Thomas James Carroll (born 28 May 1992) 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 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 ...

for

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. Carroll plays as a deep-lying creative central midfielder, and is particularly valued for his high passing percentage accuracy and creativity. Carroll's style of play has drawn comparisons with former teammate

Luka Modrić Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team. He plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an attack ...

Club career

Carroll attended

Parmiter's School Parmiter's School is a co-educational state comprehensive school with academy status in Garston, Hertfordshire, close to the outskirts of North West London, England with a long history. Although the school admits pupils of all abilities it is ...

Garston, Hertfordshire Garston is a suburban village in Hertfordshire, England. Garston is contiguous with Watford and now, despite retaining a local identity, is effectively a suburb. It is within the Stanborough, Woodside and Meriden Ward (politics), wards of the bor ...

, near his home town of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, and he captained the school football team at district and county level. He also played for the Hertfordshire county side, before linking up with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

's Under-16 squad, winning the Legnago Tournament in Italy in 2008.

Tottenham Hotspur

In June 2010, Carroll signed a professional contract with Tottenham after scoring 10 goals in 23 games for their

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

side. He made his first senior Tottenham appearance against Heart of Midlothian in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

play-off second leg on 25 August 2011, and was assigned the squad number 46. Carroll then featured in four group stage games. On 20 September 2011 he started a

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 ...

third round match away to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

. The match finished 0–0 and went to penalties, Carroll scored his penalty, but Tottenham lost the shoot-out 7–6. Carroll's first appearance of 2012 was versus

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

in a 3–0

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 ...

win. On 27 January 2011, Carroll joined

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

until the end of the 2010–11 season. Carroll's senior debut was in a 1–1 draw at

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 Southern ...

on 5 February, and he totalled 14 appearances, including two games versus

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 ...

in the

. On 30 January 2012, Carroll joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

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 1884 ...

on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season. He scored on his debut a day later in a 3–2 defeat at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, his first goal in competitive football. Carroll was a regular in the Derby side and played in both central midfield as well as on the right-wing due to an injury crisis. After suffering a minor injury he finished his loan spell at Pride Park with 12 league appearances. He made his

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 ...

debut on 3 November 2012, replacing

Kyle Walker Kyle Andrew Walker (born 28 May 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Manchester City and the England national team. Walker started his career at his boyhood club Sheffield United which he had joined ...

in the 79th minute of a 1–0 defeat at home to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. At the end of the 2013 Summer transfer window, Carroll completed a loan move to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

, reuniting with former manager Harry Redknapp. On 22 August 2014, Carroll signed for

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

on a season-long loan. Carroll scored his first competitive goal for Tottenham on 10 December 2015 in a 4–1 win over

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

in the Europa League. On 26 December, Carroll scored Tottenham's third goal, and his first league goal, from the bench against Norwich to help them win 3–0. For the 2016–17 season, Carroll only played three games with Tottenham, and he moved to Swansea City in January 2017.

Swansea City

On 17 January 2017, it was announced that Swansea City had signed Carroll for a fee reported to be £4.5 million on a three-and-a-half-year deal, returning to the club after a loan spell during the course of the 2014–15 season. In his first game for Swansea City after the transfer, he helped the club to a first ever away League win at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 vital win against

on 22 April 2017 in their bid to escape relegation. On 31 January 2019, Carroll signed for fellow Championship club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on loan for the rest of the season, a transfer which was received with surprise as Villa had been linked with his Swansea teammate

Leroy Fer Leroy Johan Fer (born 5 January 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Alanyaspor. He also represented the Netherlands, making 11 appearances between 2010 and 2014. Fer has various ...

instead. He made his debut two days later as a 74th-minute substitute for

Glenn Whelan Glenn David Whelan (born 13 January 1984) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bristol Rovers. He has represented the Republic of Ireland national football team. Whelan started his career at Manchester Ci ...

in a goalless draw at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Carroll only made two appearances for Aston Villa, before suffering a season-ending hip injury and returning to Swansea City on 4 April 2019. On 11 December 2019, Carroll received his first career

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

for two bookable offences, in a 1–1 draw with

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. On 31 January 2020, Swansea City announced that Carroll's contract had been terminated by mutual agreement.

Queens Park Rangers

On 4 September 2020, Carroll signed for former loan club Queens Park Rangers on a one-year deal. A day later he made his debut for the club in the first round of 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 ...

against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

which QPR lost 3–2. Carroll left the club at the end of the season upon his contract's end, despite being offered a new deal by the club.

Ipswich Town

On 16 August 2021, Carroll joined Ipswich Town on a one-year deal, becoming the club's 16th signing of the summer transfer window. He made just 17 appearances in all competitions before being released at the end of the season upon the end of his contract.

Exeter City

Carroll took a year out of football to concentrate on regaining his health and fitness, training primarily with

throughout the 2022-23 season. Carroll went on trial at

during the pre-season of 2023. On the 20 July, it was confirmed that he had joined the League One club on a one-year deal.

International career

In March 2011, Carroll was called up to represent the England Under-19 team for the first time in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

away to

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In November 2011, Carroll was called up to the England under-21 squad, for qualifying matches against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He was an unused substitute in the 5–0 victory over Iceland. He made his under-21 debut on 21 March 2013, replacing

Jordan Henderson Jordan Brian Henderson (born 17 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool and the England national team. Henderson joined the Sunderland Academy at the age of eight, making his first-team ...

in the 74th minute of a 3–0 win against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He scored his first goal for England Under-21s on 13 August 2013, in a 6–0 win against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

."England Under-21s thrash Scotland 6–0 in friendly"
BBC Sport. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Tom Carroll Profile
at

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Tom 1992 births Living people Footballers from Watford English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players People educated at Parmiter's School, Garston