Niall Canavan


Niall David Stephen Canavan plays as a defender for League Two club Plymouth Argyle.

Career

Born in Bramley, West Yorkshire, Canavan was spotted by Youth scout Jeff Daws, the brother of Head of Youth Development Tony Daws, whilst playing for Leeds City Boys U15's in a game against Doncaster City Boys. Canavan made his U19 Youth Team debut against York City towards the end of the 2004–05 season; whilst only 14 years of age. Canavan played for the Youth Team for 4 seasons before taking up the armband of youth team captain as a second year apprentice. He was given a trial at Liverpool whilst in the reserve squad.
Canavan signed his first professional contract in April 2009 for Scunthorpe United. He made his first team debut on 22 August 2009 in a 4–0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, replacing Robert Jones on 28 minutes. Three days later he scored his first goal, in a 2–1 League Cup win at Swansea City. He attended St. Mary's Menston. He is a first team regular playing in both League and Cup matches. He has most notably played against Manchester United and Manchester City twice.
Canavan missed just one match in Scunthorpe's promotion winning season in 2013–14 and formed a defensive partnership with David Mirfin. As a consequence of this successful season, Canavan signed a new 2-year contract on 29 May 2014.
On 15 February 2016, Canavan joined Rochdale on an emergency loan, and at the end of the season he joined the club on a two-year contract.
He was released by Rochdale at the end of the 2017–18 season, after which he joined Plymouth Argyle on a free transfer.

International career

Although born in Leeds, Canavan carries an Irish passport and was called up by the FAI to the U21 squad in March 2011. In March 2011 he made his debut appearance for the Irish national Under-21 team.

Personal life

In September 2019, it was revealed that Canavan had, earlier in the year, been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Career statistics

Club