Born on a spiritedly patriotic day in 1995, according to Welsh tradition (30th June in more common parlance), Declan John has gallantly hoofed a football for various British clubs, currently applying his trade for St Mirren as a left back. At 5ft 10in (1.78m) and tipping the scales at 11st 11lb (75kg), he's hardly a giant amongst the ranks of defenders, yet dons the number 24 jersey with an almost misplaced pride.
Now, reader, you might not believe this, but the lad's market value is a rather middling £213k. Transfermarkt. So, you know it must be true. Apparently the chap has about a shiny half sixpence worth of months left on his contract at St Mirren, due to meet its timely end on the last day of May 2025.
Cutting his teeth as a stripling trainee, John joined Cardiff City (Championship division, for the uninitiated) back in 2011. Over the ensuing years, our gallant Welshman would dash about the field in a total of 42 first team appearances for Cardiff City, while playing a loan warrior for Barnsley (9 appearances, League One) and Chesterfield (6 appearances, League Two). Always a busy bee, that Declan.
In what was perhaps a desperate grasp for something resembling Scottish air, John transferred on another bloody loan to Rangers in August 2017. He put in a reasonable shift, tallying up 26 first team appearances and netting 3 goals in the bargain. A few paperwork formalities later (winter 2018, to be precise), and the lad had made the move permanent. But the Scottish dalliance was short-lived. In August 2018, John found himself carting his boots back to the Championship, signing for Swansea City for a costly sum of £800k.
Post his moderately productive stint at Swansea (11 appearances over two seasons), John seemed eager to experience the Championship from a new dressing room, sodding off to Sunderland on loan in 2020. After a predictably short sojourn, he returned to Swansea, only to hurriedly pack his bags for another loan stint, this time to Bolton Wanderers in 2021. After representing Bolton in a modest 13 league matches, he was bandied about like a hot potato again, briefly landing at Salford City before - surprise surprise - returning to Bolton.
This dizzying dance of contracts and transfers wound its way to Scotland (again), with John moving to St Mirren in November 2024. Amid the grey monotony of the Premiership, he's managed five first team appearances so far. A mini-epic of a career, and as our hero stands on the brink of thirty, one can only say, "Well, at least it wasn't boring", with a slightly raised eyebrow and a dry chuckle.
