David James McGoldrick (born 29 November 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League Two club Notts County.

He spent five years with the "Saints", also playing on loan for Notts County in 2005 and both AFC Bournemouth and Port Vale in 2007.

McGoldrick was born in Nottingham,[2] and graduated through the Notts County youth team to make his senior debut on 24 January 2004, in a Second Division clash with Swindon Town at Meadow Lane.

On 20 September 2005, he made his "Saints" debut as a substitute in a 1–0 League Cup defeat to Mansfield Town, having replaced Dexter Blackstock on 81 minutes.

However, his first-team opportunities remained limited at Southampton, and so in August 2007, he joined Martin Foyle's Port Vale on loan until January 2008.

Back at Southampton, he found himself behind Stern John, Marek Saganowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips in the pecking order and therefore considered quitting the club.

However, Southampton were relegated and faced a financial crisis;[21] which meant that McGoldrick was expected to move away from St Mary's.

[27] He recovered to post six goals that season, and also pushed Forest back into the play-off picture when he came off the bench to score twice past Burnley on 12 April.

[35] He opened his account for the "Sky Blues" at the Ricoh Arena with consolation goals in 2–1 home defeats to Stevenage and Carlisle United.

After a goal in a 4–0 win against York City in the Football League Trophy, McGoldrick then scored two in a 2–2 draw against Swindon Town.

[40][41][42] By the end of the calendar year he had scored 17 goals for Coventry, becoming the division's leading scorer and winning the League One Player of the Month award for December.

[43][44] On 4 January 2013, McGoldrick joined Mick McCarthy's Ipswich Town on loan until the end of the 2012–13 season, with a view to a permanent move in the summer.

[45] He made his debut for Ipswich on 5 January 2013, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–2 away loss to Aston Villa in an FA Cup third round tie.

[49] He formed at a strong partnership with Daryl Murphy at Portman Road during the 2013–14 season, as the pair netted 18 goals in 22 games in the first half of the campaign.

He was named as Championship Player of the Month for September 2013 after scoring braces against Middlesbrough and Brighton & Hove Albion.

He missed the second half of the season with a recurring thigh problem,[55] only managing to return for the final 20 minutes of the play-off semi-final second leg defeat to East Anglian rivals Norwich City at Carrow Road on 16 May.

None of us want to lose him but we'll see what happens" after the club reportedly put a £500,000 price tag on his potential transfer, with the player out of contract in the summer.

[66] After five years at Ipswich, in which we scored 45 goals in 159 appearances, McGoldrick's departure from the club was confirmed by new manager Paul Hurst on 25 June 2018, following the end of his contract.

[67] On 24 July 2018, McGoldrick signed a one-year contract with Championship side Sheffield United after impressing manager Chris Wilder during a one-week trial period.

[68][69] On the day of his signing, he played and scored for the Blades in a pre-season friendly against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane which ended 1-1.

[72] On 22 April, he scored a brace in a 3–0 victory over Hull City at KCOM Stadium and was again named in the EFL Team of the Week.

[73] He featured only in league matches during the 2018–19 campaign, and was named as the club's Player of the Year as his 15 goals in 44 appearances helped to secure promotion out of the Championship.

[74][75] McGoldrick suffered a long domestic goal drought in the 2019–20 season, which he ended by opening the scoring in a 2–1 win at Reading in the fifth round of the FA Cup on 3 March.

[84] However, the season was a poor one for the club, as Wilder left and Sheffield United were relegated in last place under caretaker manager Paul Heckingbottom.

[105] He opened his 2024–25 scoring tally with consecutive braces against Swindon Town and Accrington Stanley, also earning a place on the EFL League Two Team of the Week.

[114] He made his debut for Ireland in a 4–1 win over the United States on 18 November 2014, providing two assists for Anthony Pilkington and Robbie Brady goals.

[118] He announced his retirement from international football three months later on 4 November, citing a wish to spend more time with his family and to focus more on his club career.