Harvey Read Saunders (born 20 July 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 lea ...

who plays as a striker for club

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

Early and personal life

Saunders is from

Staindrop Staindrop is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately north east of Barnard Castle, on the A688 road. According to the 2011 UK census the population was 1,310, this includes the hamlets of Cleatlam ...

. He is nicknamed "Rooster".

Career

Early career

Saunders joined local club Barnard Castle at the age of 6 or 7, leaving at under-14s after the club folded. He occasionally played rugby for a local club and then began working full-time in an Indian restaurant. The restaurant entered a team into a football competition, which they won. Saunders then began playing Sunday League football, before signing for Darlington Railway Athletic, initially at under-18 level but then for the senior team. He then played for

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

and Durham City. He then signed for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, making his debut in January 2017. Whilst at Darlington he had loan spells at Ryhope Colliery Welfare and Dunston UTS. In total he scored 11 goals in 66 league games for Darlington.

Fleetwood Town

He signed for

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

in January 2019 for an undisclosed fee, on a -year contract, and was immediately loaned back to Darlington. He made his first-team debut for Fleetwood on 3 September 2019 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 ...

. He scored his first goals for Fleetwood when he scored twice in an

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 1 September 2020, and his first league goal followed in a 2–1 defeat to

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 ...

on 3 October 2020. On 6 October 2020 Saunders scored a hat-trick in the EFL Trophy against Aston Villa U21s. He signed on loan for

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

on 22 April 2021. At the end of the 2020–21 season, Saunders was released by Fleetwood Town.

Bristol Rovers

On 25 June 2021, Saunders agreed to join

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

on a two-year deal from the expiration of his Fleetwood contract. Saunders joined former Fleetwood teammates

Paul Coutts Paul Alexander Coutts (born 22 July 1988) is a Scottish footballer who plays for club Inverurie Loco Works. A product of the Scottish Highland Football League, Coutts' first senior professional club was his home town club, Cove Rangers who ar ...

and Sam Finley in joining former manager

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

that summer. On 7 August 2021, Saunders made his debut for the club in a 2–1 opening day defeat to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

, playing the full match as he was the club's only fit striker. On 17 August 2021, Saunders scored his first goal for the club with the only goal in a victory over

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, the club's first win of the season, heading home a cross from

Harry Anderson Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor, comedian and magician. He is best known for his role as Judge Harry Stone on the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' (1984–1992). He later played Dave Barry on the C ...

via a deflection. After suffering an injury during an aerial collision in a match against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

on 16 October, Saunders was ruled out until the new year with torn ankle ligaments. On 29 January 2022, Saunders made his return to action from the bench as he assisted Rovers' late winner to defeat

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 ...

Tranmere Rovers

On 27 January 2023, Saunders signed for League Two club

for an undisclosed fee on an eighteen-month contract. The club had previously tried to sign him in the summer.

Career statistics

Honours

Bristol Rovers * League Two promotion: 2021–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Harvey 1997 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Darlington Railway Athletic F.C. players Bishop Auckland F.C. players Durham City A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Ryhope Colliery Welfare F.C. players Dunston UTS F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players People from Staindrop Footballers from County Durham 21st-century English sportsmen