Joshua Dale Stokes (born 29 April 2004) is an English professional football player who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL League One club Reading, on loan from club Bristol City.
Club career AFC Sudbury Stokes played for the Ipswich Town Academy, but was released aged 16. Following this, he joined the AFC Sudbury academy, but soon became a regular part of the senior team, playing most matches of the 2021–22 season.
Aldershot Town On 7 July 2023, National League club Aldershot Town signed Stokes on a two year professional contract from AFC Sudbury for an undisclosed fee. He made a positive impact for the club in the first half of the 2023–24 season, scoring 16 goals in 31 appearances across all appearances.
Bristol City Despite interests from various clubs such as Norwich City, on 22 January 2024, EFL Championship club Bristol City completed the signing of Stokes on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £250,000. Stokes was immediately loaned back to Aldershot Town for the remainder of the 2023–24 season.
Stokes made his debut for Bristol City during an EFL Cup match on 13 August 2024 against Coventry City, coming on as a 69th minute substitute for Nahki Wells.
Cambridge United (loan) On 21 August 2024, Stokes signed for EFL League One club Cambridge United on loan until the end of the 2024–25 season.
Stockport County (loan) Stokes signed for EFL League One club Stockport County on 6 January 2026 until the end of the season helping them reach the 2026 EFL League One play-off final against Bolton Wanderers where they lost 4-1 to Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on 24 May 2026 with Stokes playing 65 minutes where he was replaced by Benoný Breki Andrésson after they beat Stevenage 3-0 on aggregate winning 1-0 at the Lamex Stadium on 9 May 2026 and 2-0 at Edgeley Park on 13 May 2026.
Reading (loan) Stokes signed for EFL League One club Reading on a season-long loan from Bristol City on 10 July 2026.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAFC Sudbury2021–22Isthmian League North30410—1Appearance in the Alan Turvey Trophy03242022–23Isthmian League North341163—3One appearance in the FA Trophy, two in the Isthmian League North Division play-offs04314Total641573—407518Aldershot Town2023–24National League261343—1Appearance in the FA Trophy03116Bristol City2023–24Championship000000—002024–25Championship000010—102025–26Championship000010—10Total000020—20Aldershot Town (loan)2023–24National League192———192Cambridge United (loan)2024–25League One32700002Appearances in EFL Trophy1348Stockport County (loan)2025–26League One204——32103Career total161411162010318450
Honours Stockport County EFL Trophy runner-up: 2025–26
References