Karl Darlow (born 8 October 1990) is an English 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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club Newcastle United. He is the grandson of former

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

international forward Ken Leek who was included in the Welsh 1958 World Cup squad. Darlow is a product of the Aston Villa and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

academies and spent time on loan at both Newport County and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

earlier in his career.

Club career

Nottingham Forest

Weeks after being released by Aston Villa at the age of 16, Villa goalkeeping coach Eric Steele recommended Darlow to Forest and he was signed up in their academy. After impressive displays in the reserve team Darlow was awarded a space on the bench where he was present for the majority of the 2010–11 season. His debut was against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, on the last day of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season, as a substitute for Lee Camp. The Reds won the game 3–0, a result that secured them a play-off spot. In March 2012, Darlow joined Newport County in the Conference National league on loan for a month. He made his first appearance for the club in a 1–0 home win against Gateshead. On 21 September 2012, Darlow joined

on loan for one month. While there, he signed a new three-year contract at parent club Forest, keeping him there until 2015. On 22 October, his loan with Walsall was extended until 22 December 2012, however Forest recalled him four days later due for an injured Forest goalkeeper Dimitar Evtimov. He rejoined Walsall on 1 January 2013 in a one-month loan deal, with the view to extending the loan for the end of the season, Darlow was recalled again on 10 January after first choice Lee Camp had been told he could leave the club on a free transfer. On 12 January 2013 he made his full Forest league debut in the 2–1 win over Peterborough, and ended with 20 league appearances for the club in the 2012–13 season. Darlow signed a new four-year contract on 23 August 2013 and established himself as manager Billy Davies's first-choice goalkeeper despite the summer arrival of Dorus de Vries.

Newcastle United

On 9 August 2014, Darlow signed a long-term contract with

club Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee. As part of the deal, he and teammate Jamaal Lascelles were loaned back to Nottingham Forest for the 2014–15 season. He made his debut for Newcastle on 25 August 2015, in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

fixture against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

which Newcastle won 4–1. He made his Premier League debut on 28 December 2015, against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

as a late inclusion, after regular keeper Rob Elliot was forced to pull out due to illness; the Magpies lost the game 1–0 after Darlow let Darren Fletcher's header slip through his hands. Following a season-ending injury to Elliot while away on international duty, Darlow was forced to take over in net for Newcastle's final 8 matches as they attempted to avoid relegation. On 30 April 2016, Darlow saved a penalty from

Yohan Cabaye Yohan Cabaye (; born 14 January 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Cabaye began his football career playing for hometown club US Tourcoing at the age of six. After seven years developing in the club's ...

, in a 1–0 Premier League win against

. Newcastle were relegated on 11 May following a victory for rivals Sunderland over Everton. Darlow entered the 2016–17 season in a competition with summer signing

Matz Sels Matz Willy Els Sels (born 26 February 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg and the Belgium national team. Club career Lierse SK Sels started his youth career at Kontich, but transf ...

to start the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

season in goal, which Darlow lost. Darlow played in Newcastle's first two League Cup matches against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

and

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, picking up clean sheets in both. On 28 September, Darlow received his first Championship start of the season, replacing Sels against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

for a 4–3 win. He became the club's first-choice goalkeeper under

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...

ahead of Elliot, Sels and

Freddie Woodman Frederick John Woodman (born 4 March 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Preston North End F.C., Preston North End. Woodman sta ...

. Darlow made 34 appearances, keeping 13 clean sheets, in 2016–17 as Newcastle were promoted to the Premier League as winners of the Championship. Darlow would compete with Rob Elliot during 2017–18 season as first choice Goalkeeper in the

, with Darlow making 12 appearances, however both lost their place in the team when

Martin Dúbravka Martin Dúbravka (born 15 January 1989) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Newcastle United and the Slovakia national team. After playing in the top flights of Slovak, Danish and Czech football, Dúbravka j ...

was signed on loan in January 2018. After starting the 2018–19 season as second choice behind Dúbravka, Darlow made his first and only appearance of the season on 29 August 2018, when he started in the EFL Cup 3–1 defeat against his former club Nottingham Forest. On 11 September 2020, he signed a five-year extension to his contract that would keep him at the club until 2025.

Hull City (loan)

On 31 January 2023, Darlow joined

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. The terms on his loan meant that Darlow could not be recalled despite Newcastle facing a goalkeeping shortage ahead of the

2023 EFL Cup final The 2023 EFL Cup final was the final of the 2022–23 EFL Cup. It was played between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 26 February 2023. This was Newcastle's first final since the 1999 FA Cup final, ...

on 26 February. He made his debut for Hull City on 25 February 2023, in a 1–0 loss away to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

International career

In addition to England, Darlow is eligible to represent Wales as his grandfather Ken Leek (a Wales international forward) was born in

Ynysybwl Ynysybwl ( cy, Ynys-y-bŵl ) is a village in Cwm Clydach in Wales. It is situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, roughly north-north-west of Cardiff, north of Pontypridd and south of Merthyr Tydfil, and forms part of the communit ...

. The

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

confirmed Darlow had declined an invitation to be included in the

Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Austria on 6 February 2013. New

Manager Ryan Giggs approached Darlow in March 2018 to be included in the Wales squad. Darlow advised he was currently concentrating on winning back his place in the Newcastle United starting line-up. Speculation developed that Darlow might have ended his playing in the Wales squad in November 2020 after revealing his ambition of playing for England, saying: "It’s the one thing that as a child you want to do" and "I would love nothing more".

Career statistics

Honours

Newcastle United * EFL Championship: 2016–17

References

External links

*
Nottingham Forest profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darlow, Karl 1990 births Living people Footballers from Northampton English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Nottingham Forest F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players English people of Welsh descent Premier League players