Joel Byrom

Who is Joel Byrom?

Joel Alan Byrom is an English professional footballer who plays for Preston North End as a midfielder.

Byrom started his career at Blackburn Rovers at the age of 14, and spent four and a half years on the club's books, progressing from their centre of excellence to the reserve team. However, he failed to make any first-team appearances for the club, and was subsequently released in summer 2006. He joined League Two outfit Accrington Stanley before the start of the 2006–07 season, but only managed a total of two appearances. He was released by the club in January 2007, and opted to join local side Clitheroe on a short-term basis. Byrom then joined Southport, scoring twice in two appearances for the side, before rejoining Clitheroe in August 2007; captaining the side at the age of 20.

He attracted the interest of Northwich Victoria, who subsequently signed him for a small four-figure fee in January 2008. Byrom spent a year and a half at the Cheshire club, before joining Stevenage for a fee of £15,000 in May 2009 – helping them achieve promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. Byrom was also part of the Stevenage side that earned back-to-back promotions to League One during the 2010–11 season. He has also played for the England C team and earned his solitary cap in a game against the Belgium U21 team.