Niall David Stephen Canavan (born 11 April 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Boston United. Born in England, he has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level.
Career Born in Bramley, West Yorkshire, Canavan played with the Academy of Bradford City until he was 12.
Canavan signed his first professional contract in April 2009 for Scunthorpe United. He made his first team debut on 22 August 2009 in a 4–0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, replacing Robert Jones on 28 minutes. Three days later he scored his first goal, in a 2–1 League Cup win at Swansea City. He attended St. Mary's Menston. He is a first team regular playing in both League and Cup matches. He has most notably played against Manchester United and Manchester City twice.
Canavan missed just one match in Scunthorpe's promotion winning season in 2013–14 and formed a defensive partnership with David Mirfin. As a consequence of this successful season, Canavan signed a new 2-year contract on 29 May 2014.
On 15 February 2016, Canavan joined Rochdale on an emergency loan, and at the end of the season he joined the club on a two-year contract.
He was released by Rochdale at the end of the 2017–18 season, after which he joined Plymouth Argyle on a free transfer.
He re-joined Bradford City in January 2021.
He moved from Bradford to fellow League Two side Barrow in January 2022.
On 1 August 2026, Canavan joined National League club Boston United on an initial one-year deal.
International career Although born in Leeds, Canavan carries an Irish passport and was called up by the FAI to the U21 squad in March 2011. In March 2011 he made his debut appearance for the Irish national Under-21 team.
Personal life In September 2019, it was revealed that Canavan had, earlier in the year, been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Career statistics Club
+Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsScunthorpe United2009–10Championship710031001022010–11Championship800020001002011–12League One1212010001512012–13League One40600101Appearances in the Football League Trophy04262013–14League Two4541010104842014–15League One3231020103632015–16League One100200000120Total15415601013017316Shrewsbury Town (loan)2010–11League Two3000001Appearance in the League Two play-offs040Rochdale (loan)2015–16League One111000000111Rochdale2016–17League One2523020303322017–18League One3000201050Total282304040392Plymouth Argyle2018–19League One3322010203822019–20League Two3322020203922020–21League One121100020151Total785503060925Bradford City2020–21League Two1600000001602021–22League Two171201000201Total331201000361Barrow2021–22League Two1800000001802022–23League Two4621020105022023–24League Two3932010204432024–25League Two3601020204102025–26League Two272111000293Total16675160501828Career total4733121124119053733
References
External links
Republic of Ireland profile at Soccer Scene