Ryan Joseph Sears (born 30 December 1998) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a right back for

Cymru Premier The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

club Newtown. Sears came through the youth academy at

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 ...

playing seven times for the club in

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

. He also spent time on loan with Welsh side Newtown as well as two separate spells with

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

before signing for Grimsby Town in June 2021 ahead of the 2021–22 season. Sears was called up to the Wales under-21 side in 2019 but failed to win a cap.

Career

Shrewsbury Town

Born in

Newtown, Powys Newtown () is a town in Powys, Wales. It lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a New towns movement, new town in ...

, Wales, Sears was a youth player at

and scored twice to help them to the fourth round of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 2016–17, while also being an unused substitute for the senior team in

three times around the turn of the year. He was loaned to his hometown team

Newtown A.F.C. Newtown Association Football Club () is a Welsh football club based in Newtown, Powys, which plays in the The club plays at Latham Park, Newtown, which accommodates 500 spectators. History The club has its origins in two previous club ...

in the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

for the 2017–18 season. He played 35 total games and scored three goals across all competitions, including one in a 4–2 win at reigning champions

The New Saints The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, commonly known as The New Saints () or TNS FC, are an English professional football club that play in the , but are based completely within England, in Oswestry, Shropshire. They a ...

on 30 December. He was voted the club's Players' Player of the Season. On 2 August 2018, Sears was loaned for a month to Shrewsbury's neighbours A.F.C. Telford United in the

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

. After six games for the Bucks, he was recalled slightly ahead of schedule by Shrews 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 ...

, due to injury to starting right back

James Bolton James Bolton (1735 – 7 January 1799) was an English naturalist, botanist, mycologist, and illustrator. Background James Bolton was born near Warley in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1735, the son of William Bolton, a weaver. James initiall ...

. Sears made his professional debut on 1 September, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–1 home draw with

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 ...

. After the game, Askey praised his performance as "perfect". He scored his first professional goal on 8 January 2019, opening a 1–1 draw at

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 ...

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 ...

third round, which Shrewsbury lost on penalties. In late April 2019, Sears signed a two-year contract extension with the option of a third year. However, he also suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

injury in training, ruling him out for nine months. The following 14 March, he was loaned back to Telford for a month. On 12 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Shrewsbury at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.

Grimsby Town

On 9 June 2021, Sears joined

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 ...

on a one-year contract, reuniting him with former Shrews boss

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he was a left back from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, bar a brief loan spell with Burton Albion i ...

. On 9 January 2022, Sears left the club after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Newtown

On 9 January 2022, Sears rejoined

side Newtown on an 18-month contract.

Caernarfon Town

On 16 June 2024, following the expiry of his contract at Newtown, Sears joined fellow Cymru Premier side

Caernarfon Town Caernarfon Town Football Club () is a professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. They play in the . They are nicknamed "the Canaries" because of the club's yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from 1895. Caernarfon ...

. He made his competitive debut for the club on 11 July 2024 in a 2–0 victory over

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

Nantporth Nantporth (known as Bangor City Stadium since 2024) is an association football stadium in Bangor, Wales. It is currently used as the home ground of Cymru North side Bangor 1876. Bangor City F.C. played between January 2012 and 2022, having m ...

, in the first leg of Caernarfon's first qualifying round tie in the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

International

In March 2019, Sears was called up for the first time to a Wales under-21 training camp in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, Ryan 1998 births Living people Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders People from Newtown, Powys Footballers from Powys Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Newtown A.F.C. players AFC Telford United players Grimsby Town F.C. players Cymru Premier players National League (English football) players English Football League players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen