Joseph Kevin Walsh (born 13 May 1992) is a Welsh 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 most recently played as a defender for Lincoln City.

Club career

Swansea City

Walsh was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, South Glamorgan. He joined Swansea as an under-16 player after previously playing for Cardiff College Celts. In his first season, he helped the Swans to FAW Youth Cup glory against his hometown club,

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, at their old

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

ground. He was drafted into the first-team squad for a match against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

for Swansea in February 2010 as cover following the late injury sustained by

Garry Monk Garry Alan Monk (born 6 March 1979) is an English football manager and former professional player who was most recently the head coach of club Cambridge United. Monk, a centre back, began his playing career with Torquay United before joining ...

. Walsh was handed his first professional deal with the club prior to the 2010–11 season. He made his first team debut on 10 August 2010 in a 3–0 win over

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

in the League Cup.

Crawley Town

Walsh joined

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

following his release from Premier League

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

at the end of the 2011–12 season. He was voted the club's Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year for the 2013–14 season and ahead of the 2014–15 season was rewarded with the club

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. In total, Walsh made 110 appearances in all competitions for the club, and scored 9 goals.

Milton Keynes Dons

After a short spell on loan, newly promoted

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

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 ...

confirmed on 28 May 2015 that Walsh had signed a two-year deal at the club for an undisclosed fee. Walsh scored his first goal for

on 16 January 2016 in a 1–0 home victory over

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. On 18 August 2017, Walsh signed a new contract keeping him at the club until June 2020.

Lincoln City

On 13 August 2020, it was announced that Walsh would become Lincoln City's seventh signing of the summer, following the expiry of his contract with Milton Keynes Dons. He would eventually make his debut on 17 October 2020, starting the game away to

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

helping to keep a clean sheet. After a run of 4 starts and 4 clean-sheets, Walsh would injure his knee ruling him out for up to 12 weeks. He would sign a new long-term contract, less than a year at the club on 28 March 2021. His first goal for the club came against

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 ...

on 19 November 2022. On 10 May 2023, it was announced in the clubs retained list that Walsh would be leaving the club following the expiration of his contract.

International career

In January 2013, Walsh was selected in the Wales U21 squad for the friendly match against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

on 6 February 2013. In October 2014 he was called into the Wales senior squad for the Euro 2016 qualifying matches against

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. On 8 November 2016, Walsh was called up once again to the Wales senior squad for their 2018 World Cup qualifier against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Career statistics

Honours

Milton Keynes Dons *

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: 2018–19
Individual *

Player of the Year: 2013–14 *Crawley Town Young Player of the Year: 2013–14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Joe 1992 births Living people Footballers from Cardiff Welsh men's footballers 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders Swansea City A.F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players English Football League players