Declan John

Declan Christopher John (born 30 June 1995) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back for club St Mirren. He also plays for the Wales national team.

Club career Cardiff City Born in Merthyr Tydfil, John progressed through the academy at Cardiff City. His professional debut for Cardiff came on 14 August 2012, in a 2–1 home defeat to Northampton Town in the first round of the Football League Cup. On 5 January 2013, he made his only other appearance of the season, a loss by the same margin at Macclesfield Town in the third round of the FA Cup.

John made his league debut on 17 August 2013 in a 2–0 loss at West Ham United, Cardiff's first game in the Premier League. He signed a long-term contract until 2018 in December. He went on to make 20 appearances that season, appearing more frequently in the second half of the campaign, as the Bluebirds were relegated. He made nine appearances for the Tykes before returning to Cardiff at the end of the season.

After only making a single appearance for Cardiff during the 2015–16 season, John signed for League One side Chesterfield on a month-loan deal in February, where he impressed in six appearances before being recalled by Cardiff on 14 April.

Upon his return to Cardiff, John impressed new manager, Paul Trollope, during pre-season and went on to make his first league start for the club in over a year, where he put in a man of the match performance in a goalless draw against Birmingham City on the opening day of the season. Despite an impressive start to the season, John became a bit-part player under Neil Warnock and was told he could leave the club at the end of the season.

Rangers John was loaned to Scottish Premiership club Rangers in August 2017, and the move was made permanent in December.

Swansea City On 9 August 2018, John joined Swansea City on a three-year contract. He made his debut for Swansea on 28 August 2018 in the EFL Cup against Crystal Palace.

John signed for Sunderland on a six-month loan on 31 January 2020. He played no matches, and returned to Swansea after the completion of his loan. On 7 January 2021, John joined League Two side Bolton Wanderers on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.

Bolton Wanderers On 11 June 2021, Bolton confirmed that John would be re-joining them on a permanent three year deal. John made his second debut for the club on 7 August in a 3–3 draw against MK Dons On 2 April, he started in the 2023 EFL Trophy Final which Bolton won 4–0 against Plymouth Argyle.

On 1 September 2023, John joined Salford City on loan until January 2024. On 22 May 2024, the club confirmed that he would be leaving at the end of his contract on 30 June.

St Mirren In November 2024 John joined St Mirren on a short term deal, subsequently extended until the end of the season. On 28 March 2025, John signed a further two-year contract.

John supplied the assist for St Mirren’s third goal in their Scottish League Cup final win against Celtic on 14 December 2025.

International career John was first called up to the Wales squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Serbia, in September 2013. He was an unused substitute in both games. The following month, he retained his place in the squad for the qualifiers against Macedonia and Belgium. On 11 October, John made his debut, playing the whole 90 minutes in the 1–0 win against Macedonia at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Career statistics

Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

2012–13 Championship

2013–14 Premier League

2014–15 Championship

2015–16 Championship

2016–17 Championship

2017–18 Championship

42!!0!!3!!0!!7!!0!!0!!0!!52!!0 Barnsley (loan) 2014–15 Championship

2019–20 Championship

2020–21 Championship

11!!0!!3!!0!!4!!0!!0!!0!!18!!0 Sunderland (loan) 2019–20 League One

2022–23 League One

2023–24 League One

79!!7!!2!!0!!2!!0!!9!!1!!92!!8 Salford City (loan) 2023–24

Honours Bolton Wanderers EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2020–21