Luke Wilkinson

Luke Alexander Wilkinson (born 29 September 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Stevenage.

Wilkinson was born in Wells, Somerset. He started his career in the youth system of Bristol City and was offered a two-year scholarship in June 2007. He was part of the side that competed in the Premier Academy League.

Portsmouth

In 2009, 17-year-old Wilkinson was released early from his contract at Bristol City and was offered a trial by Premier League club Portsmouth. He played in a reserve game against Fulham, in which first-team manager Paul Hart described as the most impressive debut he had seen from any young player. The reserves remained unbeaten with Wilkinson in defence until the end of the season. His outstanding form for the reserves earned him a professional contract in July 2009.

In January 2010, he joined League Two club Northampton Town on a one-month loan, however, he failed to make an appearance for the club.

In February 2010, he joined Conference South club Eastleigh on an initial one-month loan, which was later extended until the end of the season.

Dagenham & Redbridge

In the summer of 2010, Wilkinson was released by Portsmouth and joined newly promoted League One club Dagenham & Redbridge on a three-year contract. In November 2010, he joined Conference South club Boreham Wood on an initial one-month loan, making his debut in a 3–2 defeat to Dover Athletic. The loan was then extended until the end of the season, with Wilkinson making 28 appearances, scoring once in the final league game of the season, a 3–0 win over Lewes. He rejoined Boreham Wood in August 2011 on a five-month loan. He was a mainstay in the team, making 25 appearances, the last of which in a 2–1 defeat to Woking on 28 January 2012, before returning to the Daggers at the end of January. In February 2012, he joined fellow Conference South club Dartford on loan. In March 2012, his loan was extended until the end of the season after scoring two headers in consecutive wins over Havant & Waterlooville and Sutton United. He claimed his first piece of silverware as Dartford were promoted to the Conference Premier via their play-off win over Welling United on 13 May 2012.

Wilkinson started the 2012–13 season as a first team player at Dagenham and made his professional debut in September 2012, in a 2–2 draw with AFC Wimbledon. He cemented his place in the first team by scoring four goals, which prompted Daggers manager John Still to offer him a new contract until 2015. He went on to make 46 appearances in all competitions and won the club's Player of the Year award. This led to reported interest from Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Norwich City. However, no move materialised and Wilkinson admitted that he needed another few years to develop as a player before making the step up.

Wilkinson's start to the 2013–14 season was delayed by a groin injury picked up in pre-season, before making his return at the end of August in a 3–0 defeat to Mansfield Town. He went on to make 25 appearances but a combination of further injuries, the form of Scott Doe and Brian Saah, and the late emergence of Ian Gayle resigned Wilkinson to the bench for the majority of the season. In May 2014, he was placed on the transfer list at his own request and his name was circulated to other clubs highlighting his availability. In June 2014, he stated he was happy to fight for his place if a move away from the club didn't materialise.

Luton Town

On 7 July 2014, Wilkinson signed for League Two club Luton Town on a one-year contract, managed by his former Dagenham manager John Still, for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut for Luton in a 1–0 away win over Carlisle United on 9 August 2014, their first Football League game in five years. Wilkinson scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win over Oxford United on 27 September 2014. He converted Andy Drury's free-kick with a header in a 2–1 away win over Stevenage on 4 October 2014 to score in successive games. These games were part of a seven-game winning streak in the league which saw Luton advance from 18th to the top of the League Two table. During this period, Wilkinson was named Sky Bet League 2 Player of the Month for September when he was part of the Luton defence that did not concede a goal during the month of September. Later in the season, Wilkinson received a red card on two occasions, the first of which was given in injury time during a 1–0 away defeat to Burton Albion, ending Luton's 11 game unbeaten run in League Two. The second red card was given in a 1–0 home win over Carlisle United. Wilkinson's red card, coupled with a four match suspension for fellow Luton defender Steve McNulty for a studs-up challenge in the previous game, a 2–2 draw against York City caused disruption to Luton's team selection in defence with their replacements failing to impress. Wilkinson ended the 2014–15 season with 42 league appearances, scoring four goals, triggering a one-year contract extension to keep him at Luton until the summer of 2016.

Wilkinson was in fine goal scoring form at the beginning of the 2015–16 season, scoring in a 2–2 draw against Oxford United on 15 August 2015 and 3–1 away wins over Cambridge United and Morecambe on 5 September and 29 September respectively. However, an injury at the end of 2015 meant he last played for Luton in a 4–3 home defeat to Northampton Town on 12 December 2015. This later turned out to be his final match for the club.

Stevenage

On 22 January 2016, Luton sold Wilkinson to fellow League Two club Stevenage on a contract until the end of the season to make way for his replacement Alan Sheehan, arriving at Luton on loan from Bradford City on the same day. Wilkinson said he was shocked by the decision but was looking forward to helping Stevenage climb the table. He made his debut for the club in a 0–0 draw against Barnet a day later. Wilkinson scored his first two goals for Stevenage in a 3–2 defeat to League Two leaders Northampton on 19 March 2016.

After playing in 19 games for Stevenage, Wilkinson signed a new undisclosed length contract with the club on 16 May 2016.

As of match played 21 January 2017

Club

Dartford

• Conference South play-offs: 2011–12

Individual

• Dagenham & Redbridge Player of the Year: 2012–13
• Football League Two Player of the Month: September 2014