Wyll Stanway

Wylliam Sam Stanway (born 21 May 2001) is an English professional footballer and former cricketer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for club Cheltenham Town. In cricket, Stanway represented Cumbria.

Early life and cricket Wylliam Sam Stanway was born on 21 May 2001 in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. He is one of four siblings, with a younger brother and two older half-siblings including footballer Georgia Stanway. They are from Askam-in-Furness.

Though the siblings all played football together growing up, When he was 17, he captained the under-18 Twenty20 team of Carrum Cricket Club in Melbourne. Stanway made his senior debut for Cumbria (then Cumberland) in 2019, and played for them in the NCCA Knockout Trophy and 2021 National Counties Championship. A noted batsman for Furness and other clubs, he had success as a bowler for Cumbria. As of 2026, he sometimes plays for Dalton Cricket Club in the Cumbria League Premier Division and has done since at least 2023.

He attended the Chetwynde School and worked part-time in the nuclear engineering industry as a support worker, having reduced his hours when he joined Chester. Stanway and his brothers played for Holker Old Boys 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 until he was 19, in early 2021, when Furness Rovers needed a substitute goalkeeper. to Holker Old Boys, and a few months into the 2021–22 season he also signed for Lancaster City on dual registration. He made 12 appearances for Holker Old Boys and 5 for Lancaster before, in January 2022, he transferred to Chester.

Chester He signed for Chester on a non-contract basis until the end of the 2021–22 season, His debut for the club in February 2022 meant he had gone from step 7 football 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 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. where he played seven games and was named player of the match twice, including on his debut. After F.C. United he went to Bootle, 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 for the remainder of the season, after Macclesfield's first-choice goalkeeper suffered an injury. With Macclesfield he won the Division One West of the Northern Premier League. 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. 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

2024–25 On 23 May 2024, 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". He made his debut in the English Football League on 14 September 2024, which Barrow won 2–1 away at Grimsby Town, and was named player of the match. The team then won the Lancashire Senior Cup on 26 November in a 1–1 draw against Burnley Under-23s, decided by a penalty shoot-out in which Stanway made two saves.

He was re-introduced to the starting squad later in the season, Stanway followed this with four consecutive clean sheets and ending the season with another clean sheet away. He received the club's young player of the season award.

2025–26 Stanway gave a highlight performance in October 2025, when Barrow played away at league leaders Walsall. Having kept three clean sheets in his previous four games, Stanway made eleven saves as Barrow went down to ten players in the 2–1 victory, setting season records for most saves in a game and ending Walsall's eight-game unbeaten run. He was named man of the match and selected to the League Two team of the week. Manager Andy Whing described him as "an old school keeper who comes for crosses. He's big, tall. He's learning the game." Stanway produced another good performance in their next game with seven saves in a draw to Barnet, after again having a player sent off.

Barrow then experienced a winless streak of six games before the winter break, with Whing and his assistant fired in December; the second time in Stanway's two years at Barrow that the manager was dismissed mid-season, he felt it was "a massive shame" but an opportunity for the team to reflect on how they could raise their level. Though with only five clean sheets by January 2026, Stanway ranked second for most saves per 90 in the league and, over the winter break, both Milton Keynes Dons F.C. and Bristol Rovers F.C. approached Barrow to acquire him. MK Dons were (successfully) chasing promotion to EFL League One and wanted to bolster their squad with a shot-stopping goalkeeper and development talent, while Bristol Rovers sought a number one choice for goal. With Stanway as Barrow's only fit goalkeeping option, they were unwilling to let him go and were indeed seeking their own back-up goalkeeper during the window; they refused MK Dons' offer On 2 May 2026, following a 1–2 defeat to Newport County, Barrow were relegated to the National League. Stanway made 45 appearances and conceded 73 goals across all competitions in the 2025–26 season; at the end of the season, Barrow triggered the one-year extension option in Stanway's contract.

Cheltenham Town Barrow did not play Stanway during their 2026–27 pre-season due to negotiations with other clubs wanting to sign him. On 18 July 2026, Cheltenham Town F.C. announced that they had bought Stanway, keeping him in League Two.

International career In March 2024, he was called up to the England national football C team as one of two step 2 players in the squad, debuting as a substitute in a match against Wales C.

Career statistics

Honours Macclesfield

Division One West: 2022–23

Barrow

Lancashire Senior Cup: 2024

Individual

Chester F.C. Away Travel Player of the Season: 2023–24 Barrow A.F.C. Young Player of the Season: 2024–25