Ben Godfrey

Benjamin Matthew Godfrey (born 15 January 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Rangers, on loan from club Atalanta. He has represented England from youth to senior level.

Early and personal life Benjamin Matthew Godfrey was born on 15 January 1998 in York, North Yorkshire, England. When young, he attended Archbishop Holgate's School.

Club career Early career

Godfrey captained the York & District under-13 team that beat Southampton at Stadium MK in the final of the English Schools' FA Inter-Association Trophy in May 2011. This was the first time a team from York had won an English Schools' FA competition. After being released by the club, he had trials with Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday, before returning to York at under-15 level, Godfrey captained York's under-18 team in the 2014–15 season, while still a first-year scholar. His first involvement with the first team came as an unused substitute in a League Two match against Newport County on 11 October 2014.

Norwich City Godfrey signed for Premier League club Norwich City on 15 January 2016 on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee and would initially play in their academy team. He made his debut on 23 August as a substitute in the 65th minute of Norwich's EFL Cup second round match against Coventry City and scored in the 87th minute of a 6–1 home win with a shot from outside the penalty area. Godfrey made his league debut in a 2–0 home win over Birmingham City on 28 January 2017 as an 81st-minute substitute.

On 24 August 2017, Godfrey joined League One club Shrewsbury Town on loan until 1 January 2018. The deal was later extended to the end of the season.

For the 2018–19 season, Godfrey was back with Norwich. He played in their four EFL Cup games but his appearances in the league were limited to substitute appearances until December: He remained in the side even when Hanley was fit again and scored his first goal for Norwich at the end of the year to give them an early lead against Derby County, although a late comeback from Derby saw Norwich lose the game 4–3. This was only a temporary setback for both Godfrey and Norwich however. Godfrey would score three more goals, all of which would earn Norwich points as they chased promotion back to the Premier League. In all, Godfrey played 31 league games during the season, starting 26 of them. There were again a number of injuries to centre halves throughout the season, to the point that Godfrey was the only fit regular centre back at one point, and even captained the side with Hanley, Alexander Tettey, Klose and Zimmermann all out injured. After prominent performances by winning two of their first five games, Norwich were soon demoted to the bottom of the table. When they did record a rare win against fellow strugglers AFC Bournemouth, Godfrey was sent off in the second half for a late challenge on fellow Englishman Callum Wilson, having the unfortunate distinction of being the first Premier League player to be dismissed as a result of a referee consulting a VAR monitor. Godfrey again made 30 league appearances for Norwich but, in a season disrupted by a three-month suspension during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the club were relegated back to the Championship. reported by The Athletic to be an initial £20 million, potentially rising to £25 million in add-ons. He made his debut on 17 October in a Merseyside derby against local rivals Liverpool in a 2–2 draw at home in the Premier League, coming on as a 31st-minute substitute after an injury to right-back and captain Séamus Coleman. Adam Jones of the Liverpool Echo said that Godfrey "was thrown into the deep end for his debut and stood up to the task very well".

At the end of his first season at the club, Godfrey was voted by Everton fans as the club's Young Player of the Season.

Atalanta and loans out On 28 June 2024, Godfrey moved to Italy, signing for Serie A club Atalanta for an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £11 million with a sell-on clause.

On 5 January 2025, having made just five appearances since joining Atalanta, Godfrey returned to the Premier League, joining Ipswich Town on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season. He made his debut a week later when starting in Ipswich's 3–0 home win over Bristol Rovers in the 2024–25 FA Cup third round. He made his debut the following day in United's 1–0 home defeat to Millwall.

On 20 January 2026, Atalanta sent Godfrey on loan to Danish Superliga club Brøndby until the end of the 2025–26 season. He made his competitive debut on 8 February in a 0–0 home draw against Randers, playing the full match.

International career Godfrey received his first call-up for the England national under-20 team ahead of their 2018–19 Under 20 Elite League fixtures against Poland and Portugal in March 2019. He made his debut on 21 March when starting the 3–1 defeat at home to Poland. He made his second and final appearance for the under-20s in the following match, a 1–0 defeat away to Portugal on 26 March, as England finished in fourth place in the Under 20 Elite League.

Godfrey was included in the England national under-21 team for the first time for their 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Turkey and Kosovo in September 2019. He made his debut as an 81st-minute substitute during a 3–2 away win against Turkey on 6 September. He started the following match as captain, as England beat Kosovo 2–0 at home on 9 September. Godfrey scored his first international goal on 8 September 2020 in a 2–1 away win against Austria in 2021 European Under-21 Championship qualification with a sliding finish after a well-timed run. He was in England's squad for the 2021 European Under-21 Championship and played in their first two matches in the group stage before missing the third and final match through injury. England were eliminated from the tournament after finishing bottom of a four-team group.

On 25 May 2021, Godfrey was called up as part of Gareth Southgate's 33-man provisional England squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020. He was not named in the final 26-man squad, with Southgate stating that Godfrey was part of the provisional squad "in order to gain experience", and remained in the squad for England's pre-tournament friendlies against Austria and Romania at the Riverside Stadium. Godfrey made his debut on 2 June as a 61st-minute substitute as England beat Austria 1–0, and made his first start four days later, playing the entirety of a 1–0 win over Romania.

Style of play Godfrey primarily plays as a centre-back, but also played in central midfield and at full-back in his early career. League Two

2015–16 Premier League

2016–17 Championship

2017–18 Championship

2019–20 Premier League

2020–21 League One

2020–21 Premier League

2021–22 Premier League

2022–23 Premier League

2023–24 Premier League

Atalanta 2024–25 Serie A

Ipswich Town (loan) 2024–25 Premier League

Sheffield United (loan) 2025–26 Championship

Brøndby (loan) 2025–26 National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals England

Honours Shrewsbury Town EFL Trophy runner-up: 2017–18

Norwich City EFL Championship: 2018–19

Individual Everton Young Player of the Season: 2020–21