Conor James Grant (born 18 April 1995) is an English

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 a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

. A former England under-18 international, Grant turned professional at Everton in July 2013. He spent five years on the club's books without making a first-team appearance, instead spending time on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

and

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' ...

. He helped Doncaster to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of League Two in the 2016–17 campaign. He joined

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

in June 2018, where he would remain for five seasons, helping the club to win promotion out of League Two in 2019–20 and out of

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 ...

in 2022–23. Having made 137 appearances for Plymouth, he joined

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

on a free transfer in June 2023. He left Vale for Accrington Stanley in February 2025.

Career

Everton

Grant joined the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

at Everton at the age of 13. In July 2013, he signed his first professional

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

at the club after featuring in pre-season

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

. However, he missed much of the 2013–14 season due to a chronic back injury. His first involvement with the senior team in a competitive fixture came on 11 December 2014, when he was named as a non-playing substitute against

FC Krasnodar FC Krasnodar is a Russian professional football club based in Krasnodar that plays in the Russian Premier League. They are the league's reigning champions. The club was founded in 2008. In 2009, the club was promoted to the Russian First Divis ...

in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. On 2 February 2015, Grant signed for

of the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

on a six-month

. Twelve days later he made a scoring debut, curling in a free kick in a 3–2 away defeat against Ross County. He made eleven further appearances under

Ian Baraclough Ian Robert Baraclough (; born 4 December 1970) is an English football manager and former player who is currently sporting director at Partick Thistle, of the Scottish Championship. His most recent role had been a short spell as assistant manager ...

across the 2014–15 season, and then featured as a substitute in the relegation/promotion play-off final second leg win over

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

. On 29 October 2015, he joined

club

on a one-month loan deal. Two days later he made his debut against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

at the

Keepmoat Stadium The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that it ...

, opening a 2–0 win with a strike. On 6 March, he scored a brace 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 ...

as Doncaster recorded a 3–1 victory at

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

. The loan was later extended till the end of the 2015–16 season, though was curtailed in mid-March after he sustained an

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

injury. Relegated Doncaster expressed an interest in signing him permanently, but he instead signed a new two-year deal with Everton. Grant signed for

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 sys ...

club

on a season-long loan on 4 August 2016, making his debut at

Portman Road Portman Road is a association football, football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one E ...

two days later in a 4–2 win over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. However, he returned to Everton early on 18 November, having played seven games for Ipswich.

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager, pundit and former Association football, footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool. McCarthy b ...

said that he couldn't give Grant playing time ahead of the likes of

Tom Lawrence Thomas Morris Lawrence (born 13 January 1994) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Rangers and the Wales national team. Born in Wrexham, he joined Manchester United at the age of eight and made his way up thro ...

, Kundai Benyu and Andre Dozzell and that it would be better for the player's development to return to

Finch Farm Finch Farm is the training ground for Everton F.C., in Halewood, in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside within the Liverpool City Region. The School of Science is the nickname given to the complex by some supporters, referring to a ...

. On 2 January 2017, Grant once again signed for Doncaster Rovers for the remainder of the 2016–17 season. He was in the starting line-up against

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

on the same day, and opened up his goal account on 21 January by lashing a

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

to the bottom corner from out, the first in a 3–1 victory over

. Rovers manager

Darren Ferguson Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of League One club Peterborough United, in his fourth stint as manager of the club. In between his stints with Peterborou ...

said Grant was "disappointing" in his second spell at the club, despite him starting twenty matches as Doncaster secured a League Two automatic promotion spot. Ferguson had initially talked of an agreement with Everton to sign Grant on a permanent deal in the summer, with reports indicating only personal terms had yet to be agreed. On 30 August 2017, Grant signed for Crewe Alexandra on loan until 10 January 2018, and made his Crewe debut on 2 September against

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 ...

but was stretchered off after 18 minutes following a head injury, and missed the next game as a result of the

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

suffered. Manager

David Artell David John Artell (born 22 November 1980) is a association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former professional Football player, player who is head coach of club Grimsby Town F.C., Grimsby Town. He began his caree ...

decided against extending his loan spell in January, having limited the midfielder to 14 starts and four substitute appearances. He was released from Everton without having made a first-team appearance, having retained the #39 shirt throughout his five years as a professional at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

