Stephen Ireland is currently without a club a year on from leaving Stoke City at the end of the 2017/18 season, which brought to an end a five-year spell at the Bet365 Stadium.

The 33-year-old arrived at the Bet365 Stadium initially on a season-long loan deal from Aston Villa in September 2013, as he looked to get his career back on track after an injury plagued spell at Villa Park had limited him to just 47 appearances in three seasons – and he established himself as a crucial player for the Potters making 25 league appearances and scoring twice as they secured a 9^th place finish.

Having impressed Mark Hughes with his performances for the Potters in the first half of the 2013/14 season, Stoke made his move permanent in January – and Ireland went onto sign a new three-year deal in April 2014 having enjoyed a largely successful start to his career at the Bet365 Stadium.

Ireland found his involvement a little more limited during the 2014/15 season, with a mixture of the form of some of the Potters’ midfielders and injuries meaning he made just 17 Premier League appearances, as Hughes guided the club to a second successive 9^th placed finish.

The following campaign saw Ireland continue to see his first team chances limited with the Potters, with Ireland making just 13 appearances in the Premier League and just three starts in all competitions during the 2015/16 season, although he did help Stoke reach the semi-final of the League Cup.

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However, Ireland suffered a serious broken leg injury in training in May 2016, which saw the midfielder be ruled out for the whole of the 2016/17 campaign, meaning the 33-year-old was unable to play any part for the Potters as they slumped to a 13^th place finish in the Premier League.

Stoke handed Ireland a six month contract extension in July 2017 as he continued his rehabilitation from injury, with the midfielder handed another contract extension until the end of the campaign in December, but the midfielder was only able to make five appearances as the Potters were relegated from the Premier League.

Ireland was released by Stoke at the end of the 2017/18 season as they prepared or life back in the Championship, and the midfielder eventually joined Bolton Wanderers in October 2018 as the club looked to recover from a poor run of form which left them near the foot of the Championship table.

The 33-year-old though failed to make a single appearance for Bolton during his first two months at the club, and the midfielder was eventually released from his contract in December, with Ireland yet to join a new club since his departure from Bolton.