Donald Alistair Love (born 2 December 1994) 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 defender for club

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

. Love began his professional career with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, but made just two senior appearances, and after a loan spell with

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

in 2015, he was sold to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

at the end of the 2015–16 season. Three years into a four-year contract, he was released by the club and joined Shrewsbury Town. Born in England, Love represents Scotland at international level, having played for the under-17, under-19 and under-21 national teams.

Club career

Manchester United and Wigan Athletic (loan)

Love was born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, Greater Manchester. He played junior football for Northwich Town and was personally scouted by

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

. After rising through the ranks of the Manchester United academy, he first signed a professional contract with Manchester United in 2013. On 2 October 2015, he was loaned to

for two months. Love made his professional debut the following day, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute for

Will Grigg William Donald Grigg (born 3 July 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Chesterfield. Grigg began his professional career at Walsall and came to prominence during the 2012–13 season, winning the club's Playe ...

in a goalless League One draw with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

at the

DW Stadium The Brick Community Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Robin Park in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is used by Wigan Warriors rugby league club and Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic association football, football club. The stadium is ...

. Love totalled eight appearances for the Latics. After returning from his loan spell, Love made his Manchester United debut in a 2–1 defeat against

at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The ...

on 13 February 2016, coming on as a first-half substitute for the injured Matteo Darmian. Five days later, he made his first start in an injury-stricken United team, a 2–1 loss away to

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

in the first leg of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

round of 32, and was booked for a challenge on

Martin Pušić Martin Pušić (born 24 October 1987) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is of Croatian descent. Club career Early career in Austria Pušić began his career in the youth team of Austria Wien. In 2004, he ...

that caused the Austrian to be substituted.

Sunderland

On 11 August 2016, Love joined Premier League club

on a four-year deal. He joined with his Manchester United teammate Paddy McNair, for a combined fee of £5.5 million. He made his debut two days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 loss at

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, and scored his first goal for Sunderland in an

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 ...

tie against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

on 22 August 2017. In August 2018, Love sustained an injury to his ankle which, after attempting to continue playing for another three matches, kept him out of first-team action for the remainder of the 2018–19 season. After three years, a year before the end of his contract, Love was released by Sunderland in July 2019.

Shrewsbury Town

Following his release from Sunderland, on 12 July 2019, Love signed for fellow League One side

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

on a two-year deal. He made his debut on 3 August, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 home win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. On 13 November, after coming on in the 67th minute for

Louis Thompson Louis Clyde William Thompson (born 19 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive-midfielder for club Stevenage. He is a former Wales U21 international. His brother Nathan is a professional footballer who plays for ...

in a 3–1 win over Macclesfield Town in the

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, he was sent off. On 26 January 2020, in the fourth round of the FA Cup at home to

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 ...

, Love drove

Neco Williams Neco Shay Williams (born 13 April 2001) is a Welsh professional association football, footballer who plays as a Full-back (association football), full-back for club Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest and the Wales national football tea ...

' cross into his own net in the first minute of the second half to give Liverpool a 2–0 lead, though Shrewsbury drew the match 2–2 to earn a replay. On 12 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Shrewsbury at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.

Salford City

On 31 August 2021, he signed a one-year contract with League Two side Salford City, with manager

Gary Bowyer Gary David Bowyer (born 22 June 1971) is an English professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Burton Albion. As a player, he made 52 league appearances for Hereford United, Nottingham Forest and Rotherham United in a p ...

signing him to provide competition in various positions.

Morecambe

On 17 June 2022, Love agreed to join League One club

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

on a two-year deal upon the expiration of his contract with Salford City.

Accrington Stanley

On 23 July 2024, Love agreed to join League Two club

on a two-year deal.

International career

Love was born in Rochdale, England but qualifies for the Scotland national team through his

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

-born grandmother. He has represented Scotland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Donald 1994 births Living people Footballers from Rochdale English men's footballers Scottish men's footballers English people of Scottish descent Men's association football fullbacks Manchester United F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's youth international footballers 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Scottish sportsmen