| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Regan Leslie Poole[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-06-18)18 June 1998 (age 27)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Centre-back[4] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Portsmouth | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Cardiff City | ||
| 2014 | Newport County | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2015 | Newport County | 15 | (0) |
| 2015–2019 | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | →Northampton Town (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2019 | →Newport County (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Milton Keynes Dons | 41 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Lincoln City | 111 | (3) |
| 2023– | Portsmouth | 53 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Wales U17 | 6 | (0) |
| 2016 | Wales U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2017 | Wales U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2016–2020 | Wales U21 | 23 | (0) |
| 2023– | Wales | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:14, 11 October 2023 (UTC) | |||
Regan Leslie Poole (born 18 June 1998) is a Welshfootballer who plays as acentre back forEFL Championship clubPortsmouth and theWales national team.
Poole was born inCardiff and loved playing football from an early age.[5]
Poole was a member of theCardiff City academy and joined theNewport County Academy as a scholar in June 2014. In September 2014, he was on trial atManchester United before he made his debut for the Newport County first team.[6] His Newport County debut came on 20 September 2014, at the age of 16 years and 94 days, when he was named in the starting line-up for aLeague Two match againstShrewsbury Town which ended in a 0–0 draw.[7] Poole became the youngest Newport County player, surpassing the record set bySteve Aizlewood in 1969. He retained his place for theEFL Trophy first round match againstSwindon Town on 23 September 2014. Swindon won the game 2–1.[8] In February 2015, Poole was shortlisted for theFootball League Apprentice of the Year award.[9] On 18 May 2015, Poole had a one-week trial withLiverpool.[10]
On 1 September 2015, Newport County confirmed Poole had joinedPremier League clubManchester United for an initial fee of £100,000, potentially rising to £400,000 with future add-ons.[11][12] It was assumed that Poole would join the club's Academy squad and "possibly be required for Under-21 andUEFA Youth League" matches.[13] On 7 October, it was reported that Poole had yet to receive international clearance to move from Wales to England, and consequently was unable to play in a competitive match for Manchester United.[14] On 1 February 2016, five months after joining Manchester United, Poole received international clearance and was free to play competitive football;[15] that evening he appeared as an 89th-minute substitute for the under-21 side in a 2–0 defeat toEverton.[16]
Poole was included in Manchester United's squad for theknockout phase of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League and given the number 41 shirt. He was an unused substitute in their last 32 first leg match away toMidtjylland on 18 February; in the home leg a week later he made his United debut as a last-minute substitute forAnder Herrera in a 5–1 win.[17]
On 7 July 2017, Poole agreed a season-long loan deal withLeague One sideNorthampton Town, where he would reunite with managerJustin Edinburgh, who gave Poole his Newport County debut three years earlier.[18] Poole's debut for Northampton came on 12 August in a 1–0 defeat toFleetwood Town atSixfields.[19] While naturally a defender, after the appointment ofJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as manager on 4 September, Poole featured regularly as amidfielder – a position he has played in for theManchester United Reserves, first doing so against Wigan Athletic on 19 September.[20]
Poole was a regular in the Manchester United reserve team during the 2018–19 season, but was unable to break into the first team and on 18 January 2019 he returned to Newport County on loan for the remainder of the season.[21] He was part of the team that reached theLeague Two playoff final atWembley Stadium on 25 May 2019. Newport lost toTranmere Rovers, 1-0 after a goal in the 119th minute.[22]
Following his release from Manchester United, on 14 June 2019 Poole signed for newly promotedLeague One clubMilton Keynes Dons on a free transfer on a contract of undisclosed length.[23] On 8 September 2020, Poole scored his first career professional goal in a 3–1EFL Trophy win overNorthampton Town.[24] On 29 December 2020 he scored his first professional league goal in a 4–1 away win overSwindon Town.[25]
On 30 January 2021, it was announced that Poole had signed a multi-year contract forLincoln City for an undisclosed fee.[26] He made his debut less than a week later, coming on as a second-half substitute atGillingham on 5 February.[27] He scored his first goal for the club on 16 October 2021, a last-minute winner againstCharlton Athletic.[28] Following the end2021-22 season, Poole would be named Lincoln City's Player and Players Player of the Season at the end of season awards.[29] On 10 May 2023, it was announced Poole would be leaving in the clubs retained list, despite the club trying to keep him, Poole wanted to play at a higher level.[30]
On 11 July 2023, Poole signed for League One clubPortsmouth.[31]
In October 2014, Poole was named in the Wales Under-17 squad for the matches against Russia, Belarus and Montenegro. He was an unused substitute in the first two games, but made his debut in the third against Montenegro in Minsk, when he started the 2–1 win.[32] In November 2015, Poole was named in the Wales under-19 squad for the Euro Under-19 qualifying matches against Georgia, Albania and Austria.[citation needed]
In August 2016, Poole was promoted to the Wales Under-21 squad for the2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship matches against Denmark and Luxembourg in September 2016 in place of the injuredLee Evans. In May 2017, Poole was named in theWales under-20 squad for the2017 Toulon Tournament. He was named in the starting line-up in all three of Wales' group matches against theIvory Coast,France andBahrain as Wales were eliminated in the group stage.[33][34][35]
Poole was named in a preliminary seniorWales squad in May 2018 for a friendly againstMexico, but was left out of the final selection.[36] Poole replacedChris Mepham, who withdrew from injury, in the senior Wales squad for theirUEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Slovakia and Croatia in October 2019.[37]
On 11 October 2023, he made his senior debut for Wales, starting in a 4–0 friendly win overGibraltar.[38]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Newport County | 2014–15[39] | League Two | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2015–16[40] | League Two | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Manchester United | 2015–16[40] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[41] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[42] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19[43] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Northampton Town (loan) | 2017–18[42] | League One | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Newport County (loan) | 2018–19[43] | League Two | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| Milton Keynes Dons | 2019–20[44] | League One | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2020–21[45] | League One | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 3 | 28 | 4 | |
| Total | 41 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 53 | 4 | ||
| Lincoln City | 2020–21[45] | League One | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2021–22[46] | League One | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 50 | 1 | |
| 2022–23[47] | League One | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6[c] | 1 | 56 | 3 | |
| Total | 111 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 130 | 4 | ||
| Portsmouth | 2023–24[48] | League One | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
| 2024–25[49] | Championship | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Total | 38 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 247 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 292 | 12 | ||
Portsmouth
Individual
