Calum Graham Kavanagh (born 5 September 2003) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

. Born in Wales, he has represented the Republic of Ireland internationally at under-17 & under-21 level.

Early and personal life

Kavanagh is the son of former professional footballer

Graham Kavanagh Graham Anthony Kavanagh (born 2 December 1973) is an Irish football manager and former professional player. Kavanagh had a 19-year-long career and played for Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednes ...

, who played internationally for the Republic of Ireland. He was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, whilst his father was playing for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

and grew up in England once his father returned there after leaving Cardiff City.

Club career

After coming through

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

's academy, he made his debut for the club's under-18 side during the 2019–20 season and, after a string of impressive performances, was linked with a potential transfer to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

clubs

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and Chelsea. He signed a scholarship deal with the club in summer 2020, before signing a three-year professional contract in September 2020. On 28 January 2022, it was announced that Kavanagh had joined

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

club

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Harrogate Hotspurs were fou ...

on loan until the end of the season. On 19 March 2022, he scored his first goal for the club on his seventh appearance. On 31 January 2023, Kavanagh joined Newport County on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. He made his Newport debut in a 2–1 win against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

on 4 February 2023 as a second-half substitute, scoring the second Newport goal. Kavanagh's Middlesbrough debut came on 19 December 2023 in a 0–3 away win over

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in the quarter-final of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

, where he was substituted on in the 73rd minute. On 26 December 2023, he came on as a substitute in a 1–0 away loss to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

to make his league debut. His home debut came in a 3–1 loss to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

on 1 January 2024. On 1 February 2024, Kavanagh signed for League Two club

for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

International career

Kavanagh made 4 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national under-17 team, scoring one goal. He made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21 side on 7 June 2024, in a 3–2 win away to Croatia U21 in a friendly.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Calum 2003 births Living people Footballers from Cardiff Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Welsh men's footballers Welsh people of Irish descent Men's association football forwards Middlesbrough F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League players 21st-century Irish sportsmen 21st-century British sportsmen