Zak Brunt

Zak Brunt
Personal information
Full name Zak Rian Brunt[1]
Date of birth (2001-11-17) 17 November 2001
Place of birth Chesterfield, England[2]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.76 m)[2]
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Boreham Wood
Number 8
Youth career
Sheffield United
Aston Villa
Manchester City
Manchester United
2016–2017 Derby County
2017–2018 Matlock Town
2018–2021 Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Matlock Town 9 (0)
2021–2023 Sheffield United 0 (0)
2021–2022 → Southend United (loan) 8 (0)
2022 → Notts County (loan) 13 (0)
2022–2023 → Boreham Wood (loan) 43 (2)
2023–2025 Barnet 91 (12)
2025 → Boreham Wood (loan) 14 (3)
2025– Boreham Wood 27 (12)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:22, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

Zak Rian Brunt (born 17 November 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League club Boreham Wood.

Career

Having started his career at Sheffield United, Brunt joined a number of academies in his early teens, including Aston Villa and Manchester City.[3] Brunt also travelled to Spain and had trials with Villarreal and Atlético Madrid. The latter offered him a youth contract, and he was offered a trial at Real Madrid by Guti, but he was unable to stay in Spain due to FIFA regulations on international transfers of young players.[4] He then joined Derby County.[5] Due to a large release clause, he dropped down to non-league football in 2017 to sign with Matlock Town, where he made his debut in a league match as an 87th-minute substitute against Witton Albion, aged just sixteen years and one day.[6]

In 2018, Brunt returned to Sheffield United.[7] On 10 August 2021, Brunt made his first-team debut for Sheffield United in an EFL Cup first-round victory over Carlisle United[8] before going on to appear in the second round also.[9]

On 28 October 2021, Brunt joined National League side Southend United on loan until January 2022.[10] In January 2022, Brunt joined Notts County on loan until the end of the season following the expiration of his loan at Southend United.[11] On 25 July 2022, Brunt returned to the National League when he joined Boreham Wood on a season-long loan deal.[12]

In July 2023, Brunt signed for Barnet for an undisclosed fee.[13] He played in all but two of the Bees' league games as they won the 2024-25 National League title.

On 28 August 2025, Brunt re-joined Boreham Wood on a season-long loan deal.[14] The move was made permanent on 13 November 2025 for a club record fee for Wood.[15]

Career statistics

As of 8 November 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Matlock Town 2017–18[16][17][18][19] NPL Premier Division 9 0 0 0 — 2[a] 0 11 0
Sheffield United 2021–22[20] Championship 0000200020
2022–23[21] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 9 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 13 0
Southend United (loan) 2021–22[22] National League 8010—1[b]0100
Notts County (loan) 2021–22[22] National League 13000—1[c]0140
Boreham Wood (loan) 2022–23[22] National League 43252—3[d]0514
Barnet 2023–24[22] National League 44650—5[e]1547
2024–25[22] National League 44622—2[b]1489
2025–26[22] League Two 3000100040
Total 91 14 13 4 1 0 12 2 181 20
Boreham Wood 2025–26[22] National League 411541—7[f]15217
Career total 205291753021324637
  1. ↑ Appearance(s) in Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. ↑ Appearance(s) in National League play-offs
  4. ↑ One appearance in FA Trophy, two appearances in National League play-offs
  5. ↑ Four appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, one appearance in National League play-offs
  6. ↑ Appearances in National League Cup

Honours

Barnet

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League clubs publish 2020/21 retained lists". premierleague.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 Zak Brunt at WorldFootball.net
  3. ↑ "How Southend United new boy once attracted interest from Real Madrid". Echo. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "From Atletico Madrid to Sheffield United via Matlock, Zak Brunt 'buzzing' to fulfil his dream". examinerlive.co.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Hemmingham, Nathan (2 February 2021). "Who is Zak Brunt? Sheffield United starlet profiled after being named in squad vs West Brom". examinerlive.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Match Facts". Gladiators: Matlock Town FC Official Matchday Programme. vs Ashton United. 24 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Richardson, Ian (3 February 2021). "Former Matlock Town star Zak Brunt named on Sheffield United bench". matlockmercury.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Sheffield United 1–0 Carlisle United". BBC Sport. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Carabao Cup: Sheffield United 2–1 Derby County". BBC Sport. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Two sign on loan from Sheffield United". Southend United F.C. 28 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Brunt arrives on loan". www.nottscountyfc.co.uk. 4 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "WELCOME, ZAK BRUNT!". www.borehamwoodfootballclub.co.uk. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "Zak Brunt signs for Barnet FC". www.barnetfc.com. 4 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "Welcome back, Zak Brunt!". www.borehamwoodfootballclub.co.uk. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "Here to stay: Brunt signs permanently for a club record fee!". www.borehamwoodfootballclub.co.uk. 13 November 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "MTFC Rollcall". Gladiators: Matlock Town FC Official Matchday Programme. vs Ashton United. 24 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Matlock Town FC on Twitter". Twitter. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "Matlock Town FC on Twitter". Twitter. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "April 2018 Results - The Pitching In Northern Premier League". www.thenpl.co.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Zak Brunt | Football Stats | Season 2021/2022". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  21. ↑ "Zak Brunt | Football Stats | Season 2022/2023". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zak Brunt at Soccerway
  23. ↑ "National League: 2024/25: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
    "Barnet: Squad details: 2024/25". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  24. ↑ "Enterprise National League Team of the Season line-ups confirmed". www.thenationalleague.org.uk. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.