Cole Stockton

Cole John Stockton (born 13 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Barrow on loan from club Burton Albion.

A physical forward, he has good finishing skills with his right-foot.

Stockton overcame a serious bout of septicaemia and began his career at Tranmere Rovers.

He made his debut in senior football on loan at Vauxhall Motors during the 2011–12 season and turned professional at Tranmere in April 2012.

He joined Vauxhall Motors in the Conference North on loan in November 2011.

Tranmere manager Les Parry said that the experience would toughen up the teenager as he "will get kicked and elbowed".

He made his debut as a late substitute, in the club's FA Trophy victory over Marine on 26 November.

He scored three times whilst on loan, twice in a 4–4 draw with Kidderminster Harriers, and the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Worcester City.

He was recalled to Tranmere after the club underwent an injury crisis.

He made his debut for Tranmere on 17 January 2012, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Lucas Akins in a 0–0 draw with Rochdale in a League One fixture at Prenton Park.

He returned to Vauxhall Motors on a second one-month loan spell on 11 February, as striker Leighton McGivern was unavailable.

He was awarded his first professional contract by Tranmere in April.

On 15 August 2012, Stockton scored on his first start for Tranmere in a 2–1 win over Chesterfield in the League Cup.

His first Football League goal for the club came on 7 November, in a 2–0 victory at Hartlepool United.

He was singled out for praise by manager Ronnie Moore after scoring a goal and setting up a further two goals in a 3–0 win at Braintree Town in the FA Cup first round on 13 November.

He signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract in January.

He ended the 2012–13 season with six goals from nine starts and twenty-seven substitute appearances.

He started five games and made twenty-one substitute appearances in the 2013–14 campaign, scoring goals against Bolton Wanderers, Brentford and Walsall.

Stockton signed a new long-term deal on 26 August 2014, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2017.

Four days later he scored two goals against Morecambe as Tranmere won the game 2–1; manager Rob Edwards commented that Stockton was in good form but was "frustrating at times" due to his slow "progress in his game and his ability and touch".

On 3 January, Stockton scored a late goal against Premier League side Swansea City as Tranmere lost 6–2 and were knocked out of FA Cup; manager Micky Adams had commented before the game that "the likes of Max Power and Cole Stockton can show people they are good players".

However, the following month he was ruled out of action for six weeks after undergoing a hernia operation.

He ended the 2014–15 season with six goals in nineteen starts and eight substitute appearances as Rovers were relegated out of the Football League.

He spent the 2015–16 season on loan at Southport and Morecambe, and also spent the first half of the 2016–17 campaign on loan at Morecambe.

He returned to Tranmere and helped the club to reach the play-off final, where they were beaten by Forest Green Rovers.

He enjoyed a good pre-season and went into the 2015–16 campaign as manager Gary Brabin's only target man striker.

Despite this, on 18 September he joined Paul Carden's National League rivals Southport on a three-month loan deal.

He made his debut for the "Sandgrounders" the following day against FC Halifax Town, and scored a goal in a 2–2 draw.

On 3 October, he scored both of Port's goals in a 2–1 victory at Woking.

He played two games for Tranmere after returning from Haig Avenue.

He remained at the Globe Arena until the end of the 2015–16 season, scoring two goals in seven games.

On 17 March 2016, he joined League Two side Morecambe on an initial 28-day loan.

He left Tranmere at the end of his contract, moving from the National League to the Scottish Premiership after being signed by Heart of Midlothian in June 2017.

He returned to the English Football League with Carlisle United in January 2018, before leaving Carlisle to rejoin Tranmere Rovers eight months later.

He spent the second half of the 2018–19 season on loan at Wrexham.

He rejoined Morecambe in June 2019.

He scored six goals and fifteen goals in the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons, before scoring 26 goals in 50 appearances during the 2021–22 campaign; this scoring record earned him two successive League One Player of the Month and Goal of the Month awards and a place on the PFA Team of the Year.

Stockton suffered a life-threatening bout of septicaemia during a trial with Tranmere Rovers at the age of thirteen.

Whilst he was recovering from this illness, his father, Stephen, died from a disease of the liver.

Stockton came through Tranmere Rovers' youth system.