Luke James Hannant (born 4 November 1993) 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 club

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 ...

. Hannant spent his youth with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

and

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

before embarking on a degree at

Northumbria University Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...

. During his time as a student, he played

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for Dereham Town and Team Northumbria. He helped Dereham win the Eastern Counties League Premier Division championship in 2012–13. He joined

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, ...

in 2016, and after returning from a dual registration spell at

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

, managed to establish himself in the first team. Port Vale signed him in January 2018 before he made a return to

in May 2019 and helped the club to win

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 ...

out of League Two at the end of the 2020–21 season. However, he remained in League Two as he left Cambridge to join

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

. He joined Scottish club

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

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 ...

in January 2023. He rejoined Gateshead in August 2023 and helped the club to the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

title in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. He was the club's Player of the Year for the 2024–25 season. He left Gateshead for Oldham Athletic in June 2025.

Career

Early career

Hannant spent his youth at the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

before being released at the age of 14. At that point, he joined 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 ...

. Released by Cambridge at 18, he took up a football scholarship at

. He would graduate with a 2:1 Sport & Exercise Science degree in 2016. During this time he also played in the Eastern Counties League and

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

for Dereham Town and in the Northern League for Team Northumbria. He was an important part of the "Magpies" side that finished the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season as champions of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.

Gateshead

He spent the summer of 2016 on trial at

before agreeing to join the club on non-

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 ...

terms. He went on to join Northern League Division One club

on a dual registration deal. He scored on his debut for the "Mariners" in a 5–0 home win over Jarrow Roofing Boldon Community Association on 27 September. He played a total of four games for South Shields. He made his

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

debut for the "Tynesiders" on 22 October, in a 2–0 win at Maidstone United. He scored his first goal for the "Heed" on New Year's Eve, in a 4–1 victory over Barrow at the

Gateshead International Stadium Gateshead International Stadium (GIS) is a multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose, all-seater venue in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally known as the Gateshead Youth Stadium, the venue was built in 1955 at a cost of £30,000. It has si ...

, where he was also named as

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. He was signed to a contract at Gateshead in March 2017, which would keep him tied to the club in summer 2018. He ended the 2016–17 season with two goals in 21 appearances, and scored three goals in 23 games in the first half of the 2017–18 campaign. Speaking in January 2018,

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 ...

Steve Watson Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player who is manager of club Darlington. As a player, he was a right-back or midfielder. He played in the Premier League and Football League for N ...

said that "Hannant has been one of our best players this season".

Port Vale

On 18 January 2018, Hannant signed an 18-month contract with

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

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 ...

after being signed for an undisclosed fee – reported to be a low five-figure sum – by

Neil Aspin Neil Aspin (born 12 April 1965) is an English association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. A defender who could play at centre-back and right-back, he was a Marking (association football), marker an ...

, his former manager at Gateshead. Despite being a newcomer to the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, he was described as "a rare positive for the Valiants in a difficult start to 2018", and credited his good start to his career to the support of fellow midfielders Michael Tonge, Antony Kay and Danny Pugh. On 17 March, he scored his first goal in the Football League with curling effort from outside the box in a 2–2 draw with

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

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 ...

; he went on to say that "I was a bit speechless when it went in". He began the 2018–19 season in good form on the left-side of midfield, scoring two goals in the opening five games, including a brilliant curling free kick away at

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 ...

. This led to reports that he was being monitored by

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 ...

club

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. However, despite making 50 appearances during the campaign, 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 ...

confirmed that he would not be offering Hannant a new contract on 16 May.

Cambridge United

On 28 May 2019, Hannant returned to Cambridge United to sign a two-year deal with an option for another year. Manager

Colin Calderwood Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a centre-back who played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa and in the Football League for Mansfi ...

said that "Luke has good experience in senior football and caught my eye against us at the

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

". He picked up an ankle injury in February 2020 and was sidelined for six weeks. However, 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 ...

meant that he had to wait until August to complete a full day's training with the club. He enjoyed a strong first half to the 2020–21 season, playing on both wings and either side of a midfield diamond, providing eight assists and scoring five goals by February. Cambridge went on to secure

at the end of the season, with Hannant scoring seven goals from 48 appearances.

