Nathaniel Atkinson

Nathaniel Atkinson (born 13 June 1999) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a right back for A-League side Melbourne City.

Club Career

Early career

Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Atkinson was part of the youth side of Riverside Olympic before joining the NTC program of the Football Federation Tasmania. In 2016, Atkinson joined the academy side Melbourne City after a trial with the club. He played with the Melbourne City Reserves in the NPL Victoria during the 2016–17 season. Towards the end of the 2016–17 season, Atkinson began training with the Melbourne City first team.

Melbourne City

Going into the 2017–18 season, Atkinson was given the 37 shirt. He made his competitive debut for the first team in a FFA Cup match against Peninsula Power at Dolphin Oval on 1 August 2017. He came on as a late stoppage time substitute for Bruno Fornaroli as Melbourne City won the match 2–0. On 10 December 2017, due to the suspension of Melbourne City's regular right-back Manny Muscat, Atkinson made his A-League debut for the club against the Central Coast Mariners. Despite being named as a right back before the match, Atkinson played the match as a right winger as Melbourne City managed to win 1–0. After the match, Melbourne City head coach Warren Joyce praised Atkinson, saying "I thought he took his opportunity well. He’s one that caught my eye as soon as I came to the club."

On 12 January 2018, after a promising start, Atkinson signed a two-year senior contract with Melbourne City.

In September 2020, Atkinson signed a two-year contract with Perth Glory. However, three weeks later, his contract was terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, allowing him to sign another two-year contract with Melbourne City.