Ryan George Henson Loft (born 14 September 1997) 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 striker for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

Early and personal life

Born in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is th ...

, Loft attended

Northfleet Technology College Northfleet Technology College (formerly Northfleet School for Boys) is located in Northfleet, Kent. It is an all-boys school that offers secondary education for students aged 11+. As part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, a new ...

, where he was a high jump champion.

Career

After playing for

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock ...

and Ebbsfleet United, Loft joined

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

for the 2013–14 season. He moved to Braintree Town in March 2016 on a 'work experience' deal, He signed on loan for

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...

in January 2017, and for Exeter City in January 2018. He was released by Tottenham at the end of the 2017–18 season. In July 2018 Loft signed a two-year contract with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

. He moved on loan to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

in August 2019. He was released by Leicester at the end of the 2019–20 season. In August 2020 he signed for

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

on a two-year contract.

Bristol Rovers

On 4 January 2022, Loft joined fellow League Two side

for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-and-a-half year deal with the club. He made his debut in a 2–0 win over

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartl ...

. Loft opened his account for the club on 18 April 2022, scoring the third goal in injury time to secure a vital win for Rovers over promotion rivals

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

, lifting the ball over the onrushing Vale goalkeeper after being played through by Sam Finley. The season ended with a first career promotion for Loft, a 7–0 victory over Loft's former club Scunthorpe seeing Rovers overtake Northampton Town into the final automatic promotion place on goals scored. Loft started the 2022–23 season by scoring five goals in a six-match spell through August to September 2022. Loft had impressed manager

Joey Barton Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City. He is currently the man ...

with his willingness to work for the team having returned to pre-season in fitter shape, becoming a permanent fixture in the starting line-up.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loft, Ryan 1997 births Living people Footballers from Gravesend, Kent English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Dartford F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players English Football League players