Alex Hurst (footballer)

Alexander Charles Hurst (born 6 October 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two side Port Vale.

Alex Hurst
Personal information
Full name Alexander Charles Hurst[1]
Date of birth (1999-10-06) 6 October 1999[2]
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England[3]
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[4]
Position(s) Midfielder, left-back, forward
Club information
Current team
 Port Vale
Number 27
Youth career
Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Matlock Town
2018–2019 Bradford (Park Avenue) 25 (1)
2019– Port Vale 13 (0)
2019–2020 → Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) 32 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

A former Academy player at Crewe Alexandra, he won a move from Matlock Town to Bradford (Park Avenue) in October 2018, before being picked up by Port Vale in August 2019. He returned on loan at Bradford (Park Avenue) during the 2019–20 season.

Playing career

Early career

Hurst came through the Academy at Crewe Alexandra and played for the "Railwaymen" at under-18 and under-23 level.[5] He joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Matlock Town in August 2018 after impressing "Gladiators" boss Dave Hoole on trial.[6] He was signed by National League North club Bradford (Park Avenue) on 19 October 2018.[7] He made his debut for the Avenue the following day, and after coming on for Nicky Wroe as a 68th-minute substitute went and scored a goal with five minutes in what finished as a 6–0 victory at Nuneaton Borough.[8] He was handed his first start by manager Mark Bower on Boxing day, as Bradford recorded a 5–1 victory at Guiseley.[9] He ended the 2018–19 season with 13 starts and 12 substitute appearances to his name, including a brief cameo in a 1–0 defeat at Spennymoor Town in the play-off quarter-finals.[10]

Port Vale

On 3 August 2019, Hurst signed a two-year contract with English Football League side Port Vale after impressing manager John Askey on trial, though was immediately returned to Bradford (Park Avenue) on a five-month loan deal.[11][12] Bradford manager Garry Thompson said that "He's worked hard and deserves everything he's got. Whilst we naturally want to keep our best players, the transfer shows that we are committed to developing talent but also won't stand in anyone's way to progress."[13] On 24 September, he made his debut for the "Valiants" in a 3–2 victory at Macclesfield Town in the EFL Trophy, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for Scott Burgess; the rules of the competition meant that he was able to play for the club during his loan spell at Bradford.[14] On 23 January, the loan deal was extended until the end of the 2019–20 season.[15] Bradford remaiend rooted to the foot of the table, though Vale coach Dave Kevan felt the experience was character building for Hurst.[16]

He scored his first goal for the club on 10 November 2020, with a 15-yard strike in a 4–2 win over Liverpool U21 in the group stages of the EFL Trophy.[17] He made his League Two debut on 5 December, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute for Cristian Montaño in a 6–3 victory at Bolton Wanderers.[18] He made his first start in the EFL seven days later, and Askey said that "for an hour I thought he was excellent" in the 1–1 draw with Colchester United at Vale Park.[19]

Style of play

Hurst is a versatile player, able to operate as a left-sided midfielder, left-back, attacking midfielder or forward.[5] He has pace, good ball control skills and has good strength despite his small build.[20]

Statistics
As of match played 6 February 2021
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bradford (Park Avenue) 2018–19[21]National League North251000000251
Port Vale 2019–20[22]League Two0000001[lower-alpha 1]010
2020–21[23] League Two 13000105[lower-alpha 1]1191
Port Vale total 130001061201
Bradford (Park Avenue) (loan) 2019–20[21]National League North32010002[lower-alpha 2]0350
Bradford (Park Avenue) total 571100020601
Career total 701101081802
  1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy.
  2. Appearances in the FA Trophy.

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Port Vale" (PDF). English Football League. p. 54. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2020/2021". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2020/2021". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  4. "Alex Hurst - Midfielder - First Team - Port Vale". www.port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  5. "Alex Hurst". Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  6. Lomas, John (8 August 2018). "Matlock may make late addditions to new-look squad". Matlock Mercury. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  7. "Bradford (Park Avenue) sign Alex Hurst from Matlock". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  8. "Nuneaton Borough vs. Bradford (Park Avenue) - 20 October 2018 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  9. "Guiseley vs. Bradford (Park Avenue) - 26 December 2018 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  10. "Spennymoor Town vs. Bradford (Park Avenue) - 1 May 2019 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  11. McLellan, Max (3 August 2019). "Alex Hurst signs for the Vale". www.port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  12. "Alex Hurst: Port Vale sign Bradford (Park Avenue) midfielder". BBC Sport. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  13. Baggaley, Michael (5 August 2019). "'He deserves everything he's got' - Non-league club on Hurst's Port Vale move". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  14. Baggaley, Michael (24 September 2019). "Macclesfield 2, Port Vale 3 Trophy match report". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  15. "Hurst To Remain At The Avenue". Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  16. Baggaley, Michael (7 December 2020). "Owners, Wolves game and more - Port Vale press conference talking points". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  17. Baggaley, Michael (10 November 2020). "Port Vale 4, Liverpool under-21s 2 - Report and ratings as Vale go through". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  18. "Bolton Wanderers 3-6 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  19. Baggaley, Michael (12 December 2020). "'That's costing us' - John Askey's verdict on Port Vale 1, Colchester 1". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  20. Baggaley, Michael (3 August 2019). "Port Vale sign midfielder from Bradford Park Avenue". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  21. Alex Hurst at Soccerway
  22. "Games played by Alex Hurst in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  23. "Games played by Alex Hurst in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
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