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Luke McCullough

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Luke McCullough
Personal information
Full name Luke McCullough[1]
Date of birth (1994-02-15) 15 February 1994 (age 32)
Place of birth Portadown, Northern Ireland[1]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Carrick Rangers
Number 12
Youth career
Loughgall Youth
?–2010 Dungannon Swifts
2010–2012 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Manchester United 0 (0)
2013 → Cheltenham Town (loan) 1 (0)
2013–2019 Doncaster Rovers 99 (0)
2018–2019 → Tranmere Rovers (loan) 36 (0)
2020 Tranmere Rovers 6 (0)
2020–2024 Glentoran 98 (3)
2024- Carrick Rangers 74 (4)
International career‡
Northern Ireland U16 5 (0)
Northern Ireland U17 10 (1)
2012 Northern Ireland U19 1 (0)
Northern Ireland U20 2 (1)
2013–2015 Northern Ireland U21 8 (0)
2014–2018 Northern Ireland 6 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 April 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:48, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Luke McCullough (born 15 February 1994) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Carrick Rangers in the NIFL Premiership.

Club career

[edit]

McCullough started his career with his local team, Loughgall Youth, before joining Dungannon Swifts where he played in the first team in the IFA Premiership at the age of 15.[2]

Manchester United

[edit]

He moved to England to play for Manchester United in July 2010.[3] He captained the academy side throughout the 2011–12 campaign, making 25 appearances.[3] On 25 January 2013, he joined Football League Two side Cheltenham Town on a one-month loan deal.[4] He made his league debut on 16 February 2013, in a 1–1 draw with Aldershot Town, coming on as a substitute for Steve Elliott.[5]

Doncaster Rovers

[edit]

After spending time on trial during pre-season, McCullough signed a two-year deal with Doncaster Rovers on 25 July 2013. He made his debut for Doncaster when he started in Rovers' 3–1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship on 2 November 2013.[2]

On 23 July 2016, McCullough signed a new three-year contract.[6] However, less than a month later, on 2 August 2016, it was announced that McCullough would miss the entire season with a cruciate ligament injury.[7]

He was released by Doncaster at the end of the 2018–19 season after spending much of it on loan at Tranmere Rovers.[8]

Tranmere Rovers

[edit]

McCullough re-signed for Tranmere on no-contract terms on 6 January 2020.[9] The deal was made permanent 24 days later.[10]

Glentoran

[edit]

McCullough returned to his native Northern Ireland on 1 August 2020, by signing for East Belfast side, Glentoran.[11] On 7 May 2024, it was announced that McCullough would be one of ten players departing Glentoran upon the expiry of their contracts.[12]

International career

[edit]

McCullough first represented Northern Ireland at under-16 level where he became captain. He was also captain of the under-17s.[13] Although named in the squad twice before, his first appearance for the under-19s was a start in the 8–1 victory away to Moldova on 15 October 2012. Although he didn't score in that game, he was credited with two assists.[14]

On the same day he signed a contract with Doncaster Rovers, he also received a call-up to play for the under-21 squad in the Milk Cup.[15]

McCullough senior debut came in a friendly loss against Uruguay. McCullough has since become a regular feature of the Northern Irish squad, going to Euro 2016. He did not make an appearance at the tournament.[16]

Personal life

[edit]

McCullough is a Rangers fan.[13] His father, Dean McCullough, was also a footballer who played for Glenavon and Portadown. His brother, Neil McCullough, plays for Linfield with whom he won the Irish Premiership in 2025.

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 25 October 2025[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2012–13[18] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2012–13[18] League Two 1 0 — — — 0 0 1 0
Doncaster Rovers 2013–14[19] Championship 14 0 1 0 0 0 — — 15 0
2014–15[20] League One 33 0 4 1 3 0 — 1[c] 0 41 1
2015–16[21] League One 32 0 1 0 2 0 — 0 0 35 0
2016–17[22] League Two 7 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 7 0
2017–18[23] League One 13 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 13 0
2018–19[24] League One 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 0 0 1 0
Total 99 0 6 1 6 0 — 1 0 112 1
Tranmere Rovers (loan) 2018–19[24] League Two 36 0 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 37 0
Tranmere Rovers 2019–20[25] League One 6 0 0 0 — — 1[c] 0 7 0
Glentoran 2020–21[26] NIFL Premiership 6 0 0 0 — 1[d] 0 — 7 0
2021–22[17] NIFL Premiership 13 1 0 0 1 0 2[e] 0 — 16 1
2022–23[17] NIFL Premiership 27 2 1 0 2 0 — — 30 2
2023–24[17] NIFL Premiership 26 1 2 0 0 0 2[e] 0 — 30 1
Total 72 4 3 0 3 0 5 0 — 83 4
Carrick Rangers 2024–25[17] NIFL Premiership 34 1 3 2 0 0 — 2[f] 0 39 3
2025–26[17] NIFL Premiership 12 1 0 0 0 0 — — 12 1
Total 46 2 3 2 0 0 — 2 0 51 4
Career total 260 6 13 3 9 0 5 0 4 0 291 9
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup and Irish Cup
  2. ^ Includes Football League Cup and Northern Ireland Football League Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ^ Appearance(s) in NIFL Premiership play-offs

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year[27]
National team Year Apps Goals
Northern Ireland 2014 3 0
2015 2 0
2018 1 0
Total 6 0

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Player Details: Luke McCullough". English National Football Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b "McCullough Deal Confirmed". DRFC Official Site. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Luke McCullough profile". Manchester United F.C. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Manchester United's Luke McCullough joins Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Cheltenham 1–1 Aldershot". BBC Sport. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Luke McCullough: Northern Ireland international signs new Doncaster contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Luke McCullough: Doncaster Rovers man to miss entire season with knee injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Doncaster Rovers: Tommy Rowe, Andy Butler & Danny Andrew offered new deals". BBC Sport. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Luke McCullough: Tranmere re-sign midfielder after knee injury". BBC Sport. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Luke McCullough: Tranmere Rovers sign midfielder until the end of the season". BBC Sport. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Welcome Jamie, Luke and Rory". Glentoran F.C. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Player Departures Announced". glentoran.com. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Luke McCullough scores scholarship deal with Manchester United". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Luke McCullough". UEFA. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Stephen Robinson's hopes rest on seasoned starlets in quest for Milk Cup glory". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Luke McCullough | IFA". IFA. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Luke McCullough at Soccerway. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  20. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  21. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  22. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  23. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  25. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  26. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  27. ^ "Luke McCullough". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
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