Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Nugent attended Millfield with his sports scholarships before he joined the academy at Championship side Cardiff City in 2007, after being spotted whilst playing for Western Premier side Street when he was fifteen. However, Nugent "was released a couple of years" by manager Dave Jones. But his youth coach Neal Ardley convinced Jones to keep Nugent and he stayed at the club. MacKay tipped Nugent to be a future captain at Cardiff City. His professional debut for Cardiff came on 14 August 2012, in a 2–1 defeat to Northampton Town in the League Cup. His first league game came on 17 November, when he came on to replace Ben Turner against Middlesbrough and was awarded Man of the Match. On 24 November, Nugent made his first league start for the Bluebirds in a 2–1 win at Barnsley, and opened the scoring with his first senior goal. Nugent continued to captain the Development Squad, and on 4 January he signed a new deal till 2016. He then went on to start the next day against Macclesfield Town, which Cardiff lost 2–1, knocking them out of the FA Cup. Nugent continued to be a part of match-day squads throughout his debut season and was a substitute as Cardiff sealed promotion to the Premier League with a 0–0 draw at home against Charlton Athletic on 16 April 2013. Nugent was named Cardiff City Young Player of Year 2012–13.
Loan spells
Nugent signed for League One side Brentford on 1 August 2013 on loan until 5 January 2014. He had played for Cardiff in a pre-season friendly at Griffin Park two days previously. He made his Brentford debut on 6 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge in the League Cup. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 September, in a 5–3 victory over Wimbledon in the Football League Trophy, his third appearance. He scored again in the next round, against Peterborough United on 8 October. Nugent made an impact in a 5–0 FA Cup first-round win over Staines Town on 9 November 2013. Having made five appearance for the club, it was announced that Nugent would return to his parent club. On 13 February 2014, Nugent joined League One side Peterborough United on loan. Nugent made his debut for the club on 14 February 2014, making his first start, in a 0–0 draw against Walsall. Nugent made eleven appearance for the club and returned to his parent club. On 11 July 2014, Nugent joined Yeovil Town on loan until 4 January 2015. Nugent made his debut for the club on 16 August 2014, making his first start, in a 2–0 loss against Gillingham. Nugent scored his first Yeovil Town goal on 26 December 2014, in a 2–1 loss against Bristol City. A week later, Nugent had his loan spell at Yeovil Town extended until the end of the season. Nugent was then sent off in the 26th minute after elbowing George Waring on 10 January 2015, in a 2–0 loss against Barnsley. After serving a four-match ban, Nugent made his first team return on 7 February 2015, making a start and playing 90 minutes, in a 2–1 win over Crawley Town. However, his first team opportunities was soon limited, due to a rule limiting numbers of loanees and was told to fight for the first-team place. Nugent went on to make twenty-three appearances and scored once for the club before returning to his parent club.
On 3 August 2015, Nugent joined League One side Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal. Upon joining Crewe Alexandra, Nugent believed his move to the club could see his career "some much-needed stability". However, on 9 May 2017, Crewe announced that Nugent had been released by the club.
Gillingham
On 15 August 2017, Nugent signed for League One club Gillingham on a one-year contract.
Nugent was offered a new contract by Gillingham at the end of the 2017–18 season, but turned it down and signed for Stevenage of League Two. He remained with the club until the end of the 2019–20 season which saw the Hertfordshire side relegated to the National League.
