| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nicholas Pennington | ||
| Date of birth | 18 December 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Rome, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wellington Phoenix | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | Cagliari | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2018 | Cagliari | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Olbia (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2018–2021 | Olbia | 90 | (4) |
| 2021– | Wellington Phoenix | 52 | (2) |
| 2022 | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021– | Australia U23 | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 February 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 March 2022 | |||
Nicholas Pennington (born 18 December 1998) is a professional soccer player who plays as a central midfielder for Wellington Phoenix. Born in Italy, he represents Australia at youth level.
Born in Rome, Pennington is of Australian descent through his father who originated from Perth. He has stated his interest in representing the Australia national team.[1]
Pennington began his career with Cagliari. He made his first appearance on the bench on 27 November 2016 in a Serie A match against Udinese and the second three days later in a match against Sampdoria in the fourth round of Coppa Italia, but both times he did not appear on the field.[2][3]
On 19 August 2017, he was loaned to Serie C club Olbia on a seasons-long loan deal.[4] On 4 October, Pennington made his debut for Olbia as a substitute replacing Enrico Geroni in the 28th minute of a 0–0 home draw against Pistoiese.[5] Four days later, on 8 October he played his first entire match for Olbia, a 2–1 home defeat against Robur Siena.[6] On 18 February 2018, Pennington scored his first professional goal in the 51st minute of a 2–1 away win over Pistoiese.[7] Pennington ended his loan to Olbia with 25 appearances, 1 goal and 1 assist.[8]
At the end of the loan period, Olbia signed Pennington outright for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract.[9] On 19 September he played his first match of the season in a 3–2 away win over Albissola, he was replaced by Joseph Tetteh after 75 minutes.[10] Four days later he played his first entire match of the season, a 2–1 home win over Aurora Pro Patria.[11]
On 30 July 2021, Pennington signed for New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix who play in the A-League.[12] Pennington scored his first Phoenix goal on 26 March 2022, a 97th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory over Perth Glory.[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cagliari | 2016–17 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Olbia (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie C | 25 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | |
| Olbia | 2018–19 | Serie C | 30 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Serie C | 24 | 2 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie C | 36 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | ||
| Total | 115 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 119 | 5 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2021–22 | A-League Men | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | A-League Men | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 36 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 2022 | New Zealand National League | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 152 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 163 | 7 | ||