Notts County Football Club

The Port Vale goalkeeper joined us on a free transfer ahead of the 2023-24 Sky Bet League Two season, signing a two-year deal.

The Stafford-born stopper was a latecomer to goalkeeping having played in defence as a youngster before making the switch in his mid-teens.

His performances at local level earned him a call-up to England Schoolboys, which then led to him signing for Burnley as back-up to England internationals Nick Pope, Tom Heaton and Joe Hart.

Stone then seized the opportunity to play men’s football with a move to Mansfield following an impressive trial ahead of the 2019-20 season, going on to make his EFL debut and furthering his experience with a loan at Widnes.

The following campaign saw him claim 21 League Two appearances for the Stags, impressing sufficiently to earn a switch to Port Vale at the end of his contract.

It proved to be a magnificent move as he nailed down a first-team place towards the end of a campaign which concluded with him keeping a clean sheet in Vale’s play-off final victory over his previous employers, having saved three penalties in Vale’s semi-final shootout victory over Swindon.

His promising performances and play-off heroics saw him named the Valiants’ Young Player of the Season and he continued his progress in League One in 2022-23, making 20 league appearances as the Staffordshire side consolidated their position in the third tier.

Last updated: August 2023

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