| Intro | Association football player |
| A.K.A. | Danny Loader |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From | United Kingdom |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 28 August 2000, Reading, United Kingdom |
| Age: | 19 years |
| Star sign | Virgo |
Daniel Namaso Loader (born 28 August 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Reading.
Club career
Loader was born in Reading, Berkshire, and started his career in the youth team of Wycombe Wanderers before joining the under-13 side at his hometown club Reading in 2012. He studied at Leighton Park School and then The Forest School. In 2016 he won the Maurice Edelston Memorial Trophy for the best academy schoolboy at the club. In the summer of 2016 he started a two-year scholarship, but was quickly promoted to the under-23 side after a number of games and went on to represent the side in the EFL Trophy campaign. He made his professional debut for the first team at the age of sixteen in August 2017, coming on as a substitute for Leandro Bacuna in extra time in the 3–1 victory over Millwall in the EFL Cup. In the process he became only the third Reading player to make his debut under the age of seventeen. At the end of the month he signed his first professional contract when he turned seventeen. Prolific for the youth team, he was given a chance in the first team under José Gomes and became the youngest Reading player to reach 20 appearances. On 27 April, he scored his first senior goal with a screamer against Middlesbrough.
Loader was close to a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers before Wolves pulled out of the move due to Reading upping the price at the last moment. A few days later he scored the winning penalty in round 2 of the Carabao Cup against Wycombe Wanderers.
International career
Loader is eligible to represent England, Cameroon and Nigeria. He has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 level. He was part of the squad that finished runners-up to Spain in the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship held in May in Croatia. He made a total of five appearances in the tournament.
In September 2017, Loader was called up to England U17 team for the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup. Loader scored twice in a group stage game against Iraq and came off the bench in the quarter-final against the United States. He did not feature in the final as England defeated Spain to lift the trophy.
In September 2018, Loader scored twice for the England U19 team against the Netherlands.
On 28 May 2019, Loader was called up to the England U20 for the 2019 Toulon Tournament. He scored his first goal for the U20 age group on his ninth appearance; a 3-0 win over Iceland U21s at Wycombe Wanderers on 19 November 2019.
Career statistics
- As of match played 9 November 2019
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reading U23 | 2016–17 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Reading | 2017–18 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | Championship | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
Honours
England U17
- FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2017
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2017