Ryan George Henson Loft (born 14 September 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League One club Cambridge United.
Loft began his senior career at Tottenham Hotspur, having previously been a part of the youth-team set-up at Dartford and Ebbsfleet United.
[13] He returned to League Two on loan at Exeter City on 22 January 2018, where manager Paul Tisdale looked to gain "some strength in depth".
[14][15] The loan was to run until the end of the 2017–18 season, though he only played 45 minutes of League Two football in a 1–0 defeat to Mansfield Town at St James Park.
[24][25] New manager Chris Beech commented that Loft "had a little bit of an issue in terms of being part of a disciplined group of people" and largely restricted him to reserve team football.
[27][28] On 31 August 2020, Loft signed for League Two club Scunthorpe United on a two-year contract following a long pursuit by manager Neil Cox.
[31] The Iron struggled, however, though found some form in January, when Loft scored a brace against Port Vale to secure back-to-back wins.
[31] Loft scored six goals in 19 games in the first half of the 2021–22 season and new manager Keith Hill admitted that his departure made the relegation-threatened club weaker.
[35] On 4 January 2022, Loft joined fellow League Two side Bristol Rovers for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with the club.
[41] Loft had impressed manager Joey Barton with his willingness to work for the team having returned to pre-season in fitter shape, becoming a permanent fixture in the starting line-up.
[41][45] Loft was limited to three substitute appearances at the start of the 2023–24 season after finding himself behind Aaron Collins, Jevani Brown and John Marquis in the pecking order.
[47] David Flitcroft, the club's director of football, said that he had pursued the striker all throughout the summer due to "his willingness to run unselfishly for the team, creating space or pressing the opposition aggressively".