| Luke O'Neill | |
| Fullname: | Luke Marcus O'Neill[1] |
| Birth Date: | 20 August 1991[2] |
| Birth Place: | Slough, England |
| Height: | 1.83m (06feet)[3] |
| Position: | Right back |
| Currentclub: | Ebbsfleet United |
| Clubnumber: | 2 |
| Youthyears1: | –2008 |
| Youthclubs1: | Leicester City |
| Years1: | 2008–2011 |
| Clubs1: | Leicester City |
| Caps1: | 1 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2010 |
| Clubs2: | → Tranmere Rovers (loan) |
| Caps2: | 4 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2011 |
| Clubs3: | → Kettering Town (loan) |
| Caps3: | 19 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Years4: | 2011–2012 |
| Clubs4: | Mansfield Town |
| Caps4: | 43 |
| Goals4: | 3 |
| Years5: | 2012–2015 |
| Clubs5: | Burnley |
| Caps5: | 1 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2013–2014 |
| Clubs6: | → York City (loan) |
| Caps6: | 15 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Years7: | 2014 |
| Clubs7: | → Southend United (loan) |
| Caps7: | 1 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2014 |
| Clubs8: | → Scunthorpe United (loan) |
| Caps8: | 13 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2015 |
| Clubs9: | → Leyton Orient (loan) |
| Caps9: | 8 |
| Goals9: | 0 |
| Years10: | 2015 |
| Clubs10: | → Southend United (loan) |
| Caps10: | 0 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Years11: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs11: | Southend United |
| Caps11: | 31 |
| Goals11: | 1 |
| Years12: | 2017–2019 |
| Clubs12: | Gillingham |
| Caps12: | 76 |
| Goals12: | 4 |
| Years13: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs13: | AFC Wimbledon |
| Caps13: | 58 |
| Goals13: | 1 |
| Years14: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs14: | Kettering Town |
| Caps14: | 6 |
| Goals14: | 0 |
| Years15: | 2022 |
| Clubs15: | Stevenage |
| Caps15: | 1 |
| Goals15: | 0 |
| Years16: | 2022– |
| Clubs16: | Ebbsfleet United |
| Caps16: | 0 |
| Goals16: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2007–2008 |
| Nationalteam1: | England U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 16:56, 8 January 2022 (UTC) |
Luke Marcus O'Neill (born 20 August 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right back for club Ebbsfleet United. He graduated from the Leicester City youth academy. He has represented England at under-17 level.
Born in Slough, Berkshire,[4] O'Neill came through the youth academy at Leicester City and was part of the side that won the Premier Academy League in the 2006–07 season. He was named as a substitute for the first time in a League Cup win over Stockport County on 12 August 2008, however he was unused on that occasion.[5]
On 29 August 2008, just a few days after his 17th birthday, O'Neill signed a three-year professional contract, tying him to Leicester until the summer of 2011.[6] He then made his first-team debut for Leicester on 2 September 2008 against Hartlepool United in a 3–0 Football League Trophy win.[7]
O'Neill's next first-team involvement for Leicester came almost a year later when he was named as an unused substitute in their opening day fixture against Swansea City.[8] He made his first appearance of 2009–10 three days later, playing the full 90 minutes as Leicester beat Macclesfield Town 2–0 in the League Cup.[9] On 26 December 2009, O'Neill made his league debut for Leicester, coming on as a half-time substitute against Sheffield United, replacing the injured Jack Hobbs.[10]
On 18 February 2010, O'Neill joined League One club Tranmere Rovers on a one-month loan.[11]
On 31 January 2011, he joined Conference Premier club Kettering Town on a one-month loan.[12]
On 30 June 2011, O'Neill signed for Conference Premier club Mansfield Town on a one-year contract.[13] He made his debut on 13 August 2011 in a 1–1 draw with Bath City, he then later scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 win over Newport County. O'Neill helped Mansfield to a play-off semi-final where they lost 2–1 on aggregate to York City. His performances throughout 2011–12 attracted Championship clubs Burnley, Cardiff City and Ipswich Town. Burnley had a bid rejected by the Conference club, but manager Paul Cox admitted O'Neill could leave if the offer is right.[14]
On 15 June 2012, O'Neill signed for Championship club Burnley for an undisclosed fee.[15]
He joined League Two club York City on 4 October 2013 on a 28-day emergency loan.[16] His debut came the following day in a 3–0 away defeat to Torquay United, before scoring his first goal for York in a 2–2 draw away to Chesterfield with a 30-yard shot into the bottom right corner.[17] On 31 October 2013, O'Neill's loan was extended until 4 January 2014, after making six appearances and scoring one goal for York.[18] He was recalled by Burnley a day early on 3 January 2014 to be part of the squad for their FA Cup match against Southampton.[19] He had made 16 appearances and scored one goal for York.
On 17 January 2014, O'Neill joined League Two club Southend United on a 30-day emergency loan.[20]
He joined Scunthorpe United on 18 August 2014 on a three-month loan,[21] making his debut a day later in a 2–0 home defeat to Fleetwood Town.
On 26 February 2015, he joined Leyton Orient on loan until the end of 2014–15.[22]
O'Neill rejoined Southend United, by this time in League One, on 22 August 2015 on a one-month loan.[23] He had his Burnley contract terminated by mutual consent on 1 September 2015, ahead of a permanent transfer to Southend on a two-year contract.[24] He scored his first goal for Southend in a 3-1 win against Millwall on 17 September 2016.[25]
O'Neill signed for League One club Gillingham on 6 June 2017 on a two-year contract.[26] He was released by Gillingham at the end of the 2018–19 season.[27]
O'Neill signed for League One club AFC Wimbledon on 4 July 2019 on a contract of undisclosed length.[28] He scored his first goal for Wimbledon in an EFL Cup tie against rivals Milton Keynes Dons on 13 August 2019.[29] O'Neill was released by the club at the end of the 2020–21 season.[30]
In November 2021, he dropped back into non-League football when he signed for National League North club Kettering Town on a free transfer, having previously spent time on loan there in 2011.[31]
O'Neill signed for League Two club Stevenage on 3 January 2022.[32] He was released at the end of the season.[33]
On 30 June 2022 O'Neill signed for National League South side Ebbsfleet United, where he would go on to win the 2022–23 league title.[34] [35]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Leicester City | 2008–09 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2009–10 | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Kettering Town (loan) | 2010–11[36] | Conference Premier | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| Mansfield Town | 2011–12[37] | Conference Premier | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 48 | 3 | ||
| Burnley | 2012–13 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| York City (loan) | 2013–14 | League Two | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Southend United (loan) | 2013–14 | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Scunthorpe United (loan) | 2014–15 | League One | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Leyton Orient (loan) | 2014–15 | League One | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Southend United | 2015–16 | League One | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | League One | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| Total | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |||
| Gillingham | 2017–18 | League One | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 3 | |
| 2018–19 | League One | 38 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 4 | ||
| Total | 76 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 90 | 7 | |||
| AFC Wimbledon | 2019–20 | League One | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | League One | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| Total | 59 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 2 | |||
| Stevenage | 2021–22 | League Two | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Career total | 283 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 318 | 16 | |||