Colchester United

Hannant left Cambridge after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract and chose to remain in League Two, joining

on a two-year deal on 10 June 2021. Hannant stated that "I'm 27 now and I needed to go somewhere where I know I'm going to play a lot of minutes". He made his debut at the

Colchester Community Stadium Colchester Community Stadium, known as the JobServe Community Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Myland, England. It is the home of Colchester United Football Club. It has a capacity of 10,105 and opened in August 2008 ...

on 14 August 2021, coming on as a substitute in Colchester's 1–0 defeat to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

. He was a regular first-team player under

Hayden Mullins Hayden Ian Mullins (born 27 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and current manager. He played primarily as a defensive midfielder, but he also played as a sweeper and at right-back. He is currently the U21 Head Coach at Fu ...

, before being sidelined by interim

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 ...

Wayne Brown. He made 27 starts and 16 substitute appearances in the 2021–22 season, picking up two assists and five yellow cards. He featured in 29 matches during the first half of the 2022–23 campaign, scoring three goals. Hannant was released at the end of the season.

Dundee (loan)

On 31 January 2023, Hannant joined

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

club

until the end of the 2022–23 season. He joined Colchester teammate Ryan Clampin, who was already on loan at Dundee. Hannant made his debut as a substitute on 12 February in a 3–0 league victory over Cove Rangers. Hannant scored his first goal for the ''Dark Blues'' on 15 April in a 3–3 draw at home to

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

. He would complete a successful loan spell by starting in Dundee's win over Queen's Park which would clinch the

title for the ''Dee''.

Return to Gateshead

On 2 August 2023, Hannant rejoined Gateshead on a two-year deal. He scored 1 goals in 50 games during the 2023–24 season, including a brace in a 2–1 win over champions Chesterfield that secured Gateshead a place in the play-offs. However, due to a stadium issue, Gateshead were not permitted to take part in the play-offs. Hannant and Gateshead ended the season on a high, however, as the team beat

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional association football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the Na ...

in the FA Trophy final. On 14 December 2024, Hannant scored two goals from the penalty spot in a 4–0 home win over

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

and would have claimed a hat-trick if he had not missed a third

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. He was named as the Supporters' January Player of the Month after having scored two goals in four games. He was named Player's Player of the Season and Supporters' Player of the Season for the 2024–25 campaign, also winning Goal of the Season for his strike against

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

, and the Golden Boot award. He left the club after choosing to return to the EFL.

Oldham Athletic

On 27 June 2025, Hannant agreed a two-year deal with newly promoted League Two club

. Manager

Micky Mellon Michael Joseph Mellon (born 18 March 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is the manager of club Oldham Athletic. As a player, he was a midfielder for clubs including Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion, Blackp ...

said that he was a player that the club had "admired for a long time" for his versatility and technique.

Style of play

Hannant is a versatile two-footed attacking

who can play in central midfield or as a winger. Port Vale teammate

Tom Pope Thomas John Pope (born 27 August 1985) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a centre forward for club Kidsgrove Athletic where he holds the role of joint player-manager. A Crewe Alexandra Academy graduate, he turned profes ...

described him as a player with "good energy, is positive, doesn't mind a tackle, is decent in the air and can play as well".

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *Gateshead Player of the Year: 2024–25 Dereham Town *

Eastern Counties Football League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk ...

Premier Division:

Cambridge United *

second-place promotion: 2020–21 Dundee *

: 2022–23 Gateshead *

: 2023–24

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannant, Luke 1993 births Living people Footballers from Great Yarmouth English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Norwich City F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Dereham Town F.C. players Team Northumbria F.C. players South Shields F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Eastern Counties Football League players Isthmian League players Northern Football League players National League (English football) players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Alumni of Northumbria University 21st-century English sportsmen