| Mark McGuinness | |
| Fullname: | Mark James McGuinness |
| Birth Date: | 5 January 2001[1] |
| Birth Place: | Slough, England |
| Height: | 1.94m |
| Position: | Centre back |
| Currentclub: | Luton Town |
| Clubnumber: | 6 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2020 |
| Youthclubs1: | Arsenal |
| Years1: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs1: | Arsenal |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs2: | → Ipswich Town (loan) |
| Caps2: | 24 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2021–2024 |
| Clubs3: | Cardiff City |
| Caps3: | 83 |
| Goals3: | 5 |
| Years4: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs4: | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) |
| Caps4: | 17 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2024– |
| Clubs5: | Luton Town |
| Caps5: | 16 |
| Goals5: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam1: | Republic of Ireland U19 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 10 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 2 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2020–2022 |
| Nationalteam2: | Republic of Ireland U21 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2024– |
| Nationalteam3: | Republic of Ireland |
| Nationalcaps3: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 17:12, 30 November 2024 (UTC) |
| Ntupdate: | 22:33, 17 November 2024 (UTC) |
Mark James McGuinness (born 5 January 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Luton Town. Born in England, McGuiness represents the Republic of Ireland national team.
Born in Slough, McGuinness joined Arsenal at the age of 10.[2] After featuring regularly for Arsenal's under-18s side during the 2018–19 season, he signed his first professional contract with the club in April 2019.[3] [4] He broke into Arsenal's under-23 squad during the 2019–20 season, although he missed much of the season through injury. He featured for the Arsenal first-team for the first time during pre-season for the 2020–21 season, including scoring a header in a 4–1 win over Milton Keynes Dons in a friendly on 25 August.[5]
McGuinness signed on a season long loan for Ipswich Town in September 2020.[2] He made his senior debut on 27 October 2020, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Gillingham. He scored his first senior career goal in a 1–0 away win over Burton Albion on 16 January 2021.[6] McGuinness made 25 appearances during his loan spell at Ipswich, scoring once.
He signed for Cardiff City on 21 June 2021, on a three-year contract.[7] He scored his first goal for Cardiff in a 2–1 win against Preston North End on 20 November 2021.[8]
On 18 August 2022, McGuinness joined Sheffield Wednesday on a season-long loan.[9] [10] Two days later he made his debut, starting against Bolton Wanderers.[11] He would win the clubs player of the month for November, making five appearances and scoring his first goal for the club against Shrewsbury Town.[12] Another three clean sheets from a possible five in December saw him get back-to-back player of the month awards at the club.[13] He was recalled back to Cardiff City on 19 January 2023 having played 23 times.[14]
On 17 August 2023, it was announced that McGuinness had signed a new four-year deal that would keep him at Cardiff until the summer of 2027.[15]
In August 2024, he transferred to Luton Town for a "significant" sum.[16]
McGuinness is a Republic of Ireland youth international,[2] qualifying through his Derry-born father (who grew up in Limavady)[17] and playing for them at under-19 level.[1] He made his debut for the Republic of Ireland under-19 side in March 2019 in a 5–0 win over Romania U19.[18]
He received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland under-21 team in November 2020, for UEFA Under-21 European Championship Qualifiers at home to Iceland and away to Luxembourg.[19] He made his debut for the under-21s in a 2–1 win over Luxembourg on 18 November.[20] McGuinness scored his first goal for the U21's on 12 October 2021 in a 2–1 loss to Montenegro in Podgorica.[21]
On 3 October 2024, McGuinness received his first call up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures away to Finland and Greece.[22]
McGuinness made his Ireland debut on 17 November 2024, starting in their loss to England.[23] [24]
Mark's father, John McGuinness and brother Tom have represented England in bowls.[25]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| Arsenal U21 | 2019–20 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2020–21 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Arsenal | 2020–21 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ipswich Town (loan) | 2020–21 | League One | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | |
| Cardiff City | 2021–22 | Championship | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |
| 2022–23 | Championship | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Championship | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 83 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 5 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2022–23 | League One | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Luton Town | 2024–25 | Championship | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Career total | 140 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 152 | 8 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | ||||
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | ||