Christian Walton

Born in Wadebridge, Cornwall,[1] Walton began his career with Plymouth Argyle aged 10 and progressed through the club's youth system.[3] He was named in a matchday squad for the first time three days after his 16th birthday for an FA Cup first round tie against Stourbridge, in which he remained an unused substitute, the match finishing 3–3.[2][4]

On 15 February 2013, Walton signed for Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion, where he completed his scholarship, before signing a three-year professional contract in the summer of 2013.[3] He was twice an unused substitute in consecutive matches in 2013–14, a 3–1 win at home to Leicester City on 7 December,[5] prior to a 1–0 win away to Middlesbrough one week later.[6] Ahead of 2014–15, Walton signed a new four-year contract with the club on 8 July 2014.[7] He was an unused substitute on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday.[8] Walton made his professional debut for Brighton aged 18 in a 2–0 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup fourth round on 29 October.[9] He made his Football League debut six days later in a 1–0 win at home to Wigan Athletic.[10] Walton made his second consecutive start in a 1–1 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers on 8 November.[11] He returned to the starting lineup on the final day of the season in a 0–0 draw away to Middlesbrough, his first appearance since November.[12] In addition to his four appearances for Brighton, Walton also kept two clean sheets.[13]

On 21 July 2015, Walton signed for newly promoted League One club Bury on a season-long loan.[13] He made his debut for Bury in a 1–1 draw at home to Doncaster Rovers on the opening day of 2015–16.[14] Walton returned to Brighton on 1 September due to an underlying groin injury, having made six appearances for Bury.[15]

On 19 November 2015, Walton joined former club Plymouth Argyle on loan until 3 January 2016 as cover for the injured Luke McCormick.[16] He made his Plymouth debut in a 2–1 defeat at home to arch-rivals Exeter City two days later.[17] Walton started in three further matches, and returned to Brighton upon the expiration of his loan spell.[18]

On 24 June 2016, Walton signed for League Two club Luton Town on a season-long loan, linking back up with Nathan Jones who was first-team coach for his first three years at Brighton.[19] He made his Luton debut on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 3–0 win away to Plymouth Argyle.[20] Walton saved a penalty from Vadaine Oliver during a 0–0 draw away to Notts County on 29 October to keep a clean sheet for Luton, which extended the club's unbeaten league run to seven matches and earned him a place in the English Football League Team of the Week.[21] He was recalled by Brighton on 31 January 2017 following an injury to fellow goalkeeper Niki Mäenpää, having made 33 appearances for Luton and conceded the fewest goals in League Two during his loan spell.[22]

On 1 April 2017, Walton signed for League One club Southend United on an emergency loan for an initial seven days as cover for Ted Smith who had sustained a wrist injury.[23][24] He debuted later that day in a 3–0 victory at home to Oldham Athletic.[25] It was agreed for Walton's loan to be extended by a further week as the club were still without a fit goalkeeper.[26] The goalkeeping situation remained unchanged and therefore the loan was extended by a further week once more.[27] Walton's loan was extended again to enable him to play in Southend's final match of 2016–17,[28] and completed the loan spell with seven appearances.[29]

On 12 July 2017, Walton signed for League One club Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan.[30] He made his debut for Wigan on the opening day of 2017–18 in a 1–0 victory away to Milton Keynes Dons.[31] Walton finished the loan with 35 appearances,[31] as Wigan won the League One title and promotion to the Championship.[32] He re-signed for Wigan on 22 June 2018 on another season-long loan until June 2019, with a recall option in January.[33][34] Walton played in Wigan's first game back in the Championship on 4 August 2018 in a 3–2 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday.[35] Parent club Brighton didn't take up the option to recall Walton in January. On 22 April 2019 Walton kepted a clean sheet in a 2–0 home win over local rivals, Preston which secured The Latic's Championship status.[36]

Walton joined another Championship club, Blackburn Rovers, on 23 July 2019 on loan for the 2019–20 season.[37] Walton played in the opening game of the season making his debut in a 2–1 home loss to Charlton.[38]