Jon Nolan


Jon Anthony Nolan is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town.
Nolan began his career with Everton, progressing through the club's academy before being released in 2011. He then went on to feature for Stockport County, Lincoln City and Wrexham. In 2016 he joined Grimsby Town and was part of the team that won the National League play-offs ensuring that The Mariners were promoted back to the Football League. Nolan picked up the "Supporters Young Player of the Season Award" but opted to join Chesterfield when his contract expired. After a season there, he moved to Shewsbury Town where he became player of the year. He signed for Ipswich Town in August 2018.

Club career

Stockport County

Born in Huyton, Merseyside, Nolan began his career with Everton's academy before joining Stockport County, who had just been relegated to the Conference Premier, in 2011. He made his senior debut on 26 August 2011 in a 1–1 draw away to Lincoln City, as a substitute for Nick Chadwick for the last ten minutes. He played 31 matches, all in the league, in his first season.
Nolan contributed three goals in 2012–13, as Stockport were relegated to the Conference North. His first career goal came in a 2–1 home win over Forest Green Rovers on 19 January 2013, and he also scored the winners in 3–2 victories at home to Nuneaton Borough on 2 February and away to Alfreton Town on 6 April. On 15 September 2012, he was sent off towards the end of a 2–1 loss to Woking at Edgeley Park.

Lincoln City

Following Stockport's relegation, Nolan became a free agent and joined Conference Premier team Lincoln on a one-year contract on 23 May 2013. Manager Gary Simpson told BBC Radio Lincolnshire that Nolan took a long time to seal his deal due to another offer from a wealthier team in the division, but he chose Lincoln for "footballing reasons". He made his debut on 10 August, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless draw at Woking in the season opener. On 14 September, he scored his first goal for the Imps, equalising with the final kick of a 1–1 draw at Barnet.
On 10 January 2015, Nolan was sent off in the 18th minute of a 4–0 loss at Eastleigh for a foul on Will Evans.

Wrexham (loan)

Nolan signed on loan for fellow league team Wrexham on 1 October 2015, until the new year. He played six games for the Welsh club, starting two days later with their 3–2 loss at Chester in the Cross-border derby.

Grimsby Town

After being released prematurely from his contract at Lincoln, Nolan signed for their Lincolnshire derby rivals Grimsby Town in the National League on 21 January 2016, on a deal lasting until the end of the season. He was brought in by Paul Hurst, who also signed him for Shrewsbury Town and Ipswich Town later in his career.
He made 18 league appearances for the Mariners, scoring four goals, including a late winner in a 4–3 victory at Aldershot Town on 5 April. The team came fourth and qualified for the play-offs, where they contested the final at Wembley Stadium on 15 May against Forest Green Rovers. Grimsby won 3–1 to gain promotion to League Two, with Nolan's free kick leading to Omar Bogle's opening goal. A week later however, in the 2016 FA Trophy Final at the same venue, Grimsby lost 1–0 to relegated FC Halifax Town.
After impressing in his short time at the club, Nolan won the Grimsby Town Young Player of the Year award for the 2015–16 season.

Chesterfield

In May 2016 Nolan joined League One side Chesterfield on a free transfer after his Grimsby contract expired. He made his English Football League debut on 6 August 2016 in a 1–1 draw away at Oxford United, and scored his first goal for the club on 13 November, in an eventual 4–1 defeat to Sheffield United at the Proact Stadium.
On 3 December 2016, he was sent off in a 5–0 FA Cup second round loss to Wycombe Wanderers following a challenge on Dominic Gape, and he also received marching orders the following April in a goalless draw at Bolton Wanderers. The Spireites finished the season in last place and were relegated to League Two.

Shrewsbury Town

Following Chesterfield's relegation, Nolan moved to League One club Shrewsbury Town for an undisclosed fee on 12 June 2017, signing a three-year deal. The move re-united him with former Grimsby Town manager Paul Hurst. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1−0 win against Southend United on 12 September, helping set a new club record for Shrewsbury Town as their best ever start to a Football League campaign of six wins and a draw from their opening seven games.
Shrewsbury reached the 2018 EFL Trophy Final, which they lost at Wembley to Nolan's former team Lincoln on 8 April. The Shrews lost 1–0, with Nolan being praised in the Shropshire Star report, that said he "was involved in plenty of work as Lincoln chased his shadow and flew into every tackle". The team finished in third, and on 10 May, in the first leg of the play-off semi-final away to Charlton Athletic, Nolan scored the only goal from 25 yards out. His final game was the play-off final at Wembley on 28 May, lost 2–1 to Rotherham United after extra time.
In his only season at the New Meadow, Nolan was voted the club's Player of the Year.

Ipswich Town

After Shrewsbury failed to gain promotion, manager Paul Hurst left for Championship club Ipswich Town and began negotiating to sign both Nolan and defender Aristote Nsiala, whom he had worked with at both Shrewsbury and Grimsby. After the pair submitted their transfer requests, they were barred from training with or playing for the Shrews. Both Nolan and Nsiala signed for Ipswich on 8 August 2018, for a combined £2 million fee.
He made his debut for his new team on 11 August, starting in a 1–0 loss at Rotherham. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Birmingham City on 29 September 2018. He made 28 appearances during his first season at Portman Road, scoring 3 goals. His season was ended early after he suffered a calf injury during a 0–2 home loss to Hull City on 30 March 2018.
Nolan returned to first-team action on 31 August 2019, featuring as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 home win over former team Shrewsbury in League One, following Ipswich's relegation. He scored his first goal of the season in a 0–1 away win over Milton Keynes Dons on 17 September. On 6 July 2020, Ipswich announced that they had taken up the option to extend Nolan's contract by an additional year, keeping him at the club until 2022.

International career

Nolan was first called up to the England C squad in 2014. He made his International debut on 18 November 2014 in a 4–2 win over Estonia U23.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Grimsby Town
Shrewsbury Town