Liam Agnew

Agnew was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.[4] He started his career in Sunderland's Youth Academy.[5] Agnew joined Conference North club Boston United on 10 January 2014 on loan with the team missing players through injury and suspension.[6] He made his debut the next day, starting in a 4–2 away defeat to Hednesford Town.[7] After extending his loan at Boston, Agnew scored in his second meeting against Hednesford on 1 March 2014, in a 4–0 win.[8][9] After making 18 appearances and scoring 2 goals for Boston, Agnew returned to his parent club in May 2014.[10]

Agnew signed his first professional contract at Sunderland in March 2014, of two years, contracting him to the club until June 2016.[11] Whilst on loan at Boston, Agnew graduated to the first team-squad at Sunderland, and although he appeared as an unused substitute, this did not affect his loan at Boston.[12] He made his debut for Sunderland on 4 February 2015, appearing as an 87th-minute substitute in a 3–1 FA Cup victory away to Fulham.[13] Whilst in the reserve team, Agnew captained the under-21s.[14] At the end of the 2015–16 season, Agnew was released by the club.[15]

Agnew signed for Boston United of the National League North in September 2016.[16] He was expecting to join League One club Bradford City, having impressed manager Phil Parkinson on trial.[17] However, the transfer did not happen, as Parkinson stated he remained unsure of offering Agnew a contract.[18]

Agnew made his second Boston debut on 3 September 2016, where he scored again, in a 3–2 loss against F.C. United of Manchester.[19] Since then, he became the club's captain.[20] Agnew suggested that his non-contract agreement with Boston was close to being replaced by a permanent contract,[21] which came after Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley denied rumours that he was interested in signing Agnew.[22] The club's manager Dennis Greene was confident of Agnew signing a contract.[23] He suffered a foot injury in October and missed the rest of the year.[24][25]

Agnew signed for Boston's National League North rivals Harrogate Town on 26 January 2017.[26] Having been an unused substitute on 4 February against his former club Boston, he made his debut on 11 February, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute in a 3–0 home win over Worcester City.[27][28] He came on as a 90th-minute substitute on 13 May 2018 when Harrogate beat Brackley Town 3–0 at Wetherby Road in the National League North play-off final, which resulted in the club being promoted to the National League for the first time.[29]

Agnew played regularly for Harrogate in the first few months of the 2018–19 season and signed a new contract with the club in October 2018, with manager Simon Weaver stating that his "performances have gone to another level recently".[30][31] He re-joined National League North club Boston United on 23 November 2018 on a one-month loan,[32] making his debut the following day when starting their 5–0 away win over Ashton United in the FA Trophy.[33][34] He played regularly for Boston,[33] although the club's attempts to extend his loan were unsuccessful.[35] He joined another National League North club, York City, on 26 December on a one-month loan,[36] making his debut the same day as a half-time substitute in a 5–1 defeat away to Darlington.[37] He returned to Harrogate on 23 January 2019 having made five appearances for York.[38]