Darnell Theophilous Fisher (born 4 April 1994) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He has previously played in the Scottish Premiership for Celtic and St Johnstone, as well as in the Championship with Rotherham United, Preston North End and Middlesbrough.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darnell Theophilous Fisher[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 April 1994[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Reading, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Farnborough | ||
| 2011–2013 | Celtic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Celtic | 17 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → St Johnstone (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Rotherham United | 34 | (0) |
| 2017–2021 | Preston North End | 111 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Middlesbrough | 13 | (0) |
| Total | 198 | (2) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:21, 10 May 2022 (UTC) | |||
Career
Celtic
Born in Reading, Berkshire, Fisher began his career at hometown club Eldon Celtic, before moving on to Farnborough.[3] He then signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2011 when he joined Celtic.[4] Fisher made his first team debut for Celtic on 19 October 2013 against Hibernian at Easter Road. Fisher got this opportunity to play at right-back for the first team due to Adam Matthews and Mikael Lustig both being injured.[5] The young defender got an extended run in the team and made a further 12 appearances.[6] An injury sustained in March 2014 ruled Fisher for the rest of the season, but Celtic went on to win the league title and he made enough appearances to collect a league winner's medal.[7][8]
Fisher returned to playing football for the Development Side in September 2014.[7] He made his first appearance of the season for the first team on 11 December 2014 when he came on as a substitute for the under-performing Matthews in Celtic's 4–3 defeat away against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.[9][10] Fisher made a further four substitute appearances in League and League Cup games from January to March 2015.[9] He was an unused substitute in Celtic's 2–0 win over Dundee United on 15 March 2015 in the 2015 Scottish League Cup Final, entitling him to a winner's medal.[11] On 25 August 2015, Fisher was loaned to St Johnstone for the rest of the 2015–16 season.[12] He scored his first professional goal in a 3–0 win over Hearts on 19 March 2016.[13]
Rotherham United
Fisher signed a three-year contract with Rotherham United in August 2016.[14]
Preston North End
Following Rotherham's relegation at the end of his first season, Fisher signed a three-year contract with Preston North End for an undisclosed fee, later revealed as being "nothing" by the Preston manager Alex Neil.[15][16]
Fisher was investigated and subsequently charged with violent conduct by the Football Association (FA) in November 2020 after footage showed him twice grab Sheffield Wednesday's Callum Paterson by the genitals during a game between their respective clubs on 21 November.[17] On 27 November, Fisher was found guilty and banned for three games.[18][19]
Middlesbrough
On 29 January 2021, Fisher joined Championship side Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee (thought to be around £300,000), signing a two-and-a-half-year contract. After a long term injury that kept Fisher out of the whole of the 2021-22 season, he was a late substitution on 8 May 2023 in a 1-1 draw against Coventry City.[20] He was released by the club at the end of the 2022–23 season.[21]
On 23 October 2023, he announced his retirement from football after dealing with his serious knee injury.[22]
Post-retirement
Following his retirement from professional football, Fisher began playing for amateur side South Reading FC and won the Slough Town Junior Cup in 2024.[23]
Career statistics
- As of match played 17 April 2021 [24]
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Celtic | 2013–14[25] | Scottish Premiership | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2014–15[26] | Scottish Premiership | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| St Johnstone (loan) | 2015–16[27] | Scottish Premiership | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| Rotherham United | 2016–17[28] | Championship | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Preston North End | 2017–18[29] | Championship | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 2018–19[30] | Championship | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[31] | Championship | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[32] | Championship | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Total | 168 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 177 | 2 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2020–21[33] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2021–22[34] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[35] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 198 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 211 | 2 | ||
Honours
- Celtic