David Richard Worrall (born 12 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Barrow. A versatile and aggressive player, he is able to play wide right or in central midfield.
Worrall began his career at Bury, where he made first-team debut at the age of 16 in November 2006. He was sold to West Bromwich Albion for a £50,000 fee in March 2007, however would only play one League Cup match for the club. He spent time on loan at Accrington Stanley and Shrewsbury Town during the 2008–09 season, before he re-signed with Bury in January 2010 following a spell on loan. He was named as Bury's Young Player of the Year in 2009–10, helped the club to win promotion out of League Two in 2010–11, and was voted the club's Player of the Year in 2011–12. However Bury were relegated at the end of the 2012–13 season, and he moved on to Rotherham United in June 2013.
Worrall spent the second half of the 2013–14 campaign on loan at Oldham Athletic, and signed with Southend United in July 2014. He was named as League Two Player of the Month for November 2014, and helped Southend to secure promotion out of League Two via the play-offs in 2015. He joined Millwall in June 2016 and helped the club to secure promotion out of League One in 2017. He signed with Port Vale in August 2017 and was named as the club's Player of the Year for 2019–20 and on the 2020–21 EFL League Two Team of the Season. He helped the club to win promotion out of League Two via the play-offs in 2022. He agreed a deal with Barrow in May 2023.
Career
Bury
Worrall began his career at Bury, where manager Chris Casper handed Worrall his first-team debut when Worrall was just 16-years old; he came on as an 81st-minute substitute for Jake Speight in a 2–0 defeat to Bristol Rovers at Gigg Lane on 18 November 2006. This proved to be his only appearance of the 2006–07 season, as he was sold by the "Shakers" before the end of the League Two campaign.
West Bromwich Albion
On 30 March 2007, Worrall joined West Bromwich Albion for a £50,000 fee, and signed on scholarship forms until the end of the 2006–07 season. In July 2007 he signed a three-year professional contract, becoming a member of West Brom's first-team squad. He suffered a poor start to his professional career, being sent off in a 2007–08 pre-season friendly with Hajduk Split; however manager Tony Mowbray said it was a "very harsh decision" and that 17-year-old Worrall "looks like he's got all the right things you need to make it to the top". He made his Albion debut after coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for Filipe Teixeira in a 1–0 League Cup victory over AFC Bournemouth at The Hawthorns on 14 August. This was his only appearance of the 2007–08 season, as the "Baggies" went on to secure promotion out of the Championship into the Premier League.
On 22 August 2008, Worrall joined John Coleman's League Two side Accrington Stanley on a one-month loan. He made his debut for Stanley the following day after coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 win over Macclesfield Town at the Crown Ground. He played a total of five games for the club before he was forced to return to West Brom for a hernia operation.
On 24 February 2009, Worrall joined fellow West Brom teammate, Luke Daniels, on an initial one-month loan at Shrewsbury Town; manager Paul Simpson said that "there is no guarantee that he will go straight into the side [but] he's an enthusiastic, fit footballer who has good technical ability and I just feel that we need a little burst of enthusiasm and some legs in there who will make a difference for us". After he made six League Two appearances for the "Shrews", the loan was extended to keep him at the New Meadow until the end of the 2008–09 season. Shrewsbury qualified for the play-offs after finishing in seventh-place, and Worrall helped them to overcome former club Bury in the semi-finals to face Gillingham at Wembley Stadium. He was dropped to the bench for the final but came on as a 74th-minute substitute for Paul Murray, before Shrewsbury conceded a goal in the final minute of the game to lose 1–0.
