Joel Grant

Joel Valentino Grant (born 26 August 1987) is a professional footballer for Swindon Town and the Jamaica national football team. He can either play as a winger, midfielder or striker. He has performed as a traditional winger for most of his career, despite the rise of inside forwards in the past decade.
Club career.
Watford.
Born in Acton, London, Grant started his career at Watford. He made his first team debut whilst still a member of Watford's Academy, coming on as a substitute in a League Cup match against Notts County on 23 August 2005. Whilst still an Academy scholar, he made 9 more appearances for the club, including 3 starts.
Grant was rewarded with a professional contract by Watford prior to the 2006–07 season. On 31 August 2006 he joined Aldershot Town on a four-month loan, to gain experience. During his time with the Shots, he made 19 league and cup appearances, scoring 4 goals.
Grant was unable to break into the Watford side during their 2006–07 Premiership campaign and he was released at the end of the season.
Aldershot Town.
In September 2007 he rejoined Aldershot Town on non-contract terms. In December 2007 he signed a contract until the end of the season. He made 30 league appearances, scoring four times, as Aldershot Town were promoted from the Conference.
Crewe Alexandra.
On 25 June 2008 Grant joined Crewe Alexandra for £130,000, signing a three-year contract. The fee represented a club record sale for Aldershot Town. Grant scored his first goal for Crewe with a marvellous run and step over in the 2–1 win over Walsall at Gresty Road. The goal was shown as the Big Skill on Big League Weekend 2 on Sky Sports due to the step over. In 2009–10, Grant had a productive second season at Crewe, contributing nine goals and several assists marshalling the left wing.
He was released from the club in May 2011, having been limited to 28 appearances in the 2010–11 campaign.
Wycombe Wanderers.
Grant signed for Wycombe Wanderers on 27 May 2011 on a free transfer.
Yeovil Town.
Grant signed a two-year deal with Championship side Yeovil Town on 26 June 2013. Grant made his debut for Yeovil in their Football League Cup first round victory over Southend United, on 6 August 2013.
Grant was released at the end of the 2014–15 season following Yeovil's relegation to League Two.
Exeter City.
On 21 August 2015, Grant joined Exeter City as the 1931 fan-funded player.
Plymouth Argyle.
At the end of the 2016–17 season, Grant turned down the offer of a new contract with Exeter, to sign for their Devon rivals Plymouth Argyle.
Grant operated as a traditional winger for most of his first season in the team. With manager Derek Adams opting for 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations for the first half of the 2017/18 season, Grant featured heavily but, once Adams switched to 4-3-2-1 and deployed Graham Carey and Ruben Lameiras as inside forwards, Grant lost favour and was only involved as a defensive substitute or a backup striker. To counteract this, he evolved tactically in the following 2018/19 season and began to exhibit traits more associated with inside forwards than traditional wingers. Consequently, the rates at which he completed dribbles, created chances and scored goals increased.
He was offered a new contract by Plymouth Argyle at the end of the 2018–19 season. He signed a new contract in June 2019. In October 2019 he scored in his third game in a row, and was praised by manager Ryan Lowe.
Swindon Town.
On 19 September 2020, Grant joined Swindon Town on a one year deal following a successful trial On 14 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Swindon at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.
International career.
In June 2006 Grant earned a call-up to the Jamaica under-23 squad to play in the Central American and Caribbean Games taking place in Colombia between 15 and 29 July. He spent much of February 2007 with the squad for the CONCACAF under-20 World Cup qualifiers.
In May 2014 Grant was called up to the Jamaica senior squad, and made his full international début playing for 78 minutes against Serbia on 26 May. He scored his first goal at the senior level in a 2–2 draw with Egypt on 4 June 2014 at Leyton, England.
On 2 June 2016, Grant was called up to the Jamaica squad for the Copa América Centenario as a replacement for the injured Simon Dawkins.