Elliot John Embleton (born 2 April 1999) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

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 ...

. He has also played for

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 ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, with loan spells spent at

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, Blackpool and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, and has represented England from under-17 to under-20 level.

Club career

Sunderland

Embleton was named on the bench on six occasions during the

2016–17 Premier League The 2016–17 Premier League was the 25th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 118th season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

, having featured many times for the under-23 side. His first-team debut came on 9 December 2017 as an injury-time substitute for

Lynden Gooch Lynden Jack Gooch (born December 24, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger or wing-back for club Stoke City. He will become a free agent on 30 June 2025. He began his professional career at Sunderland, playing ...

in a goalless draw with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. On 30 August 2018, Embleton joined

on loan until January 2019. He established himself as a regular starter for the Lincolnshire side, scoring four goals during this period, and on 2 January 2019 the two clubs announced an extension of the loan to the end of the 2018–19 season. On 1 February 2021, Embleton joined League One side

on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. He scored his first goal for Sunderland in a 2–1 win at

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

on 14 August 2021. Embleton scored the first of Sunderland's goals in the 2–0 win over

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

in the 2022 EFL League One play-off final that secured promotion to the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

. He played in Sunderland's first 23 games in the Championship in the 2022–23 season, scoring twice before his season was cut short in December after ankle ligament damage in a match against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

, an incident for which he got

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

. It was not until September 2023, a month into the following season, when he was fit enough to be in consideration for first-team action. On 1 September 2023, Embleton joined League One club

on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 16 September 2023, in a 1–1 draw at home to

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 ...

as a 38th-minute substitute. Embleton started Derby's

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 ...

tie against Lincoln City on 19 September 2023, playing 59 minutes. On 22 September 2023, he picked up an injury whilst taking a

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

in a light training session on the eve of Derby's match at

. On 28 September 2023, Derby head coach

Paul Warne Paul Warne (born 8 May 1973) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of League Two club Milton Keynes Dons. Warne started his playing career in his native Norfolk for Great Yarmouth Town, Diss Tow ...

confirmed that Embleton had torn his

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

and would be out for "three to six months". Warne said the injury may require surgery. Embleton returned to Sunderland for his rehabilitation, with Derby keeping their contribution of the player's wages going until January, but the loan deal was effectively over. The loan was officially terminated on 10 January 2024.

Blackpool

He rejoined Blackpool on a permanent basis in August 2024 for an undisclosed fee.

Carlisle United

Embleton joined Carlisle United for an undisclosed fee on 2 January 2025.

International career

Embleton has represented England from under-17 to under-20 level. In May 2017, Embleton was included in an

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s) or England Men's Elite Squad, represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the gov ...

squad for the

2017 Toulon Tournament The 2017 Toulon Tournament (officially ) was the 45th edition of the Toulon Tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the tournament in 1967 and died in 2016. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 29 ...

. He scored in the semi-final against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In the final, Embleton converted his penalty during the shoot-out as England defeated

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

to win the tournament. In July 2018, Embleton was included in the England U19 squad for the

2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-19 Euro 2018) was the 17th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (67th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual international youth foot ...

. He scored in the opening group match against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Career statistics

Honours

Blackpool *

EFL League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise tw ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Sunderland *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *

Young Player of the Year: 2021–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embleton, Elliot 1999 births Living people Footballers from Durham, England English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Sunderland A.F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players English Football League players England men's youth international footballers 21st-century English sportsmen