Marcus Matthias Dackers (born 9 January 2003) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Southend United, on loan from EFL League Two club Salford City, as a striker.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcus Matthias Dackers[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 9 January 2003 | ||
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Southend United (on loan from Salford City) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2015 | Manchester City | ||
| 2015–2020 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Loxwood (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Lancing (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2021– | Salford City | 12 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 8 | (7) |
| 2022 | → Chester (loan) | 20 | (9) |
| 2022 | → Southend United (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 2023 | → Woking (loan) | 19 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | → Altrincham (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2024– | → Southend United (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2018 | Wales U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | Wales U17 | 5 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:08, 10 March 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Dackers played youth football with Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.[4] Whilst at Brighton he spent time on loan at Lancing.[5] His Lancing debut came in a match on 6 February 2020 against Lingfield.[6]
He signed for Salford City on a two-year contract in July 2021,[4] and moved on loan to Stalybridge Celtic in October 2021.[7] He scored eight goals in 10 games, and received comparisons to former Celtic loanee Dominic Calvert-Lewin.[2] During his time at Celtic, he was managed by fellow Welsh striker Simon Haworth, who helped develop his game.[2] Salford recalled Dackers on 12 November 2021.[8] He made his debut for Salford City on 13 November 2021 in the league.[9]
In January 2022 he joined Chester on an initial one-month loan, with manager Steve Watson describing it as a "natural progression" in his career.[10] Dackers scored his first goal in a 5–0 win against Southport on 5 February,[11] and later that month his loan was extended for a further month,[12] and again in March until the end of the season.[13] By March he had scored seven goals for the club in all competitions and said "I feel like I have come on and been improving in every single game. Now to get my first brace for the club was a great feeling".[14]
Dackers moved on a month-long loan to Southend United in September 2022,[15] and scored on his début against Chesterfield.[16] Dackers said playing against league-leaders Chesterfield and Wrexham in his first two games was important to test himself as a player.[17] Later that month Southend said they wished to extend the loan.[18]
He moved on loan to Woking in January 2023,[19] and to Altrincham in November 2023.[20] In January 2024, he returned to Southend United on loan until the end of the season.[21]
International career
He is a Wales youth international.[22] He played schoolboy football for Wales before being called up to the Under-17 squad.[23]
Style of play
His manager at Chester, Steve Watson, described him as "a big lad but he is a good mover. You get people of that size and they can be immobile but he's not. He is a good athlete".[10]
Career statistics
- As of match played 3 May 2023
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2019–20[24] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21[24] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Loxwood (loan) | 2019–20[25] | Southern Combination League Premier Division | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Lancing (loan) | 2019–20[25] | Southern Combination League Premier Division | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Salford City | 2021–22[26] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[27] | League Two | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 2021–22[28] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 8 | 7 | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 9 | 7 | |||
| Chester (loan) | 2021–22[24] | National League North | 20 | 9 | — | — | — | 20 | 9 | ||||
| Southend United (loan) | 2022–23[24] | National League | 6 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | |||
| Woking (loan) | 2022–23[24] | National League | 19 | 3 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 20 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 69 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 74 | 22 | |||