Thomas Andrew Knowles (born 27 September 1998) 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 and

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

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 ...

club Walsall. Having started his career at his hometown club Cambridge United, he has previously played on loan at St Neots Town, Cambridge City, St Ives Town, Hemel Hempstead Town and

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

. Most recently, he spent two years with Yeovil Town before his move to Walsall.

Career

Cambridge United

Knowles graduated through the Cambridge United Shadow Scholars Academy to win a place in the club's youth-team in 2016. He was a part of the under-18 team that reached the fourth round of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in the 2016–17 season. On 4 February 2017, he joined

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

side St Neots Town on a one-month loan deal, along with "U's" teammate Fernando Bell-Toxtle. He made 12 appearances for the "Saints". He signed a six-month development contract with United at the end of the 2016–17 season, with Academy manager Mark Bonner commenting that Knowles had "taken ownership for his development and shown a willingness to learn and improve". On 3 August 2017, he joined Southern League Division One Central club Cambridge City on an initial one-month loan deal. He scored a hat-trick for the club in a 7–3 win over

Arlesey Town Arlesey Town Football Club is a football club based in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Hitchin Road. History The club was established ...

on 23 October. Having scored ten goals in 28 appearances for the "Lilywhites", he was recalled by United manager

Shaun Derry Shaun Peter Derry (born 6 December 1977) is an English former professional footballer and manager. He previously managed Notts County and Cambridge United, and played for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers among other clubs. De ...

in order to sit on the bench in a league fixture against Notts County. On 8 January 2018, he joined St Ives Town of the Southern League Premier Central on an initial 28-day youth loan. He signed a one-year contract extension with United the following month. He was recalled to Cambridge United by new manager

Joe Dunne Joseph John Dunne (born 25 May 1973) is an Irish Manager (association football), football manager and former association football, footballer who is currently assistant manager of Newport County A.F.C., Newport County. Dunne played as a defen ...

on 20 April after picking up several Man of the Match awards and scoring four goals during his 16 appearances for the "Saints". He made his first-team debut on the final day of the 2017–18 season, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for

David Amoo David Oluwaseun Segun Amoo (born 13 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger and forward for club Stevenage. He began his career at Liverpool, making his debut in the UEFA Europa League in July 2010. He spent t ...

in a 5–0 victory over

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

at the Abbey Stadium on 5 May. On 31 August 2018, Knowles joined

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

on an initial month's loan. After returning to Cambridge United later that season he scored his first goal for them in a 2-1 defeat to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

on 27 April 2019. He was offered a new contract by Cambridge United at the end of the 2018–19 season. On 17 October 2019, Knowles signed for Chelmsford City on an initial one-month loan. On 3 March 2020, after previously having his loan deal extended until the end of the season, Knowles was recalled by Cambridge.

Yeovil Town

On 30 November 2020, Knowles joined National League side Yeovil Town for an undisclosed fee signing a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season.

Walsall

On 4 August 2022, Knowles signed for

side Walsall for an undisclosed fee.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Tom 1998 births Living people Footballers from Cambridge English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Newmarket Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players St Neots Town F.C. players Cambridge City F.C. players St Ives Town F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Royston Town F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players National League (English football) players