Joshua Michael Knight (born 7 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 lea ...

who plays as a defender or 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 2. Bundesliga club

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

Early life

Knight was born to Sue and Mick and attended Robert Smyth Academy in

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

. He and his family are lifelong

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

fans.

Career

Leicester City

Knight began his football at Fleckney Athletic and joined the Leicester City Academy at the age of eight. Knight received his scholarship at the age of sixteen, making numerous appearances for the U18s and signed his first professional contract with the club as he turned 18. Knight made his debut for

on 22 August 2017 in a victory in the

Football League 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 ...

away at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. On 11 January 2019, Knight was awarded

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of Football in England, English youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Th ...

player of the month for December.

Peterborough United (loan)

On 31 January 2019, Knight signed a new contract with Leicester and joined

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

on loan for the rest of the season. He made his debut for the club against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

on 16 February 2019, but came off injured in the 22nd minute. On 2 August 2019, Knight re-signed for Peterborough on loan for the 2019–20 season. Knight scored his first senior goal in a 3–0 victory over

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 ...

on 31 August 2019.

Wycombe Wanderers (loan)

Knight signed a short-term loan with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

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 ...

on 5 October 2020. On 7 January 2021, this loan spell was extended until the end of the 2020–21 season. He scored his first goal for Wycombe in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

on 9 January 2021. Knight won both the Supporters' and Players' Player of the Year awards at the end of the season.

Peterborough United

On 2 July 2021, Knight signed for Peterborough on a permanent deal following two previous loan spells at the club. On 7 April 2024, Knight was a part of the Peterborough United squad that defeated Wycombe Wanderers in the 2024 EFL Trophy final. Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, he was offered a new contract by Peterborough. In May 2024, it was reported that Knight had been offered lucrative terms by an overseas club, initially suggested to be

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

Hannover 96

On 11 June 2024, Knight agreed to join 2. Bundesliga club

on a two-year contract with the option for a further twelve months.

Career statistics

Honours

Peterborough United *

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 ...

: 2023–24 Individual *

Player of the Season: 2020–21

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Josh 1997 births Living people People from Harborough District English men's footballers Footballers from Leicestershire Men's association football defenders English Football League players 2. Bundesliga players Leicester City F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Hannover 96 players 21st-century English sportsmen