Plymouth Argyle

On 7 June 2018, Grant signed for League One side

after his contract with Everton had expired. Manager

Derek Adams Derek Watt Adams (born 25 June 1975) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is the manager of National League football club Morecambe. Adams became manager of Ross County in 2007, winning promotion from the Scottish Second Divisio ...

had attempted to sign him six months earlier, but the deal was thwarted by a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

rule that prevented players from appearing for more than two teams in a single season. The 2018–19 season was poor both on an individual and a club level as injuries kept him sidelined for long spells and Argyle were relegated on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

. On 28 September 2019, he scored his first goal for the club with a "blockbuster finish" in a 1–0 away win at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

in League Two. The goal, which later finished second in the club's Goal of the Season poll, was credited with starting Plymouth's promotion charge following an indifferent start to the campaign. He signed a new contract of undisclosed length in June 2020. He was voted as Argyle's Player of the Month for September 2020 by Plymouth Live readers, having formed an effective triumvirate with

Danny Mayor Daniel John Mayor (born 18 October 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Fleetwood Town. He has played in the English Football League for Tranmere Rovers, Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Southend ...

and Lewis Macleod in the centre of the pitch. The following month he won the club's Player of the Month award and was nominated for League One's PFA Fans' Player of the Month award after scoring three goals in consecutive home matches against

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and Ipswich Town and also picking up an assist. He spent most of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season playing at wing-back, where he scored four goals and provided twelve assists in 46 games. His goal at

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

on 16 March earned him the League One Goal of the Month award, whilst his strike at

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

on 19 September was voted as the club's Goal of the Season, and a free kick against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

was shortlisted for the League One Goal of the Month award. He signed a two-year contract extension in the summer to become the longest-serving senior player at

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in the area of Milehouse, Plymouth, Devon, England. With a capacity of 17,900, the ground has been the home of Plymouth Argyle Football Club since 1903, and was also used between 1900 and 1903 by Argyle Athlet ...

, as well as the only one to have not been signed by manager

Ryan Lowe Ryan Thomas Lowe (born 18 September 1978) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is currently head coach of side Wigan Athletic. Lowe's playing career, as a striker, began at Burscough in 1999 and he became a Foot ...

. Grant underwent surgery on his

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

in summer 2022, returning to fitness in September. He played nine games before tearing a thigh muscle two months later, which required surgery and kept him out of action for five months; he marked his return to fitness with a goal in a 2–0 win at

on 21 March. He was released by the club at the end of the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, following Argyle's promotion to the

as League One champions. Manager

Steven Schumacher Steven Thomas Schumacher (born 30 April 1984) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who is currently head coach of club Bolton Wanderers. He graduated from the youth sides at Everton, and during his playing caree ...

said that "my head had to sort of rule my heart" as injuries had limited Grant to just three starts during the campaign.

Port Vale

On 27 June 2023, Grant agreed a two-year deal with League One side

to start on 1 July; manager

Andy Crosby Andrew Keith Crosby (born 3 March 1973) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager at club Tranmere Rovers. A defender during his playing days, he began his career at Leeds United. Still, he made his de ...

praised his technical ability, footballing experience and personal drive. On 7 October, Grant sustained a calf injury in a 2–0 defeat at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

that would keep him out of action for around eight weeks. Injuries restricted him to 20 league starts in the 2023–24 relegation season. He also missed the start of the 2024–25 season due to injury. He made his first start of the season on 22 October, in a 1–0 win at Harrogate Town. He departed

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

following a mutual termination of his contract on 3 February 2025 after 44 appearances for the Valiants.

Accrington Stanley

On 7 February 2025, Grant joined League Two side

on a short-term contract for the remainder of the 2024–25 season, where assistant manager Ged Brannan said "you can never have enough experienced midfielders and he will make us stronger". He said he had left the Vale to join the relegation-threatened "Reds" because had been craving first-team football. He made six starts and ten substitute appearances and was offered a new contract in the summer.

Style of play

Grant is a left-footed

well regarded for his level of professionalism. He is also able to play as a left-sided wing-back. He is excellent at set pieces and long-range

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

Personal life

His uncle is former Everton and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

midfielder Tony Grant.

Career statistics

Honours

Doncaster Rovers *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

third-place promotion: 2016–17 Plymouth Argyle *EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2019–20 *

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Conor 1995 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Liverpool Men's association football wingers Men's association football defenders England men's youth international footballers Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players Everton F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen