Luca Hoole

Luca Hoole
Hoole playing for Bristol Rovers in 2022.
Personal information
Full name Luca Anthony Hoole[1]
Date of birth (2002-06-02) 2 June 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Newport, Wales[2]
Position(s) Full-back, centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Shrewsbury Town
Number 2
Youth career
2014–2019 Bristol Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2024 Bristol Rovers 89 (3)
2020 → Taunton Town (loan) 0 (0)
2024– Shrewsbury Town 8 (0)
International career‡
2019 Wales U19 1 (0)
2020 Wales U20 1 (0)
2022– Wales U21 11 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:06, 11 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:10, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Luca Anthony Hoole (born 2 June 2002) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a full-back or centre-back for EFL League One club Shrewsbury Town. He is a Wales under-21 international.

Club career

Bristol Rovers

Hoole attended Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, a Welsh language school in Pontypool.[3] In 2014, Hoole joined the Bristol Rovers academy.[4] In April 2018, Bristol Rovers confirmed Hoole had signed a scholarship with the club.[5] On 3 September 2019, Hoole made his debut for Bristol Rovers in a 1–1 EFL Trophy draw against Plymouth Argyle.[6]

Taunton Town (loan)

On 30 October 2020, Hoole joined Taunton Town on a one-month loan deal.[7] Taunton played one match, a match that Hoole was not registered in time to feature in, before football was suspended on account of the lockdown measures brought in for COVID-19.[8]

Breakthrough at Bristol Rovers

After impressing for the club in pre-season, Hoole made his league debut on the opening day of the 2021–22 season, impressing in the right-back position during a 2–1 away defeat to Mansfield Town.[9] On 29 January 2022, Hoole received a first sending off of his career as he received two bookings in the space of five first-half minutes as ten-man Rovers scored a last-minute winner to defeat Walsall.[10] In February 2022, Hoole signed a new two-year extension to his contract.[11] Following a 4–0 thrashing of Stevenage, Rovers' manager Joey Barton said that Hoole had made the right-back position his own having dipped in and out of the team earlier in the season.[12] On 26 February 2022, Hoole scored a first senior goal with the opener in a 1–1 draw with Exeter City.[13] Hoole's first senior season ended with Rovers overtaking Northampton Town on the final day of the season to gain automatic promotion by goals scored, a dramatic 7–0 victory over Scunthorpe United securing this feat.[14]

Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Hoole featured for the club in pre-season in a less familiar centre-back role, impressing as Rovers defeated Championship side Stoke City.[15] For the first match of the new season, Hoole continued in this role with defensive partner James Connolly as Rovers fell to a late 2–1 defeat against Forest Green Rovers.[16] As the season developed, he began to find himself out of favour at the club and suffered from low confidence, however an impressive return to the first-team in December leading manager Barton to claim that he could one day captain the side.[17] His improvement in form continued into the second half of the season despite a rocky time for the team, impressing in a 3–0 victory over Oxford United that saw the team claim a first victory in seven weeks, Hoole scoring the third goal.[18]

Hoole was offered a new contract at the end of the 2023–24 season.[19] Following the start of pre-season, manager Matt Taylor confirmed that with Hoole still yet to return to the club, they had moved on from expecting him to sign the contract and were instead focusing on how much compensation the club could recoup.[20]

Shrewsbury Town

On 16 July 2024, Hoole signed a two-year contract with fellow League One club Shrewsbury Town after a compensation package was agreed between the two clubs.[21] Following the transfer, he claimed the desire of a new challenge to be key in his reasoning behind the switch.[22]

International career

On 13 November 2019, Hoole made his debut for Wales under-19's in a 3–0 win against Poland U19.[23]

In May 2022, Hoole was called up to the Wales U21 team for the first time for the final 2023 U21 European Championship qualifiers against the Netherlands and Gibraltar.[24][25] Hoole made his debut in the second of the two matches, coming off of the bench with fifteen minutes left as Wales finished their campaign with a 2–0 win.[26]

Career statistics

As of end of 2023–24 season[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bristol Rovers 2019–20[28] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
2020–21[29] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021–22[30] League Two 29 1 2 0 0 0 1[a] 0 32 1
2022–23[31] League One 37 2 0 0 1 0 6[a] 1 44 3
2023–24[32] League One 23 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 25 0
Career total 89 3 2 0 2 0 9 1 102 4
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Bristol Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 11. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  2. ^ Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
  3. ^ "Brwydr pel-droed llysoedd Bl 9" (in Welsh). Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Luca Hoole". Bristol Rovers F.C. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Interview: Scholars Luca Hoole and Luc Noble". Bristol Rovers F.C. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Plymouth Argyle vs. Bristol Rovers 1–1". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Loan Signing Joins Squad". tauntontown.com. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Football Suspended". tauntontown.com. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Mansfield Town 2–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Bristol Rovers 1–0 Walsall". BBC Sport. 29 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Hoole Signs New Deal". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 11 February 2022.
  12. ^ Horn, Kiernan; Frost, Sam (20 February 2022). "Every word Joey Barton said on Bristol Rovers' win, Sam Finley and Elliot Anderson's nickname". Bristol Post.
  13. ^ "Bristol Rovers 1–1 Exeter City". BBC Sport. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  15. ^ Frost, Sam (21 July 2022). "Joey Barton ponders position change for Bristol Rovers' breakout star". Bristol Post. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Bristol Rovers 1–2 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  17. ^ Piercy, James (14 December 2022). "Joey Barton makes bold Luca Hoole claim as young Bristol Rovers defender provides welcome impact". Bristol Post. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  18. ^ Frost, Sam (27 February 2023). "Joey Barton predicts big things for homegrown Bristol Rovers talent after rising to challenge". Bristol Post. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Bristol Rovers issue 2023/24 Retained List". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  20. ^ Piercy, James (14 July 2024). "Matt Taylor ends Luca Hoole uncertainty following Bristol Rovers defender's pre-season no-show". Bristol Post. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Luca Hoole: Shrewsbury Town sign Bristol Rovers defender". BBC Sport. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  22. ^ Hargraves, Daniel (16 July 2024). "Luca Hoole makes new challenge claim as Bristol Rovers academy product swaps Gas for Shrewsbury". Bristol Post. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  23. ^ "#U19EURO Cymru 3–0 Poland". 13 November 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Luca Called Up To Wales U21s". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  25. ^ "CYMRU SQUAD ANNOUNCED FOR FINAL U21 EURO QUALIFIERS". www.faw.cymru. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Cymru U21 finish campaign with a win". www.faw.cymru/en. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  27. ^ Luca Hoole at Soccerway
  28. ^ "Games played by Luca Hoole in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Games played by Luca Hoole in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Games played by Luca Hoole in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  31. ^ "Games played by Luca Hoole in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  32. ^ "Games played by Luca Hoole in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2024.