David McGoldrick

Notts County

McGoldrick was born in Nottingham, and graduated through the Notts County youth team to make his senior debut on 24 January 2004, in a Second Division clash with Swindon Town at Meadow Lane. He replaced Frazer McHugh with minutes to go of a 2–1 defeat. He won his first start on 14 February, playing 86 minutes of a 1–0 loss at AFC Bournemouth. He made two further appearances in 2003–04, at the end of which County were relegated into the Third Division.

Southampton

In August 2004, at the age of 16, he was signed by Southampton for an undisclosed fee. Leon Best also made the move from Notts County to Southampton over the summer. McGoldrick did not feature in the 2004–05 Premier League campaign. He was a member of Southampton's youth team that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup in 2005, losing on aggregate to Ipswich Town. On 20 September 2005, he made his "Saints" debut as a substitute in a 1–0 League Cup defeat to Mansfield Town, having replaced Dexter Blackstock on 81 minutes. Four days later, he returned to Notts County for a one-month loan spell to gain more first-team experience. On his return to Southampton he scored 44 goals for the Reserves and Under-18 teams, bagging a hat-trick in the Under-18s play-off final win over Aston Villa, as well as three goals over the two legs of the FA Youth Cup semi-final against Liverpool. These feats earned him a league debut for the club at home to Millwall on 17 April. He was replaced by Ricardo…

In 2014, McGoldrick – who is adopted – discovered that he was eligible to play for Ireland after researching his family tree and finding that he had a biological grandfather born in Ireland. McGoldrick turned down an approach by Scotland manager Gordon Strachan to play for that country, stating he would prefer to play for Ireland. Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy encouraged McGoldrick to represent the "Boys In Green". Ipswich teammates Stephen Hunt and Daryl Murphy backed McGoldrick for an Ireland call-up. In August 2014, Ireland manager Martin O'Neill confirmed that McGoldrick was in his plans, subject to paperwork. On 10 November 2014, McGoldrick received his first call-up to the Irish squad for the games against Scotland and the United States. He made his debut for Ireland in a 4–1 win over the United States on 18 November 2014, providing two assists for Anthony Pilkington and Robbie Brady goals. McGoldrick scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland on 5 September 2019, scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Switzerland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match. In August 2020, McGoldrick was named the 2019 FAI Senior International Player of the Year. He announced his retirement from international football three months later on 4 November, citing a wish to spend more time with his family and to focus more on his club career.

"He's got pace, he can get in behind defenders and can run all day. He's skilful and he's got all the attributes."

McGoldrick was a father of four children by 2022. His nickname is "Didzy".