Gary Gardner

Aston Villa

Youth career

Gardner started his career at Aston Villa with older brother Craig. His development was interrupted by an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury sustained in December 2009. On his return, he became an important member of Aston Villa's under-18 and reserve sides. Gardner scored twice in Aston Villa reserves' 10–1 win over Arsenal on 10 January 2011, firstly catching out Gunners' goalkeeper James Shea to break the deadlock before scoring another from the penalty spot. He also claimed assists for Andreas Weimann's and Jonathan Hogg's goals. The midfielder first played for Aston Villa's first team in a pre-season friendly, coming on as a substitute for captain Stiliyan Petrov in the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy final loss to Chelsea. He also represented Aston Villa in the inaugural season of the NextGen Series, a European competition for younger footballers similar in format to the UEFA Champions League. During the group stage, Gardner scored single goals against Fenerbahçe and Rosenborg. In Villa's last group match, Gardner scored all three goals in a 3–0 victory over Ajax. He scored a last-minute equaliser in the quarter-final match against Marseille, but Villa went on to lose the tie 2–1 in extra time. Gardner's six goals left him one short of the competition's joint-highest goalscorers, Jean Marie Dongou of Barcelona and Viktor Fischer of Ajax, with seven.

Senior debut

Gardner joined Coventry City in later November 2011…

Gardner has played for England at numerous international levels, including under-17s, under-18s, under-20s and the under-21s. On 10 November 2011, Gardner came on as a substitute, replacing Jason Lowe in the 62nd minute, and scored his first two goals for the England under-21s against Iceland under-21s.

As of end of 2024–25 season

Gardner is the brother of fellow professional footballer Craig Gardner, also a product of the Aston Villa youth system. The siblings contribute funds to a boxing gym in their home town of Birmingham, which was featured on an episode of Soccer AM in 2011.