Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 5, 2026

Will Goodwin

William Neil Goodwin is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League Two club Gillingham.

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Aug 5, 2026
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Will Goodwin
Personal information
Full name William Neil Goodwin1
Date of birth (2002-05-07) 7 May 20022
Place of birth Tarporley, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)2
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Gillingham
Youth career
–2020 Chester
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 Chester 6 (0)
2020 → Stalybridge Celtic (loan) 2 (1)
2021–2023 Stoke City 0 (0)
2021–2022 → Hartlepool United (loan) 10 (1)
2022–2023 → Torquay United (loan) 24 (6)
2023–2024 Cheltenham Town 28 (6)
2024–2026 Oxford United 11 (1)
2025 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 6 (0)
2025–2026 → Colchester United (loan) 28 (4)
2026– Gillingham 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:28, 1 July 2026 (UTC)

William Neil Goodwin (born 7 May 2002)3 is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League Two club Gillingham.2

Career

Goodwin began his career with Chester at the age of 9, making his first-team debut in January 2020 aged 17.4 He moved on loan to Stalybridge Celtic in October 2020.5

He signed for Stoke City in February 2021,6 having previously been a child mascot for the club.7 He moved on loan to Hartlepool United in August 2021,8910 making his professional debut on 14 August 2021 against Barrow and scoring in a 3–2 defeat.1112 In July 2022, he joined National League side Torquay United on a six-month loan.13

On 9 January 2023, he signed for League One side Cheltenham Town on a two-and-a-half-year deal.14

On 19 January 2024, Goodwin signed a permanent deal with Oxford United, then in League One.1516 He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 home draw with Northampton Town on 20 February 2024,17 during his third substitute appearance. On 5 January 2025, he joined Wigan Athletic on loan until the end of the 2024–25 season.1819 On 9 July 2025 it was announced that he would join Colchester United on loan for the 2025–26 season.20

On 11 May 2026 Oxford said the player would leave in the summer when his contract expired.21 In June 2026 it was announced that he would sign for Gillingham on 1 July 2026.222324

Career statistics

As of match played 25 April 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chester 2019–20225 National League North 0 0 0 0 — 3a 0 3 0
2020–212 National League North 6 0 0 0 — 2b 1 8 1
Total 6 0 0 0 — 5 1 11 1
Stalybridge Celtic (loan) 2020–2126 NPL Premier Division 2 1 0 0 — 0 0 2 1
Stoke City 2020–2127 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2021–2228 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2022–2329 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hartlepool United (loan) 2021–2228 League Two 10 1 1 0 0 0 4c 1 15 2
Torquay United (loan) 2022–232 National League 24 6 4 1 — 1b 0 29 7
Cheltenham Town 2022–2329 League One 12 0 0 0 0 0 1c 1 13 1
2023–2430 League One 16 6 1 0 0 0 2c 0 19 6
Total 28 6 1 0 0 0 3 1 32 7
Oxford United 2023–2430 League One 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
2024–2531 Championship 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2025–2632 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2024–2531 League One 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Colchester United (loan) 2025–2632 League Two 28 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 30 4
Career total 115 19 8 1 0 0 15 3 138 23
  1. Two appearances in Cheshire Senior Cup, one appearance in FA Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy.
  3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy.
References

References

  1. "EFL Squad List: Season 2021/22" (PDF). EFL. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  2. Will Goodwin at Soccerway
  3. Will Goodwin at Soccerbase
  4. Graham, Chris (16 June 2020). "Will Goodwin signs senior deal at Chester FC". Chester F.C. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020.
  5. "Will Goodwin joins Stalybridge Celtic on loan". Chester F.C. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020.
  6. "Will Goodwin joins Stoke City for undisclosed fee". Chester F.C. 2 February 2021. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021.
  7. Smith, Peter (2 February 2021). "Brilliant story behind Stoke City new striker Will Goodwin". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  8. Scurr, Dominic (18 August 2021). "The great story behind Will Goodwin's loan move to Hartlepool United from Stoke". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  9. "Pools sign Will Goodwin". Hartlepool United F.C. 11 August 2021. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  10. "Will Goodwin: Stoke City forward joins Hartlepool on loan". BBC Sport. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  11. "Barrow 3–2 Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  12. Jones, Matty (20 August 2021). "Will Goodwin hopes dream start with Hartlepool is a sign of things to come". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  13. Cope, Niall (19 July 2022). "Goodwin links up with Torquay". Stoke City F.C. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  14. "Will Goodwin: Stoke striker signs for Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  15. "Will Goodwin Signs For Oxford United". Oxford United F.C. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  16. "Will Goodwin: Oxford United sign Cheltenham Town striker". BBC Sport. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  17. "Oxford United 2–2 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  18. "Wigan Athletic sign Oxford United striker Will Goodwin on loan". Oxford Mail. 5 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  19. "Will Goodwin: Wigan Athletic sign Oxford United striker on loan". BBC Sport. 5 January 2025.
  20. "Colchester sign Goodwin and agree new Flanagan deal". BBC Sport. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  21. "Oxford United: Przemyslaw Placheta and nine others to leave Oxford". BBC Sport. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  22. "Gills clinch the signing of Will Goodwin | Gillingham F.C." www.gillinghamfootballclub.com.
  23. "Will Goodwin: Gillingham sign Oxford striker on two-year deal". BBC Sport. 11 June 2026.
  24. "Gillingham 'fend off heavy interest' elsewhere to sign striker". Kent Online. 10 June 2026.
  25. "First Team Statistics 2019/20". Chester F.C. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  26. "Player Profile - Will Goodwin (5th Oct 2020 - 19th Dec 2020)". Stalybridge Celtic F.C. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  27. "Games played by Will Goodwin in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  28. "Games played by Will Goodwin in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  29. "Games played by Will Goodwin in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  30. "Games played by Will Goodwin in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  31. "Games played by Will Goodwin in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  32. "Games played by Will Goodwin in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.