Robert Philip Atkinson (born 13 July 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bristol City.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Philip Atkinson[1] | ||
Date of birth | 13 July 1998 | ||
Place of birth | Chesterfield, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Bristol City | ||
Number | 5 | ||
Youth career | |||
Cannes | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016–2017 | Basingstoke Town | 30 | (2) |
2017–2019 | Fulham | 0 | (0) |
2019 | → Braintree Town (loan) | 15 | (0) |
2019–2020 | Eastleigh | 20 | (1) |
2020–2021 | Oxford United | 39 | (1) |
2020 | → Eastleigh (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2021– | Bristol City | 60 | (6) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 March 2023 (UTC) |
After playing youth football with AS Cannes, he started his senior career with Basingstoke Town in 2016, before signing for Fulham in 2017. He had a loan spell with Braintree Town in 2019, and joined Eastleigh on a permanent basis later that year. He joined Oxford United in January 2020, and Bristol City in July 2021.
Atkinson was born in Chesterfield,[2] and spent much of his youth in France, playing for the academy of AS Cannes.[3] He played for Knaphill U18s and first team before starting his senior football career at Basingstoke Town in the 2016–17 season,[3] where he made thirty league appearances, scoring twice.[4] He joined Fulham in September 2017 for a fee of £30,000 after a trial period with the club; he initially played for the club's under-23 side.[3][5] He joined Braintree Town on loan in January 2019,[6] and made 15 appearances for the club.[2]
In June 2019, he signed for National League side Eastleigh, making 24 appearances in total for the Spitfires and impressing with the National League side.[5]
In January 2020, he signed for League One side Oxford United for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half-year contract, though he returned to Eastleigh on loan until the end of the season as part of the deal.[7] He was recalled by Oxford United in February 2020 as a result of an injury to John Mousinho and a suspension for Robert Dickie.[8] He made his professional debut on 5 October 2020, in a 1–1 EFL Cup draw with AFC Wimbledon, in which Oxford won on penalties.[9] He scored his first league goal, and his first goal for Oxford, in a 4–1 home victory over Shrewsbury Town on 13 April 2021.[10] Atkinson had a successful 2020–21 season, scoring once in 39 league appearances as the club finished 6th, qualifying for the play-offs,[11][12] with Atkinson named in the EFL League One Team of the Season.[13] Despite a goal for Atkinson in the play-off semi-final second leg against Blackpool, the club were eliminated from the play-offs after a 6–3 aggregate defeat.[11]
He signed for Bristol City for an undisclosed seven-figure fee in July 2021.[14] On the 28th April 2023, it was announced that Atkinson had signed a new three-year deal with Bristol City.[15]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Basingstoke Town | 2016–17[4] | Southern League Premier Division | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[a] | 0 | 39 | 2 | |
Fulham | 2017–18[16] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2018–19[17] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Braintree Town (loan) | 2018–19[2] | National League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
Eastleigh | 2019–20[2] | National League | 20 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
Oxford United | 2019–20[18] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020–21[11] | League One | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | 44 | 2 | |
Total | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 2 | ||
Eastleigh (loan) | 2019–20[2] | National League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
Bristol City | 2021–22[19] | Championship | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | |
Career total | 142 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 163 | 7 |
Individual