Wyll Stanway
Football career
Football career
---------------

### Local leagues

Having played in some youth teams of local club [Barrow](/wiki/Barrow_A.F.C. "Barrow A.F.C.")'s Performance Centre, Stanway and his brothers played for [Holker Old Boys](/wiki/Holker_Old_Boys_A.F.C. "Holker Old Boys A.F.C.") as teenagers; Stanway and his younger brother had stopped playing there by 2019, at which point Wyll was focused on cricket, while older brother JP was still at the club as a striker. Continuing in local football, Wyll Stanway played as an outfield [centre\-back](/wiki/Centre-back "Centre-back") until he was 19, in early 2021, when Furness Rovers needed a substitute goalkeeper. Stanway discovered this due to the manager being a friend, and offered to "stand in net for them". As a goalkeeper, he was described as a raw talent. In June 2021 he moved from Furness Rovers to Holker Old Boys, and a few months into the 2021–22 season he also signed for [Lancaster City](/wiki/Lancaster_City_F.C. "Lancaster City F.C.") on dual registration. He made 12 appearances for Holker Old Boys and 5 for Lancaster before, in January 2022, he transferred to [Chester](/wiki/Chester_F.C. "Chester F.C.").

### Chester

He signed for Chester on a non\-contract basis until the end of the 2021–22 season, making 11 league appearances. His debut for the club in February 2022 meant he had gone from [step 7 football](/wiki/National_League_System "National League System") at Furness Rovers to step 2 in seven months, reported as an "incredible rise". He was not used for a period during the season, with the manager choosing a more experienced goalkeeper instead, but returned to a starting role towards the end, including keeping a [clean sheet](/wiki/Clean_sheet "Clean sheet") in four of the last five games. In June 2022 he signed a one\-year contract for Chester. At the time, he described his good run of form as bittersweet, due to it coming at the end of a season. His progress as a goalkeeper saw him draw attention from other clubs.

In the 2022–23 season, Stanway spent time on loan at three clubs. He joined [F.C. United of Manchester](/wiki/F.C._United_of_Manchester "F.C. United of Manchester") on 28\-day loan at the end of September 2022, where he played seven games and was named [player of the match](/wiki/Player_of_the_match "Player of the match") twice, including on his debut. After F.C. United he went to [Bootle](/wiki/Bootle_F.C. "Bootle F.C."), intended to be until the end of the season. He was recalled from Bootle by Chester at the end of November 2022 and sent instead to [Macclesfield](/wiki/Macclesfield_F.C. "Macclesfield F.C.") for the remainder of the season, after Macclesfield's first\-choice goalkeeper suffered an injury. With Macclesfield he won the [Division One West](/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_Northern_Premier_League%23Division_One_West "2022–23 Northern Premier League#Division One West") of the [Northern Premier League](/wiki/Northern_Premier_League "Northern Premier League"). [Robbie Savage](/wiki/Robbie_Savage "Robbie Savage"), a board member of the club, later revealed that Macclesfield had wanted to offer Stanway a permanent deal, but could not agree terms with Chester.

Stanway was kept under contract at Chester for the 2023–24 season, being given the number 1 shirt. By the end of January 2024, he had kept 18 clean sheets for them in the season; he finished the season with 22 clean sheets, having played every minute. He was also voted as Chester's player of the season by the club's travelling fans.

### Barrow

On 23 May 2024, [EFL League Two](/wiki/EFL_League_Two "EFL League Two") side Barrow announced that they had signed Stanway to a professional two\-year contract, with option for another year, for an undisclosed fee. Chester manager Calum McIntyre described the fee as "significant".

Stanway made his debut in the [English Football League](/wiki/English_Football_League "English Football League") on 14 September 2024, which Barrow won 2–1 away at [Grimsby Town](/wiki/Grimsby_Town_F.C. "Grimsby Town F.C."). Stanway was named player of the match. He was an unused substitute in the [EFL Cup](/wiki/EFL_Cup "EFL Cup") [third\-round](/wiki/2024%E2%80%9325_EFL_Cup%23Third_round "2024–25 EFL Cup#Third round") tie against [Chelsea](/wiki/Chelsea_F.C. "Chelsea F.C.") at [Stamford Bridge](/wiki/Stamford_Bridge_%28stadium%29 "Stamford Bridge (stadium)") on 24 September, which saw Barrow knocked out of the competition.


What local club had a Performance Centre where Stanway played as a teenager?