Luca Hoole
{{short description|Welsh footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Luca Hoole
| image = File:LHooleBRovers.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Hoole playing for Bristol Rovers in 2022.
| fullname = Luca Anthony Hoole{{cite web |url=https://www.efl.com/siteassets/image/201920/general-news/efl-squad-numbering-06.09.2019.pdf |title=Notification of shirt numbers: Bristol Rovers |publisher=English Football League |page=11 |accessdate=19 October 2019}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|6|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = Newport, WalesAncestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
| height =
| position = Full-back, centre-back
| currentclub = Shrewsbury Town
| clubnumber = 2
| youthyears1 = 2014–2019
| youthclubs1 = Bristol Rovers
| years1 = 2019–2024
| clubs1 = Bristol Rovers
| caps1 = 89
| goals1 = 3
| years2 = 2020
| clubs2 = → Taunton Town (loan)
| caps2 = 0
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2024–
| clubs3 = Shrewsbury Town
| caps3 = 32
| goals3 = 1
| nationalyears1 = 2019
| nationalteam1 = Wales U19
| nationalcaps1 = 1
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 2020
| nationalteam2 = Wales U20
| nationalcaps2 = 1
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 2022–2024
| nationalteam3 = Wales U21
| nationalcaps3 = 12
| nationalgoals3 = 1
| club-update = 19:40, 5 April 2025 (UTC)
| nationalteam-update = 10:10, 15 October 2024 (UTC)
}}
Luca Anthony Hoole (born 2 June 2002) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a full-back or centre-back for {{English football updater|ShrewsbT}} club Shrewsbury Town. He is a Wales under-21 international.
Club career
=Bristol Rovers=
Hoole attended Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, a Welsh language school in Pontypool.{{cite web|url=http://gwynllyw.weebly.com/gwybodaeth-pwysig-important-information/brwydr-pel-droed-llysoedd-bl-9|title=Brwydr pel-droed llysoedd Bl 9|publisher=Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw|date=5 October 2015|accessdate=4 September 2019|language=cy}} In 2014, Hoole joined the Bristol Rovers academy.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/teams/first-team/midfielder/luca-hoole2/|title=Luca Hoole|publisher=Bristol Rovers F.C.|accessdate=3 September 2019}} In April 2018, Bristol Rovers confirmed Hoole had signed a scholarship with the club.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/2018/april/scholarsinterview/|title=Interview: Scholars Luca Hoole and Luc Noble|publisher=Bristol Rovers F.C.|date=13 April 2018|accessdate=3 September 2019}} On 3 September 2019, Hoole made his debut for Bristol Rovers in a 1–1 EFL Trophy draw against Plymouth Argyle.{{cite web|url=https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2019/09/03/england/football-league-trophy/plymouth-argyle-fc/bristol-rovers-fc/3106490/|title=Plymouth Argyle vs. Bristol Rovers 1–1|publisher=Soccerway|accessdate=4 September 2019}}
==Taunton Town (loan)==
On 30 October 2020, Hoole joined Taunton Town on a one-month loan deal.{{cite web|url=https://tauntontown.com/featured-news/loan-signing-joins-squad/|title=Loan Signing Joins Squad|website=tauntontown.com|date=30 October 2020|accessdate=12 November 2020}} Taunton played one match, a match that Hoole was not registered in time to feature in, before football was suspended on account of the lockdown measures brought in for COVID-19.{{cite web|url=https://tauntontown.com/featured-news/football-suspended/|title=Football Suspended|website=tauntontown.com|date=4 November 2020|accessdate=12 November 2020}}
==Breakthrough at Bristol Rovers==
After impressing for the club in pre-season, Hoole made his league debut on the opening day of the 2021–22 season, impressing in the right-back position during a 2–1 away defeat to Mansfield Town.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58036217|title=Mansfield Town 2–1 Bristol Rovers|publisher=BBC Sport|date=7 August 2021|accessdate=8 August 2021}} On 29 January 2022, Hoole received a first sending off of his career as he received two bookings in the space of five first-half minutes as ten-man Rovers scored a last-minute winner to defeat Walsall.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60093378|title=Bristol Rovers 1–0 Walsall|publisher=BBC Sport|date=29 January 2022}} In February 2022, Hoole signed a new two-year extension to his contract.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/2022/february/hoole-new-contract/|title=Hoole Signs New Deal|website=www.bristolrovers.co.uk|date=11 February 2022}} Following a 4–0 thrashing of Stevenage, Rovers' manager Joey Barton said that Hoole had made the right-back position his own having dipped in and out of the team earlier in the season.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/joey-barton-bristol-rovers-anderson-6691779|title=Every word Joey Barton said on Bristol Rovers' win, Sam Finley and Elliot Anderson's nickname|publisher=Bristol Post|last1=Horn|first1=Kiernan|last2=Frost|first2=Sam|date=20 February 2022}} On 26 February 2022, Hoole scored a first senior goal with the opener in a 1–1 draw with Exeter City.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60441862|title=Bristol Rovers 1–1 Exeter City|publisher=BBC Sport|date=26 February 2022|accessdate=27 February 2022}} Hoole's first senior season ended with Rovers overtaking Northampton Town on the final day of the season to gain automatic promotion by goals scored, a dramatic 7–0 victory over Scunthorpe United securing this feat.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61281127|title=Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win|publisher=BBC Sport|date=7 May 2022|accessdate=9 May 2022}}
Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Hoole featured for the club in pre-season in a less familiar centre-back role, impressing as Rovers defeated Championship side Stoke City.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/joey-barton-ponders-position-change-7363518|title=Joey Barton ponders position change for Bristol Rovers' breakout star|publisher=Bristol Post|last1=Frost|first1=Sam|date=21 July 2022|accessdate=31 July 2022}} For the first match of the new season, Hoole continued in this role with defensive partner James Connolly as Rovers fell to a late 2–1 defeat against Forest Green Rovers.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62274963|title=Bristol Rovers 1–2 Forest Green Rovers|publisher=BBC Sport|date=30 July 2022|accessdate=31 July 2022}} As the season developed, he began to find himself out of favour at the club and suffered from low confidence, however an impressive return to the first-team in December leading manager Barton to claim that he could one day captain the side.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/joey-barton-luca-hoole-bristol-7928554|title=Joey Barton makes bold Luca Hoole claim as young Bristol Rovers defender provides welcome impact|publisher=Bristol Post|last1=Piercy|first1=James|date=14 December 2022|accessdate=28 December 2022}} His improvement in form continued into the second half of the season despite a rocky time for the team, impressing in a 3–0 victory over Oxford United that saw the team claim a first victory in seven weeks, Hoole scoring the third goal.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/joey-barton-predicts-big-things-8192542|title=Joey Barton predicts big things for homegrown Bristol Rovers talent after rising to challenge|publisher=Bristol Post|last1=Frost|first1=Sam|date=27 February 2023|accessdate=28 March 2023}}
Hoole was offered a new contract at the end of the 2023–24 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/20242/may/bristol-rovers-issue-202324-retained-list/|title=Bristol Rovers issue 2023/24 Retained List|website=www.bristolrovers.co.uk|date=1 May 2024|accessdate=1 May 2024}} Following the start of pre-season, manager Matt Taylor confirmed that with Hoole still yet to return to the club, they had moved on from expecting him to sign the contract and were instead focusing on how much compensation the club could recoup.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/taylor-luca-hoole-bristol-rovers-9409821|title=Matt Taylor ends Luca Hoole uncertainty following Bristol Rovers defender's pre-season no-show|publisher=Bristol Post|last=Piercy|first=James|date=14 July 2024|accessdate=15 July 2024}}
= Shrewsbury Town =
On 16 July 2024, Hoole signed a two-year contract with fellow League One club Shrewsbury Town after a compensation package was agreed between the two clubs.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-16 |title=Luca Hoole: Shrewsbury Town sign Bristol Rovers defender |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cw0y8yx1ppyo |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}} Following the transfer, he claimed the desire of a new challenge to be key in his reasoning behind the switch.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/luca-hoole-makes-new-challenge-9414922|title=Luca Hoole makes new challenge claim as Bristol Rovers academy product swaps Gas for Shrewsbury|publisher=Bristol Post|last=Hargraves|first=Daniel|date=16 July 2024|accessdate=16 July 2024}}
International career
On 13 November 2019, Hoole made his debut for Wales under-19's in a 3–0 win against Poland U19.{{cite web|url=https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/u19euro-cymru-3-0-poland/|title=#U19EURO Cymru 3–0 Poland|date=13 November 2019|accessdate=8 December 2019}}
In May 2022, Hoole was called up to the Wales U21 team for the first time for the final 2023 U21 European Championship qualifiers against the Netherlands and Gibraltar.{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/2022/may/luca-named-in-wales-u21s-squad/|title=Luca Called Up To Wales U21s|website=www.bristolrovers.co.uk|date=26 May 2022|accessdate=26 May 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/cymru-squad-announced-final-u21-euro-qualifiers/?back=/en/news/&pos=1|title=CYMRU SQUAD ANNOUNCED FOR FINAL U21 EURO QUALIFIERS|website=www.faw.cymru|date=26 May 2022|accessdate=26 May 2022}} Hoole made his debut in the second of the two matches, coming off of the bench with fifteen minutes left as Wales finished their campaign with a 2–0 win.{{cite web|url=https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/cymru-u21-finish-campaign-win/|title=Cymru U21 finish campaign with a win|website=www.faw.cymru/en|date=14 June 2022|accessdate=15 June 2022}}
Career statistics
{{updated|end of 2023–24 season}}{{soccerway|624111|Luca Hoole}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|League Cup !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="5"|Bristol Rovers
|2019–20{{soccerbase season|123218|2019|accessdate=4 April 2021}} |0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1{{efn|name=FLT|Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy}} | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020–21{{soccerbase season|123218|2020|accessdate=4 April 2021}}
|League One |0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021–22{{soccerbase season|123218|2021|accessdate=8 August 2021}}
|29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1{{efn|name=FLT}} | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2022–23{{soccerbase season|123218|2022|accessdate=13 December 2022}}
|League One |37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6{{efn|name=FLT}} | 1 | 44 | 3 | |
| 2023–24{{soccerbase season|123218|2023|accessdate=28 April 2024}}
|League One |23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1{{efn|name=FLT}} | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!89 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 102 | 4 |
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Shrewsbury Town F.C. squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoole, Luca}}
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:Footballers from Newport, Wales
Category:Welsh men's footballers
Category:Wales men's youth international footballers
Category:Wales men's under-21 international footballers
Category:Bristol Rovers F.C. players
Category:Taunton Town F.C. players
Category:Shrewsbury Town F.C. players