Daniel William Leadbitter is an English professional footballer who plays for League Two club Newport County. He is primarily a right-back and he is also capable of operating all across the defence. Leadbitter is a product of the Newcastle Unitedyouth system having joined at the age of 9 but left for Torquay in 2011 to sign a two-year deal, in pursuit of first team football.
Career
Newcastle United
Leadbitter joined local club Wide Open Juniors aged seven. He first played for Newcastle United's academy a year later. Initially a centre-back, Leadbitter was converted to a right-back aged 15 due to being shorter than most of his peers; reflecting on the positional change in 2012, he said: "I was too small to stay at centre-back, so I switched to right-back and I've found a home there now." He signed a contract with Newcastle in July 2007, having made his debut for the Newcastle Academy U18s against Middlesbrough in March of that year. His first goal for the academy arrived in October, in a match against Leeds United. He went on to play for Newcastle's reserve side after graduating from the club's Little Benton Academy, However, he was released in June 2011 without making a first-team appearance.
Torquay United
manager Martin Ling became aware of Leadbitter after watching him playing for Newcastle's Reserves whilst scouting for Hibernian and Walsall. Upon his release from Newcastle, Ling signed him on a two-year contract on 28 June 2011, Leadbitter's league debut for Torquay was delayed due to a hamstring injury and he missed most of the first few months, but finally made his debut for Torquay on 8 October 2011 at the Valley Parade in the Gulls' 1–0 loss to Bradford City. He made his first league start for Torquay in the 2–1 victory over Gillingham. Despite Oastler being available for selection after his suspension expired, Leadbitter retained his place for United's 1–0 win over Morecambe F.C on 27 October 2012; he was voted Man of the match by the match sponsors. The defender was restored to Torquay's starting line-up for the 1–0 loss at Bradford City on 8 December 2012 due to Oastler's suspension; the fixture came a year and two months to the day after Leadbitter's club debut at the same ground, with an identical scoreline. Leadbitter played in United's 1–0 defeat against Fleetwood Town on 9 February 2013; assistant manager Shaun Taylor later claimed Leadbitter's performance was "probably his best game for the club." The right-back retained his place for the 3–1 loss to Rotherham United on 12 February and went on to make 11 more appearances before his release in May 2012.
Hereford United
On 1 August 2013, Leadbitter signed a one-year deal with Hereford. The right-back made his debut for Hereford on the opening day of the season against Braintree Town on 10 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw. He made a good start to his Hereford career, quickly establishing himself as a first-team regular, and by October a Sky Sports publication claimed that "a number of clubs from the Football League have been keeping tabs on Daniel...he is really flourishing under the management of Martin Foyle."
Leadbitter joined relegated Conference Premier side Bristol Rovers prior to the 2014–15 season. He scored his first professional goal on 13 September 2014 in a 2–3 away win at Lincoln. The team went on to miss out on the Conference Premier league title on the final day by 1 point but earned promotion via the playoffs, triumphing on penalties against Grimsby Town, securing a return to the football league at the first time of asking. He was offered a new contract by Bristol Rovers at the end of the 2017–18 season. On 8 May 2019, Leadbitter was announced to be one of 9 players who wouldn't be retained at the end of their contracts bringing his five-season spell at the club, during which he gained two promotions to an end.
Newport County
On 20 June 2019 Leadbitter joined Newport County on a 2-year contract. He made his debut for Newport on 13 August 2019 in the starting line up for the EFL Cup first round win against Gillingham.
Personal life
Leadbitter was born in Newcastle with a mixed English / Jamaican background. He attended Gosforth High School prior to playing for hometown club Newcastle United. At school, he excelled at athletics, reaching the finals of the 400m event at the English Schools Championships. The defender comes from a family of footballers: his uncle, Roger Palmer, played for Manchester City before becoming Oldham Athletic's all-time leading goalscorer, while his cousins Marcus Wood and Tyrell Palmer played in the English Lower League Pyramid after coming through the Academy at Bolton Wanderers.
