Ryan Tunnicliffe

Ryan Tunnicliffe
Born	(1992-12-30) December 30, 1992 Heywood, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation	Professional footballer
Years active	2010–present
Known for	Midfielder for Adelaide United and former clubs including Manchester United, Fulham, Millwall, Luton Town, Portsmouth

Ryan Tunnicliffe (born 30 December 1992) is a professional English football player who operates primarily as a midfielder.

Originating from Heywood, Greater Manchester, Tunnicliffe began his football journey with Manchester United but was unable to secure a place in their senior squad. He accumulated valuable playing time through loan periods at Peterborough United, Barnsley, and Ipswich Town before making a permanent switch to Fulham in January 2014. During his tenure at Fulham, he was loaned out twice to Wigan Athletic and once to Blackburn Rovers. In 2017, he signed with Millwall and subsequently joined Luton Town in 2019. On the international stage, he has represented England at under-16 and under-17 levels.

Manchester United

Hailing from Heywood, Greater Manchester, Tunnicliffe caught the attention of Manchester United scouts at age nine while playing for Roach Dynamos. He progressed through the club’s youth system, securing a scholarship in July 2009 and signing his first professional contract that December.

Tunnicliffe played a pivotal role as part of the United under-18 squad that clinched the FA Youth Cup in 2011, an achievement that earned him the club’s prestigious Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year accolade.

Peterborough United (loan)

On 1 July 2011, Manchester United arranged for Tunnicliffe to join Peterborough United on a six-month loan deal alongside teammate Scott Wootton. He made his debut on 6 August as a late substitute in a 2–1 victory against Crystal Palace. His first starting appearance came in a League Cup fixture versus Stevenage, where he provided an assist for the opening goal.

Return to Manchester United

Upon returning from Peterborough, Tunnicliffe featured regularly for the Reserves, contributing to two trophy victories and scoring his inaugural goal for Warren Joyce’s side against Chelsea.

He made his senior debut for Manchester United on 26 September 2012, coming on as a substitute during a 2–1 League Cup win over Newcastle United, fulfilling a £10,000 wager his father had placed ten years earlier.

Barnsley (loan)

On 21 February 2013, Tunnicliffe was loaned to Barnsley for 28 days after Scott Golbourne suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Ipswich Town (loan)

Tunnicliffe joined Ipswich Town on loan for six months starting 26 July 2013. He became a regular starter during the first half of the 2013–14 season. Although manager Mick McCarthy showed interest in extending his stay, Tunnicliffe returned to Manchester United in January 2014.

Fulham

After making just two first-team appearances for Manchester United, Tunnicliffe completed a transfer to Fulham on an undisclosed fee on 31 January 2014, alongside fellow reserve player Larnell Cole. At Fulham, he was reunited with former Manchester United coach René Meulensteen. He debuted nine days later in a 2–2 draw facing his former club Manchester United.

Following Meulensteen’s dismissal, new manager Felix Magath deemed both Tunnicliffe and Cole surplus despite their consistent involvement under Meulensteen. On 25 February 2014, merely 25 days after joining Fulham, Tunnicliffe moved on loan to Wigan Athletic until the end of the season as cover for injured midfielder Ben Watson. In April, Wigan’s manager Uwe Rösler sought to cut short the loan spell early; however, Fulham declined to recall him.

On transfer deadline day, 1 September 2014, Tunnicliffe was loaned out to Blackburn Rovers for the remainder of the season. This arrangement was cut short when Fulham recalled him on 1 January 2015.

At the outset of the 2015–16 campaign, Tunnicliffe faced disciplinary action including a two-match suspension, a £5,000 fine, and mandatory attendance at an educational program after referring to Middlesbrough’s Patrick Bamford as "sausage boy" on Twitter.

Millwall

Following his release from Fulham, Tunnicliffe secured a two-year contract with Millwall on 29 July 2017. During the 2018–19 campaign, he featured in 31 matches before being released in July 2019.

Luton Town

After Luton Town's promotion to the Championship, Tunnicliffe became their third acquisition of the summer by signing on 1 July 2019.

Portsmouth

On 26 June 2021, Tunnicliffe agreed to join Portsmouth, a League One club, on a two-year deal with an option for an additional year, commencing after his contract with Luton expired. He netted his inaugural goal for Portsmouth in a 1–0 victory over Shrewsbury Town on 17 August 2021.

Adelaide United

Tunnicliffe embarked on his first overseas move by signing a two-year contract with Australian side Adelaide United on 19 September 2023.

International career

At just 14 years old, Tunnicliffe made his debut for the England under-16 squad in October 2007, captaining the side to a 2–2 draw against Northern Ireland during the Victory Shield. He accumulated eight appearances at this level. Progressing to the under-17 team in August 2008, he was part of the squad for the 2009 European Championship, earning ten caps and scoring four goals overall.

Personal life

Tunnicliffe was educated at Siddal Moor Sports College. On 14 October 2012, he faced drink-driving charges brought by Greater Manchester Police following an incident involving a collision with a van on Green Lane, Heywood.

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	2010–11	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2011–12	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2012–13	Premier League	0	0	0	0	2	0	–		2	0
	2013–14	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
Peterborough United (loan)	2011–12	Championship	27	0	1	0	2	0	–		30	0
Barnsley (loan)	2012–13	Championship	2	0	1	0	–		–		3	0
Ipswich Town (loan)	2013–14	Championship	27	0	2	0	0	0	–		29	0
Fulham	2013–14	Premier League	3	0	–		0	0	–		3	0
	2014–15	Championship	22	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
	2015–16	Championship	27	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	29	2
	2016–17	Championship	7	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	10	۰
	Total	59	۲	۲	۰	۵	۰	۰	۰	66	۲
Wigan Athletic (loan)	۲۰۱۳-۱۴	Championship	5	۰						۵	۰
Blackburn Rovers (loan)	۲۰۱۴-۱۵	Championship	17	۱						۱۷	۱
Wigan Athletic (loan)	۲۰۱۶-۱۷	Championship	9	۱	1	۰	۰	۰	۰	۰	10	۱
Millwall	۲۰۱۷-۱۸	Championship	24	۱	۲	۰	۱	۰	۰	۰	27	۱
	۲۰۱۸-۱۹	Championship	27	۳	۳	۰	۲	۰	۰	۰	32	۳
	Total	51	۴	۵	۰	۳	۰	۰	۰	59	۴
Luton Town	۲۰۱۹-۲۰	Championship	40	۱						40	۱
	۲۰۲۸-۲۹	Championship	24	۲						28	۲
	Total	64	۳	۲	۰	۲	۰	۰	۰	68	۳
Portsmouth	۲۰۲۱-۲۲ Portsmouth FC season	EFL League One	30	۲						32	۲
۲۰۲۲-۲۳ Portsmouth FC season	League One	30	۱						37	۱
Total	60	۳	۳	۰	۱	۰	۵	۰	69	۳
Adelaide United	۲۰۲۳-۲۴ Adelaide United FC season	A-League Men	22	۱						22	۱
۲۰۲۴-۲۵ Adelaide United FC season	A-League Men	1	۰						4	۰
Career total	333	15	17	۰	15	۰	5	۰	370	15

Honours

Individual Achievements

• Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 2010–11