Juan Manuel Delgado Lloria (; born 17 November 1990), commonly known as Juanma , is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for J3 League club Kagoshima United.
He spent the vast majority of his career in Spain in the lower leagues, his Segunda División input consisting of ten matches with UCAM Murcia. He represented clubs in Greece (Asteras Tripolis and Kalloni), Scotland (Heart of Midlothian) and Japan (V-Varen Nagasaki, Omiya Ardija, Avispa Fukuoka and Kagoshima United).
Career Early career Born in Valencia, Juanma started out at Jove Español San Vicente in the Tercera División. He then moved to Segunda División B, where he represented Dénia and Alavés. He scored and was sent off – after having already been replaced – in his competitive debut for the latter on 17 October 2012, a 2–1 away win against Huracán Valencia in the third round of the Copa del Rey.
Greece In the summer of 2013, Juanma joined Greek club Asteras Tripolis. He played his first game as a professional on 15 September of that year, featuring six minutes in a 1–1 Super League draw at OFI Crete. His first goal came on 12 January 2014, when he contributed to a 3–0 home victory over Platanias.
After featuring in 36 games in all competitions and leaving by mutual consent, Juanma spent the 2014–15 season with Kalloni in the same league. He scored his first goal for his new team on 9 November 2014, in a 2–0 away defeat of Panionios. He netted twice on 9 February of the following year, helping to a 2–2 home draw against Skoda Xanthi and an eventual 11th-place finish; subsequently, he signed a new contract.
Hearts Juanma signed for Heart of Midlothian on a three-year deal in June 2015, with Kalloni being entitled to 20% of any future transfer. On 2 August, in his Scottish Premiership debut, he capitalised on a Brad McKay mistake to score the opener at home against St Johnstone, in an eventual 4–3 win. Six days later, in a 2–1 victory at Dundee, he netted twice in five minutes, starting with a penalty. On 19 December, against the same opponent, he received a straight red card in a goalless draw for headbutting David Wotherspoon, and manager Robbie Neilson attributed it to frustration at Scottish referees being more lenient on fouls against strikers than their Spanish counterparts.
On 31 August 2016, Juanma was loaned to UCAM Murcia for one year, making his professional debut in the Spanish league system on 21 September when he came on as a 35th-minute substitute and scored once in a 4–0 home win over Almería in the Segunda División.
Japan Juanma agreed to a permanent contract with Japanese club V-Varen Nagasaki in January 2017. He spent the following years in the same country (in both the J2 League and the J1 League), with Omiya Ardija and Avispa Fukuoka.
On 14 December 2022, the 32-year-old Juanma returned to V-Varen. In the first season of his second spell, he scored a career-best 26 goals to lead all players in that department; he achieved top-flight promotion at the end of his third.
Juanma moved to J3 League side Kagoshima United on 6 August 2026.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsJove Español2009–10Tercera División163————1632010–11255————255Total418————418Dénia2011–12Segunda División B26200———262Alavés2012–13Segunda División B23711——40288Asteras Tripolis2013–14Super League Greece30540—20—365Kalloni2014–15Super League Greece26700———267Hearts2015–16Scottish Premiership331261———39132016–170000—40—40Total331261—40—4313UCAM Murcia (loan)2016–17Segunda División10230———132V-Varen Nagasaki2017J2 League321100———32112018J1 League3161011——337Total63171011——6518Omiya Ardija2019J2 League401310——104213Avispa Fukuoka2020J2 League348————3482021J1 League2752031——326202231411113——438Total921731144——15135V-Varen Nagasaki2023J2 League362600———3626202434103452——421620251971000——207Career total4731332372076050527147
Honours Individual J2 League top scorer: 2023 J2 League Best XI: 2023
References
External links