Mitch Clark

Mitchell Reece Clark (born 13 March 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Accrington Stanley. He has represented Wales at youth level.

A graduate of the Academy at Aston Villa, he spent the 2018–19 season on loan at Port Vale. He joined Leicester City in July 2019 following his release from Aston Villa. He returned on loan to Port Vale for the second half of the 2019–20 season and first half of the 2020–21 season. He signed with Accrington Stanley in August 2021.

Club Career

Aston Villa

Clark graduated through the Academy at Aston Villa, having been scouted by the club playing for Bedworth Eagles juniors at the age of eight. He made his first-team debut for the "Villans" in the EFL Cup on 22 August 2017, starting the match at left-back in a 4–1 victory over Wigan Athletic at Villa Park. Manager Steve Bruce said that "he had a very good debut considering that he’s played out of position". He was a part of the under-23 squad that finished as runners-up of the Premier League 2 Division Two and won the Premier League Cup during the 2017–18 season. He signed a new contract in March 2018 to keep him at the club until 2019.

On 16 August 2018, Clark joined League Two club Port Vale on loan for the rest of the 2018–19 season. Manager Neil Aspin signed him to provide cover at full-back for James Gibbons and Cristian Montano, after football adviser John Rudge had scouted him playing for the Aston Villa under-23 side. He made his English Football League two days later, starting at left-back for the "Valiants" in a 1–0 win over Crawley Town at Vale Park. He retained his first-team place as the "Valiants" went on a run of poor run of results, though Clark was noted as being one of their better performers. He made a costly mistake to give away a goal during the opening minute of a 2–0 defeat at Grimsby Town on 6 October, but recovered from his mistake and kept his place in the team. He remained a key first-team player under new manag