Joe Riley (born 6 December 1996) 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 a full-back or

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 Tamworth.

Club career

Manchester United

Born in

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 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Riley joined

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

as a

before being converted into a left-back for the under-21 team. He was first included in a senior matchday squad on 18 February 2016 as his team lost 2–1 away to Danish club

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

in the first leg of the last 32 of the

UEFA 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 ...

. He made his senior debut four days later, when he came on as a half-time substitute for

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson Cameron Jake Borthwick-Jackson (born 2 February 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back, most recently on loan at Ross County, from Śląsk Wrocław. Club career Manchester United Born in Manchester, Borthwick-Jack ...

against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

in a 3–0 win at

New Meadow New Meadow, also known as The Croud Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5. It serves the home grou ...

in the fifth round of

2015–16 FA Cup The 2015–16 FA Cup (also known as the FA Challenge Cup) was the 135th edition of the oldest recognised football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates, and known as The Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. It began with th ...

. On 25 February 2016, because of

Chris Smalling Christopher Lloyd Smalling (born 22 November 1989) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha FC, Al-Fayha. Smalling represented the England national football team, ...

's shoulder injury, Riley made his first start in a 5–1 home rout of

in the

last 32 second leg, the same game

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa, on Loan (association football), lo ...

made his debut. Riley appeared in the matchday squad a number of times over the rest of the season but did not make another appearance for the club.

Sheffield United (loan)

On 17 January 2017, Riley joined League One club

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season. He made two appearances for ''The Blades'' before his season was ended early after dislocating his shoulder in a "freak accident" in training.

Bradford City

On 25 May 2018, Riley signed a two-year contract 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 ...

. On 26 May 2020 it was announced that he was one of 10 players who would leave Bradford City when their contract expired on 30 June 2020.

Carlisle United

On 5 August 2020, Riley joined League Two side

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

on a one-year deal with an option of an additional year.

Walsall

On 13 June 2022, Riley joined

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

on a two-year contract, active from 1 July upon the expiration of his contract with Carlisle. Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, Riley was announced to be leaving the club upon the expiration of his contract.

AFC Fylde

On 5 June 2024, Riley agreed to join

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

side

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...

on a one-year deal with the option for a further season.

Tamworth

On 29 June 2025, Riley returned to the National League following AFC Fylde's relegation, joining Tamworth.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Joe 1996 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Blackpool Men's association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players AFC Fylde players Tamworth F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players 21st-century English sportsmen