| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Carl Ward[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1990-12-09)9 December 1990 (age 34)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bradford, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Left winger,forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2007 | Leeds United | ||
| 2007–2009 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2011 | Bolton Wanderers | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | →Swindon Town (loan) | 30 | (9) |
| 2010 | →Coventry City (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2011 | →Huddersfield Town (loan) | 7 | (3) |
| 2011–2015 | Huddersfield Town | 117 | (16) |
| 2015 | →Rotherham United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Rotherham United | 90 | (18) |
| 2017–2020 | Cardiff City | 60 | (12) |
| 2020–2025 | Huddersfield Town | 129 | (23) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:47, 5 May 2025 (UTC) | |||
Daniel Carl Ward (born 9 December 1990) is an English professionalfootballer who recently played as aforward orwinger forEFL League One clubHuddersfield Town. He currently is a free agent.
Ward started his career in theBradford City youth setup before he was snapped up byWest Yorkshire rivalsLeeds United, but he turned down a new deal at Leeds to joinPremier League sideBolton Wanderers. Leeds received compensation as a result of Ward leaving. Danny made his senior debut for Bolton as a substitute in the club's 0–1 homePremier League defeat toSunderland on 15 August 2009.[3]
On 26 November 2009, he signed forSwindon Town on a one-month loan deal and on 28 December 2009 he scored his first professional goal for Swindon Town in the 46th minute in a 3–1 home win overYeovil Town.
On 7 September 2010, Ward signed a new three-year contract with Bolton[4] and three days later signed on a three-month loan deal withCoventry City.[5] He made his debut for them in the home game againstLeicester City the day after. The loan was cut short on 15 October as Ward returned to Bolton for an operation on his groin which kept him out of the game until the following March.[6]
After recovering from his injury, Ward was sent on loan toFootball League One sideHuddersfield Town on 15 March 2011, for the remainder of the season.[7] He made his debut as a substitute in the 1–0 win overBrentford atGriffin Park on the same day. He scored his first goal, which was the winner to make it 3–2, for Huddersfield againstBrighton & Hove Albion on 30 April 2011, which also happened to be the last goal scored at theWithdean Stadium, before going on to score twice in the final league game of the season in the 4–4 home draw withBrentford. Ward scored in the League One play-off semi-final second-leg againstA.F.C. Bournemouth. The match was 3–3 after 120 minutes, but Huddersfield won on penalties 4–2, which included Ward scoring his, qualifying Huddersfield for the final atOld Trafford where they just came short of promotion losing 3–0 in the final againstPeterborough United.
On 11 July 2011, Ward signed a three-year contract atHuddersfield Town.[8] The fee was around £1 million.[9] He made his second début for the Terriers in their 1–1 draw againstBury, at theGalpharm Stadium,[10] on 6 August 2011. He scored his first goal the week after in the 2–2 away draw toRochdale.[11] Ward finished the season with 47 appearances in all competitions scoring five times four league goals, he also made 39 appearances in the league as Huddersfield finished the season as Play-off champions winning promotion to the Championship after beating Sheffield United 8–7 on penalties in the Wembley final.[12]
Ward started his first game of the 2012–13 season in Huddersfield's 1–0 away defeat atPreston North End in theFootball League Cup when he was substituted in the 46th minute.[13] first league game came in Huddersfield's first home game of the coming on as an 81st-minute substitute in Huddersfield's 1–1 home draw withNottingham Forest on 21 August 2012.[14] Ward's first league start didn't come until 1 September in a 2–2 away draw atIpswich Town,[15] his first goal came in the next match at home toDerby County when he scored the only goal of the 1–0 game after just 47 seconds on 15 September 2012.[16]
On 9 January 2015, Ward moved on loan toRotherham United on a 28-day emergency loan, with a view to a permanent deal.[17]On 12 January 2015, it was confirmed that Ward had made a permanent deal with the Millers for an undisclosed fee.[18] Rotherham escaped relegation during 2015–16 season.
The following season, Ward was one of the highlights in a poor season as Rotherham were relegated, which led to attraction from other clubs. Ward finished the club's top goalscorers with 12 goals to his name, and his contract was extended by a further year at the end of the season.[19]
During the 2016-17 season, on Tuesday 27 September, Ward scored a goal away against vsHuddersfield Town, whose goalkeeper was also calledDanny Ward.[20]
During the 2017 summer transfer window, Rotherham accepted a £1.6 million plus add-ons bid fromCardiff City for Ward,[21] completing the move on 23 June 2017, signing a three-year deal that will last until the summer of 2020.[22] He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2017–18 season, during a 1–0 victory overBurton Albion as a substitute in place ofJunior Hoilett.[23] Ward scored his first goal for the club atFulham in a 1–1 draw, on 9 September.[24] Following an injury toKenneth Zohore, Ward saw a successful run in the starting line up scoring three in six games, one of which (againstNottingham Forest) was nominated for the EFL Goal of the Month, before surgery ruled him out for up 3 months.[25][26] Cardiff were promoted to thePremier League at the end of the season.
Ward made his return in the opening game of the following season, a 2–0 loss atBournemouth.[27] He scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–3 defeat to Arsenal on 2 September 2018.[28] Cardiff, however, were eventually relegated as Ward endured an injury hit season managing to make 16 appearances in total.[29][30]
Ward missed the first month of the 2019–20 Championship season through injury, making his comeback in a 1–0 victory overMiddlesbrough, followed by his first goal of the season atHull City in a 2–2 draw.[31] This was followed by a brace atWest Bromwich Albion on 5 October.[32]
On 17 August 2020, Ward re-joinedHuddersfield Town,[33][34] signing a three-year deal.[35] On 22 January 2022, he scored ahat-trick in a 4–3 victory away toReading – Huddersfield's first league hat-trick since Ward himself scored one in 2014.[36]
Ward was released upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the2024–25 season.[37]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 2009–10[38] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |
| Swindon Town (loan) | 2009–10[38] | League One | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 32 | 9 |
| Coventry City (loan) | 2010–11[39] | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |
| Huddersfield Town (loan) | 2010–11[39] | League One | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| Huddersfield Town | 2011–12[40] | League One | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5[b] | 0 | 47 | 5 |
| 2012–13[41] | Championship | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14[42] | Championship | 38 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 40 | 10 | ||
| 2014–15[43] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 117 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 130 | 17 | ||
| Rotherham United (loan) | 2014–15[43] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| Rotherham United | 2014–15[43] | Championship | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 15 | 3 | |
| 2015–16[44] | Championship | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17[45] | Championship | 41 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 43 | 12 | ||
| Total | 90 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 19 | ||
| Cardiff City | 2017–18[46] | Championship | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 20 | 4 | |
| 2018–19[47] | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20[48] | Championship | 28 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 33 | 8 | |
| Total | 60 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 13 | ||
| Huddersfield Town | 2020–21[49] | Championship | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 20 | 1 | |
| 2021–22[50] | Championship | 40 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 47 | 14 | |
| 2022–23[51] | Championship | 36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2023–24[52] | Championship | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 3 | ||
| 2024–25[53] | League One | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4[d] | 2 | 20 | 3 | |
| Total | 129 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 144 | 26 | ||
| Career total | 441 | 82 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 3 | 487 | 88 | ||
Huddersfield Town
Cardiff City
Individual
