Trevor Carson (born 5 March 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Dundee.

Born in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, Carson began his football career at Killyleagh Boys before he joined Sunderland in 2004.

[7] Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Carson made his Sunderland debut on 16 July 2006 in a friendly match, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 win against Rotherham United.

Later that year, with Craig Gordon out through injury, manager Steve Bruce urged Carson to push Márton Fülöp for the No.1 spot in the squad.

[16] Since making his debut for the club, Carson quickly established himself in the starting eleven, becoming Chesterfield's first choice goalkeeper.

[36] Since joining Bury for the second time, Carson continued to regain his first choice goalkeeper role until he left the club on 1 April 2012.

[44] He helped the club keep two consecutive clean sheets in two matches between 26 January 2013 and 2 February 2013 against Shrewsbury Town and Doncaster Rovers.

At the start of the 2013–14 season, Carson lost his first choice goalkeeper role after Manager Blackwell signed Brian Jensen, Rob Lainton and Reice Charles-Cook.

[58] Carson set himself up to be signed up permanently in January 2014, when he outlined that he was keen to stay at the South Coast club.

[69] Carson made his Cheltenham Town debut, starting the whole game, against Bury, and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win.

[71] In a follow–up match against Brighton & Hove Albion in the first round of the League Cup, Carson captained the club for the first time in his career, as they lost 2–0.

[75] However, Carson was unable to help the club avoid relegation to the National League following a 1–0 loss against Shrewsbury Town on 25 April 2015.

[80] He was initially expected to be the club's first choice goalkeeper ahead of new signing, Adam Bartlett but suffered a toe injury while training and was sidelined for months.

[82] It wasn't until on 17 October 2015 when he made his Hartlepool United debut, starting the whole game and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Dagenham & Redbridge.

[92] On 12 November 2016, less than 24 hours after being included in the Northern Ireland squad against Azerbaijan, Carson started in goal against Cheltenham Town but suffered an injury that saw him substituted in the 37th minute.

[94] But he made a quick recovery and returned to the starting line–up against Doncaster Rovers on 19 November 2016, resulting in the club losing 2–1.

[95] Carson wrote a columns on the club's Match Programme, expressing his embarrassment on Hartlepool United's woeful defensive record.

[99] In the last game of the season, Carson started in goal against Doncaster Rovers, which a win must ensure Hartlepool United's stay in League Two if Newport County lose.

[118] However, during a 1–0 loss against Hearts on 15 September 2018, he suffered ankle injury following a collision with Uche Ikpeazu and was substituted in the 31st minute.

[120] He was replaced by Mark Gillespie after a 7–1 defeat to Rangers in November 2018,[121] which coincided with him developing deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder and lung, a life-threatening condition for someone in a contact sport.

On 7 January 2020, at that time still backup to Gillespie, Carson signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract keeping him at Fir Park until 2022.

[125] He continued to remain as a backup until the season was curtailed on 18 May 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic, with Motherwell finishing in third place in the league.

[126] When Gillespie moved on to Newcastle United in the summer of 2020, Carson regained the starting place and played his first match in twenty months on 3 August 2020 in a 1–0 loss against Ross County,[127] and was also named as the club's vice-captain.

[128] He then started in a 2020–21 UEFA Europa League tie against Northern Irish club Coleraine (the first senior club match he had played in his homeland): he conceded two goals from penalties during the match which finished 2–2, but then made a 'hat-trick' of saves from kicks in the resultant shootout which Motherwell won 3–0 to progress in the tournament.

[132] On 5 January 2022, Carson rejoined former Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson after joining EFL League One side Morecambe on loan for the remainder of the season.

[151] The next eight years saw him being called up to the national team, only to appear as an unused substitute and injuries concern prevented the player from making his debut.

[152] In January 2013 he was called up to the full Northern Ireland squad for their game with Malta, but was forced to withdraw with a broken finger.

[158] After not playing for two years, Carson started in goal against Norway on 14 October 2020, as Northern Ireland lost 5–1 in the UEFA Nations League match.

[163] In June 2016, Carson set up an online charity appeal by taking part in the Warrior Beach Assault 10k obstacle course in Whitley Bay for his sister in law, Melanie Hartshorn, who is suffering from a rare condition known as Ehlors Danlos Syndrome.

[165] In June 2020, Carson revealed that he battled mental health issues for three years since leaving Hartlepool United.