Daniel Ballard

Daniel George Ballard (born 22 September 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Sunderland. Born in England, he plays for the Northern Ireland national team.

Club career Arsenal Born in Stevenage, Having been released on two occasions, Arsenal offered him scholarship terms when he was 16 following an appearance in a friendly match, away at Bayern Munich.

Loan to Swindon Town Ballard moved on loan from Arsenal to Swindon Town in July 2019. He made his debut in a 2–0 win against Scunthorpe United in the League Two on 3 August 2019, coming off the bench in the 88th minute. He then scored his first career goal in an EFL Trophy tie against Chelsea U21s on 6 August 2019. But his loan spell was cut short after just three appearances due to a severe knee injury that required 5 months of recovery time.

Loan to Blackpool In October 2020, he moved on loan to Blackpool, signing with the club until January 2021. Ballard made his debut in a 1–0 loss against Charlton in League One on 20 October. On 5 January 2021, it was announced that the loan had been extended to the end of the season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Crewe Alexandra on 2 March 2021.

Loan to Millwall He moved on loan to Millwall on 1 July 2021. He scored his first goal for the club when he scored against West Bromwich Albion on 11 September 2021 in a 1–1 draw.

Sunderland On 30 June 2022, Ballard joined newly promoted Championship club Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract. On 16 September 2023, Ballard scored his first goal for Sunderland in a 3–1 win against QPR.

On 13 May 2025, Ballard scored the winning goal (on aggregate) in extra time in the second leg of the 2024–25 EFL Championship play-off matchup with Coventry City, setting up a final match with Sheffield United. On 24 May 2025, Sunderland defeated Sheffield United 2–1 in the play-off final to earn promotion to the Premier League.

Ballard scored on his Premier League debut, the second goal in a 3–0 win over West Ham United on the opening matchday.

International career Born in England, Ballard qualifies to represent Northern Ireland as his mother was born there. He was called up to the senior team for the first time in March 2019. He made his senior debut in a 1–1 draw against Romania in a Nations League game in September 2020.

In September 2023, Ballard was injured and ruled out of Euros qualifying matches. In October 2024, he missed Nations League games due to injury. In August 2025 it was announced that he would miss the following month's World Cup qualifiers due to injury.

Career statistics Club

International

Sunderland EFL Championship play-offs: 2025