Luke Steele (footballer)

Luke Steele

Luke Steele playing for Panathinaikos
Personal information
Full name	Luke David Steele
Date of birth	(1984-09-24) 24 September 1984 (age 32)
Place of birth	Peterborough, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Panathinaikos
Number	15
Youth career
1993–1999	Peterborough United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2002	Peterborough United	2	(0)
2002–2006	Manchester United	0	(0)
2004–2005	→ Coventry City (loan)	32	(0)
2006	→ Coventry City (loan)	0	(0)
2006–2008	West Bromwich Albion	2	(0)
2006–2007	→ Coventry City (loan)	5	(0)
2008–2014	Barnsley	209	(0)
2014–	Panathinaikos	62	(0)
National team‡
2002	England U18	3	(0)
2002–2003	England U19	9	(0)
2004–2005	England U20	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 October 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8:08, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Luke David Steele (born 24 September 1984) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Greek club Panathinaikos.

Born in Peterborough, Steele started his career at local side Peterborough United. In December 2001, Steele spent a week on trial with Manchester United, for whom he played in two matches with the club's under-17s side. He returned for three more under-17s appearances and two for the reserves on a month-long loan spell in March 2002. After returning to Peterborough in April 2002, he made his senior debut in a 2–2 draw away to Reading on 13 April. After another appearance in a 2–1 home win over Bury a week later, Manchester United paid Peterborough £500,000 on 11 May to sign Steele on a four-year contract, with the fee potentially rising to £2.25 million after a certain number of first-team appearances.

Steele began the 2002–03 season as the starting goalkeeper for the Manchester United reserve team, before being usurped by the likes of Ricardo and Roy Carroll, and becoming a regular in the under-19s. Over the course of the season, Steele made 27 appearances for the under-19s, including eight in the FA Youth Cup, in which Manchester United beat Middlesbrough 3–1 on aggregate in the final. He also made a total of three appearances for the reserves, including a 2–1 defeat to Oldham Athletic in the Manchester Senior Cup on 13 February 2003.

In 2003–04, Steele competed for the starting place in the under-19s side with Tom Heaton, but made just four appearances between August and October before being ruled out for the rest of the season. He made his return in the build-up to the 2004–05 season, playing for the reserves in a friendly against Irish side Cobh Ramblers, before making his first appearance for the Manchester United first team in a 3–1 win over Burnley in Stan Ternent's testimonial on 17 August 2004; after coming on as a substitute for Tim Howard in the 29th minute, Steele was himself replaced by Heaton in the 76th. He then made two league appearances for the reserves before joining Coventry City on a three-month loan on 10 September 2004. After conceding 30 goals in 18 appearances in those initial three months, the clubs agreed to extend Steele's loan until the end of the season. He finished the season with 62 goals conceded in 36 matches.