Daniel Thomas Trickett-Smith (born 8 September 1995) is an English

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 an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

. Liverpool signed him from

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

for a fee of £300,000 in 2012, and he turned professional at the club the following year. He spent three years at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

without making a first-team appearance. He then spent two seasons with American

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

before returning to England to join Leek Town in September 2017. He was signed by

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 January 2019 and

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

ed back to Leek Town. He joined

Curzon Ashton Curzon Ashton Football Club is an association football club based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1963 and nicknamed "The Nash", the club is affiliated to the Manchester Football Association and currently compete ...

on loan in September 2019 to

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester, more commonly known as FC United, is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home m ...

in February 2020 and again to Leek Town in October 2020. He featured in three cup games during his two-and-a-half seasons at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

before rejoining Leek Town in July 2021. He played for Leek on the losing side of the 2023 and 2024

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78 (then under Sheffield Rules. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed ...

finals and helped the club to win the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Division One West title in the 2023–24 campaign. He joined Hednesford Town in June 2024 and helped the club to win the

Division One West play-offs in 2025.

Club career

Liverpool

Trickett-Smith signed with

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

from

in the summer of 2012 for a fee of £300,000, with the potential to rise to £1 million. He initially did well for the "Reds", and was reported to be en route to

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed until h ...

's first-team after he helped the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or Sports league, league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team (a ...

to reach the semi-finals of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

. He signed professional forms at

in July 2013. However, he then struggled with injuries and was released by new manager

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive and former Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Klopp has been ...

after his

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

expired in summer 2016.

Sacramento Republic

On 19 May 2016, Trickett-Smith signed with American

side

;

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Paul Buckle Paul John Buckle (born 16 December 1970) is an English football manager and former player. He has previously been the interim head coach of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the manager of Torquay United, Bristol ...

said that "I have seen him train and he is a very, very talented player". He made his competitive debut ten days later in a 1–1 draw with

Swope Park Rangers Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Kansas Jayhawks, Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, ...

Bonney Field Heart Health Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California, United States. The soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of 11,569 and includes a full-sized (120 x 80 yard) soccer field. Heart Health Park is ...

. He scored his first goal for the "Quails" in a 6–2 victory over

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

on 22 June. This was his only goal in nine competitive appearances during the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

season. He featured 14 times in the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

season, scoring two goals. He was released by mutual consent on 18 August 2017.

Leek Town

Upon his return to England in September 2017, Trickett-Smith signed for

Division One South side Leek Town, who were managed by former Crewe

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Neil Baker. He made his debut on 16 September, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Niall Maguire in a 0–0 with Spalding United at

Harrison Park Harrison Park may refer to: * Harrison Park (Leek), a stadium in Leek, Staffordshire * Harrison Park (New Jersey), a former baseball ground in Harrison, New Jersey * Municipality of Harrison Park, a rural municipality in Manitoba * Harrison Park, ...

. He scored his first goals for the "Blues" ten days later, securing a brace in a 3–0 victory over

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. He ended the 2017–18 season with 13 goals in 38 league and cup appearances. He opened the 2018–19 season with a brace in a 4–0 win at

Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the Liverpool County Premier League and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool Count ...

. He went on to score a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 4–1 New Years Day win over Newcastle Town.

Port Vale

On 31 January 2019, Trickett-Smith 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 ...

side

on a deal to run until summer 2021 before being loaned back to Leek Town for the rest of the season. He was named on the Northern Premier League West Division team of the season for the 2018–19 campaign, alongside Leek teammate Danny Roberts. Leek reached the play-off final after finishing third in the league, but were beaten 2–1 by Radcliffe to miss out on

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

. Speaking in July 2019, manager

John Askey John Colin Askey (born 4 November 1964) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Truro City. Able to play as a winger or as a striker, Askey had pace and intelligence. A former youth team play ...

said that he would look to loan Trickett-Smith to a higher-level club than Leek Town. On 13 September, Trickett-Smith joined

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

side

on a two-month loan. He made a brief cameo for the "Nash" the following day, before scoring a long-range strike on his full debut on 28 September, in a 2–1 defeat at

Farsley Celtic Farsley Celtic Football Club is a football club based in Farsley, West Yorkshire, England. The club was founded in 1908, but folded in 2010 and were reformed as Farsley AFC before returning to the name Farsley Celtic in 2015.

. During this loan spell he also made his debut for the "Valiants" in a 2–1 victory over Newcastle United U21 in an

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

group stage game at

on 11 November. On 21 February 2020, he went out on loan to Northern Premier League Premier Division side

. On 13 October 2020, Trickett-Smith returned to former club Leek Town on loan for the first half of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season. He scored three goals in five games before the Northern Premier League was suspended due to restrictions put in place because of the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England were NHS England and Public ...

. He was not registered in the EFL squad for Port Vale during the second half of the

season and was released by new manager

Darrell Clarke Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played in the English Football League. He is the head coach of club Bristol Rovers ...

in May 2021.

Return to Leek Town

Trickett-Smith returned to Leek Town permanently after his release from Port Vale. He scored 19 goals in 38 appearances throughout the 2021–22 campaign. He was the joint-third highest goalscorer in the Northern Premier League Division One West, but could not prevent Leek losing 4–1 to

Runcorn Linnets Runcorn Linnets F.C. are an English football club based in Runcorn, Cheshire. The club currently plays in the , and is a full member of the Cheshire County Football Association. The club is run by a trust which is a registered society under th ...

in the play-off semi-finals. He scored seven goals in 42 games across the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, including an appearance in the

final defeat to Rushall Olympic and in the play-off semi-final defeat to Runcorn Linnets. Leek were crowned Northern Premier League Division One West champions at the end of the 2023–24 season. He scored 19 goals in 32 games during the campaign, including another appearance in the Staffordshire Senior Cup final where Leek again lost 1–0 to Rushall Olympic.

Hednesford Town

On 16 June 2024, Trickett-Smith signed with

to remain in the crowned Northern Premier League Division One West. He played in the FA Cup win over National League club

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

. The cup run came to and end in the first round Poper with a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

defeat to

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

. He scored 13 goals across 54 appearances in the 2024–25 campaign, including an appearance in the play-off final victory over

Congleton Town Congleton Town Football Club is an association football club based in Congleton, Cheshire, England. They currently play in the and are full members of the Cheshire County Football Association. The club have played in a number of regional leagu ...

International career

Trickett-Smith made three appearances for England under 16s.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

West Division team of the season: 2018–19 Leek Town *

runner-up: 2023, 2024 *Northern Premier League Division One West: 2023–24 Hednesford Town *

Division One West play-offs: 2025

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trickett-Smith, Daniel Living people 1995 births Footballers from Newcastle-under-Lyme English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers Sacramento Republic FC players Leek Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Curzon Ashton F.C. players F.C. United of Manchester players Hednesford Town F.C. players USL Championship players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States 21st-century English sportsmen