Bradley Paul Walker (born 25 April 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Tranmere Rovers.
Walker began his career at Hartlepool United, turning professional in July 2013 and making his first-team debut the following month. He made 123 appearances in all competitions for the club over the next four seasons, before joining Crewe Alexandra in July 2017. He spent the 2018–19 season on loan at Wrexham in the National League despite switching from Crewe to Shrewsbury Town in January 2019. Finding first-team games hard to come by in the 2019–20 season, he began 2020–21 in good form before being sidelined with a serious ankle injury. Released by Shrewsbury, he signed with Port Vale in June 2021. He spent 18 months with the club, before being sold on to Tranmere Rovers in January 2023.
Early and personal life
Walker was born in Billingham, County Durham and attended Northfield School & Sports College. He joined Hartlepool United at the age of 13 and would make the 12-mile round trip to Victoria Park on his bicycle. Walker has two daughters and one son, as of 2023.
Club career
Hartlepool United
He signed a professional contract with Hartlepool United in July 2013. He made his Football League debut on 3 August 2013, in a 3–0 defeat away at Rochdale. He scored his first career goal in a 1–1 draw with Burton Albion on 21 December. He said it was a "very bizarre feeling and one I was very proud with". Having scored 3 goals in 42 appearances, Walker won the Football League Apprentice of the Year award for League Two in the 2013–14 season; upon winning the award he thanked his friends and family for their support. Hartlepool manager Colin Cooper rated him as the best player he had seen for his age.
The 2014–15 season saw a loss of form for Walker and most of the Hartlepool team in general, with manager Colin Cooper and his successor Paul Murray both dismissed before Christmas. He ended the season with 5 goals from 32 games. Walker then fell out of manager Ronnie Moore's first-team plans in the 2015–16 season and spent time on trial at Wolverhampton Wanderers; no move to Wolves transpired though he continued to be linked to the club as late as summer 2017. Though not named in new manager Craig Hignett's first matchday squads in February, he was soon reintroduced to the first team after impressing in training, with Hignett crediting his upturn in form to "love", saying "Brad knows what I think of him and I just felt in training that he was starting to be his old self again". He would go on to feature in 27 competitive matches by the end of the season.
Walker did not play a league game in the first half of the 2016–17 season, despite Hignett hinting at a possible inclusion in November. He earned his first start of the season under caretaker manager Sam Collins in January, being named as man of the match in a win over Stevenage, and retained his first-team place under new manager Dave Jones. He also filled in at centre-back following an injury crisis in defence, earning him praise from Jones. He turned down the offer of a new contract from newly appointed manager Craig Harrison following the club's relegation out of the Football League at the end of the season and was linked with moves to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic. In total, he scored 10 goals in 123 appearances for Hartlepool.
Crewe Alexandra
Walker signed a two-year deal to join Crewe Alexandra, after the League Two club paid Hartlepool an undisclosed compensation package on 4 July 2017. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win over Rotherham United on 4 November, in an FA Cup first round tie at Gresty Road. He scored his first league goal for Crewe in a 2–0 home win over Grimsby Town on 1 January 2018. His first season at the club was described as "mixed" as he started well but transitioned from central midfield to centre-back and ended the campaign finding gametime limited after struggling with injury problems. Walker said that he found it difficult to move away from his hometown club as his partner was expecting a child.