| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Liam James McCarron[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2001-03-07)7 March 2001 (age 24)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Preston, England[3] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[4] | ||
| Position(s) | Left winger;left wing-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Northampton Town | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2018 | Carlisle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Carlisle United | 16 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Leeds United | 1 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Stoke City | 0 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | →Port Vale (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2024– | Northampton Town | 16 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2020 | Scotland U19 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:38, 1 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
Liam James McCarron (born 7 March 2001) is a professionalfootballer who plays as aleft winger orleft wing-back forEFL League One clubNorthampton Town. Born in England, McCarron has represented Scotland atunder-19 level.
McCarron turned professional atCarlisle United in September 2018 and played twenty first-team games before he was sold toLeeds United in July 2019. He made hisPremier League debut in December 2021 and was sold on toStoke City in June 2022. He wasloaned out toPort Vale for the 2022–23 season. He signed with Northampton Town in August 2024.
McCarron was born inPreston and grew up inAppleby-in-Westmorland.[5][6] After coming through the academy atCarlisle United, McCarron broke into the first-team undermanagerJohn Sheridan, making his first-team debut in theEFL Trophy on 4 September 2018, coming on as an 83rd-minutesubstitute forAshley Nadesan in a 3–2 win overMorecambe atBrunton Park.[7] He made his debut inLeague Two eleven days later, in a 2–0 home defeat toTranmere Rovers.[8] Later that month he signed an 18-monthcontract, with the option of a further year.[6][9] He was given his first start in a 3–1 defeat atSunderland in an EFL Trophy group stage game on 9 October.[10] He was handed his first league start by caretaker-managersTommy Wright andPaul Murray on 12 January, in a 3–0 defeat atNorthampton Town, and retained his place in the starting eleven for the next two matches under new managerSteven Pressley.[11][3] He ended the2018–19 season with four starts and sixteen substitute appearances to his name.[12] He turned down an improved contract offer from the club.[13]
McCarron signed forLeeds United for an undisclosed fee on 1 July 2019,[14] agreeing a three-year deal at the club.[15][16] He signed a new two-year contract with the club in September 2021.[17][18]Marcelo Bielsa gave McCarron hisPremier League debut atElland Road on 18 December, sending him on as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 defeat toArsenal.[19][20] This proved to be his only first-team appearance for the club, in addition to three EFL Trophy appearances for theunder-21s.[2]
On 29 June 2022, McCarron joinedStoke City on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[21][22] He was told by managerMichael O'Neill that he "would be given a chance to play in the first team", however, O'Neill was sacked on 25 August.[23][24] On 1 September, McCarron joined League One sidePort Vale onloan for the2022–23 season; he became the first Stoke player to be loaned directly toPotteries derby rivals Port Vale since March 1978.[25][26] He played two league and two cup games for Port Vale.[27] McCarron made his Stoke debut one and a half years after signing for the club in aFA Cup match againstBrighton & Hove Albion on 6 January 2024.[28] New managerSteven Schumacher said that "the door isn't shut for anyone at this club... and I actually thought he did really well".[29] It remained McCarron's only appearance of the2023–24 season.[30]
On 1 August 2024, McCarron signed a one-year deal (with an optional further year) at League One sideNorthampton Town after being bought for an undisclosed fee.[31][32] He had impressed managerJon Brady during a two-week trial.[33] He scored his first goal in senior football on 24 August, in a 2–2 draw atBarnsley.[34]
McCarron was added to theScotland under-19 squad in February 2020 and won onecap.[35][36] On 21 August 2020, McCarron was called up to theScotland under-21 squad for the first time.[37]
Carlisle academy managerDarren Edmondson described McCarron as a "pacey" winger with "a highwork rate".[38] He is also able to play atleft-back or left-wing-back.[39][26] McCarron describes his main strength as "running with the ball".[5]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Carlisle United | 2018–19[12] | League Two | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Leeds United | 2019–20[40] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[41] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[19] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Leeds United U21 | 2020–21[41] | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22[19] | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Stoke City | 2022–23[27] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[30] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Port Vale (loan) | 2022–23[27] | League One | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Northampton Town | 2024–25[42] | League One | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 21 | 2 |
| Career total | 35 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 50 | 2 | ||