Callum James Cooke (born 21 February 1997) 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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

. Born in

Peterlee Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It is located south of Sunderland, north of Hartlepool, west of the Durham Coast and east of Durham. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 68). The act als ...

, Cooke started his career with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, signing his first professional contract in June 2014. After loan spells with

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, Cooke left Middlesbrough permanently in 2018 to sign with

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

. Cooke spent a loan spell with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

before moving there permanently in 2020. After two seasons with Bradford, he returned to the North East, signing for

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

. He has also represented England at youth level, up until U18 level.

Career

Middlesbrough

Cooke began his career with

's Academy and he signed a professional contract with the club in June 2014. He played for Middlesbrough U23s in two

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

ties in 2016, scoring one goal. In January 2017 Cooke joined League Two side

on loan. He made his professional debut on 4 February 2017 in a 4–0 defeat away at

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

, then scored on his home debut in a 5–0 win over

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

on 11 February. On 9 May 2017, Crewe announced that Cooke would be returning to his parent club. On 18 July 2017, Cooke joined

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

on loan until the end of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

Peterborough United

On 30 July 2018, Cooke signed for

side

on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He was transfer-listed by Peterborough United at the end of the 2018–19 season. He moved on loan to

in August 2019 for the 2019–20 season. His loan expired on 1 May 2020.

Bradford City

He returned to

in July 2020, signing a permanent two-year contract. Cooke was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Hartlepool United

On 6 July 2022, following his departure from Bradford, Cooke decided to join League Two side

on a two-year deal. Cooke scored his first Hartlepool goal in a 3–1 win against

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Harrogate Hotspurs were fou ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. He scored his first league goal on Boxing Day in 2022 which was a late 25-yard free kick in a 2–1 win at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. In September 2023, it was announced that Cooke would be ruled out for several months due to an ankle injury sustained in training. However, he returned to the Hartlepool side sooner than expected in November 2023 and was praised by Pools manager

John Askey John Colin Askey (born 4 November 1964) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Truro City. Able to play as a winger or as a striker, Askey had pace and intelligence. A former youth team play ...

upon his return to the side. Cooke provided all three assists in a 3–1 away win against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

early in his return to action. He was released by Hartlepool United at the end of the 2023–24 season having made 76 appearances in his two seasons with the club, scoring 11 times.

Morecambe

On 15 January 2025, Cooke signed a six-month contract with League Two club

Career statistics

References

External links

*
England profile
at The Football Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Callum 1997 births Living people People from Peterlee Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers English Football League players Middlesbrough F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Bradford City A.F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen