
on 8 July 2023. He was ruled out of first team action for two months.
Personal life
Barkhuizen went to Cardinal Allen Catholic High School in Fleetwood. Barkhuizen is of South African descent through his grandfather, and the
South Africa national football team showed an interest in calling him up.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkhuizen, Thomas
1993 births
Living people
Footballers from Blackpool
English men's footballers
English people of South African descent
Men's association football forwards
Blackpool F.C. players
Hereford United F.C. players
Fleetwood Town F.C. players
Morecambe F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Preston North End F.C. players
English Football League players