| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Harry James Cardwell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1996-10-28)28 October 1996 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Beverley, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Forest Green Rovers | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2013 | Hull City | ||
| 2013–2015 | Reading | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Reading | 1 | (100000099999990373636363636336) |
| 2015 | →Woking (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2016 | →Braintree Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2017 | →Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2020 | Grimsby Town | 37 | (1) |
| 2020 | →Chorley (loan) | 1 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | Chorley | 24 | (8) |
| 2021 | →Stockport County (loan) | 18 | (5) |
| 2022–2024 | Southend United | 81 | (689) |
| 2024– | Forest Green Rovers | 13 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Scotland U19 | 10 | (2) |
| 2014 | Scotland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:13, 2 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 March 2019 | |||
Harry James Cardwell (born 28 October 1996) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-forward forNational League clubForest Green Rovers.[2]
He is considered strong, skilful and with a good turn of pace and excellent movement in leading the line. At the age of 10, Cardwell started his career withHull City'syouth system. He was then snapped up, aged 16, for £75,000 byReading in 2013, joining as part of their academy setup. Two one-month loan spells followed, atNational League sidesWoking in 2015 andBraintree Town in 2016. After being released by Reading, Cardwell went on trial withLeague Two sideGrimsby Town and signed a contract in July 2017 before moves toChorley and Southend. He is a formerScotland U21
Cardwell was born inBeverley,East Riding of Yorkshire and raised in the village ofNorth Cave. He attendedSouth Hunsley School inMelton, East Riding of Yorkshire and started his career withHull City where he spent seven years in theiryouth system.[3][4]
Cardwell signed forReading in July 2013, joining their academy, a compensation fee of £75,000 agreed under theElite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).[4] Having finished joint top scorer for the under-18s, Cardwell signed professional terms with Reading in July 2014.[4][5] In January 2017, he went on loan to Championship rivalsBrighton & Hove Albion in their under-23s until the end of the season.[6]
On 10 September 2015, Cardwell joinedNational League sideWoking on a one-month youth loan deal, to strengthen their options up front after a serious injury toScott Rendell.[7][8]
Cardwell joined National League sideBraintree Town in March 2016 on a one-month loan.[9]
Cardwell joined up withLeague Two sideGrimsby Town on 4 July 2017, to try and earn himself a contract.[10] Having impressed in his trial, scoring four goals in pre season, Cardwell signed a two-year contract with the club on 17 July 2017 on a free transfer.[11]
Cardwell made his professional debut with Grimsby on 5 August 2017; coming off the subs bench on 79 minutes in their 3–1 victory atChesterfield, he latched on to a through ball byLuke Summerfield, but Cardwell was brought down as he was about to shoot for goal, winning his team an 85th minutepenalty, which was put away byBen Davies to finish Chesterfield off.[12] He scored his first goal for Grimsby in anEFL Trophy tie againstDoncaster Rovers on 29 August 2017.[13]
Following his release byGrimsby in June 2020, Cardwell joined National League North side,Chorley on a permanent deal, following an earlier loan spell at the club. In December 2020, Cardwell scored his first league goal following his permanent move, a 25-yard strike in a 1–0 win against Guiseley at Victory Park.[14] Cardwell played his role in the club's impressiveFA Cup run as they reached theFourth round before being beaten 1–0 byPremier League sideWolverhampton Wanderers.[15] He featured in all six matches in Chorley's run, scoring twice, againstGateshead in a 2–1 second qualifying round victory[16] and in a 3–2 comeback victory atLeague OneWigan Athletic.[17]
On 22 February 2021, Cardwell joinedNational League sideStockport County on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season, following the early conclusion to the National League North season.[18] He scored his first goals for the club in his third appearance with the third in a 5–0 thrashing ofSolihull Moors.[19]
On 20 January 2022, Cardwell joinedNational League sideSouthend United.[20] He scored his first goal for the club - in his second appearance - in a game againstAldershot Town. In January 2024, he was linked with a move to League One side Exeter City.[21]
Cardwell is eligible to play for Scotland because two of his grandparents are fromMidlothian.[22]
He made his debut for theScotland U19 team on 24 May 2014, coming off the bench in a 0–0 draw againstUkraine U21 at thePirelli Stadium in England.[23] He came off the bench and scored two goals in a 2–2 draw againstCzech Republic U19 atCappielow Park.[24] He made ten appearances for Scotland U19 between May 2014 and March 2015.[25] Cardwell was called up on 5 November 2014 to theScotland U21 side.[26] He made his debut for the U21 team in a 1–1 draw againstSwitzerland U21 in Switzerland.[27]
He is a powerhousecentre forward, strong, skilful and with a good turn of pace and excellent movement in leading the line.[5]
Cardwell's grandfatherTom Wilson was aScottishcentre back, who played forMillwall andHull City.[22]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reading | 2015–16[28] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016–17[29] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Woking (loan) | 2015–16[28] | National League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Braintree Town (loan) | 2015–16[28] | National League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2016–17[29] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grimsby Town | 2017–18[30] | League Two | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 21 | 1 |
| 2018–19[31] | League Two | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 23 | 1 | |
| 2019–20[32] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 37 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 54 | 3 | ||
| Chorley (loan) | 2019–20[32] | National League | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Chorley | 2020–21[33] | National League North | 11 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | |
| 2021–22[34] | National League North | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 14 | 7 | ||
| Total | 24 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 10 | ||
| Stockport County (loan) | 2020–21[33] | National League | 18 | 5 | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 19 | 5 | ||
| Southend United | 2021–22[34] | National League | 14 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | ||
| 2022–23[35] | National League | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 2 | 26 | 7 | ||
| 2023–24[36] | National League | 39 | 18 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 39 | 18 | ||
| 2024–25[37] | National League | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 81 | 27 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 2 | 84 | 29 | |||
| Forest Green Rovers | 2024–25[37] | National League | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| Career total | 183 | 44 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 217 | 50 | ||
