Mark Cullen (English footballer)

Hull City

Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Cullen joined the Hull City youth system on a two-year scholarship in June 2008. He made his first-team debut as a substitute in a 4–1 defeat to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup third round. He was given a place in the team after scoring 27 goals for the youth team in 2009–10. He made his Premier League debut on 24 April 2010 when he came on as a substitute for George Boateng in the 75th minute of the home match against Sunderland, which Hull lost 1–0. He made his first start for Hull against Wigan in the Premier League on 3 May 2010, and went on to score his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw. He then went on to start in Hull's last game of the season against Liverpool in a 0–0 draw. Cullen scored his second and final goal for Hull in a 2–1 League Cup second round defeat by Brentford on 24 August 2010.

In January 2011, Cullen, along with fellow youth team graduate Tom Cairney, signed a new contract with the club until the summer of 2013. A few days later, Cullen joined League Two club Bradford City on a one-month loan. He played four games during his loan before returning to Hull.

For the 2011–12 season, Cullen was loaned to League One club Bury for six months. He made only four appearances in this time before returning to Hull in January 2012.

On 7 August 2012, Cullen returned to Bury for a further loan period, playing in 12 games, scoring once in a 2–2 draw with Stevenage. His loan spell was brought to an end on 18 October 2012 following a shin injury. On 31 January 2013, Cullen went out on a month-long loan to Stockport County in the Conference Premier. This was later extended until the end of the season. Cullen scored two goals in a 2–0 win over Barrow on 12 March 2013.

Luton Town

On 17 May 2013, Cullen signed for Conference Premier club Luton Town on a two-year contract following his release from Hull City. He scored his first goals for the club in a 3–2 win over Lincoln City on 21 September 2013. Cullen was primarily used as a substitute for much of 2013–14 as the goalscoring form of Andre Gray and Paul Benson kept him out of the starting lineup. He came on as a substitute against Cambridge United to score a 90th minute "stunning" equaliser that kept Luton 15 points clear of their nearest title rivals. Cullen regained a place in the starting lineup towards the end of the season, scoring three goals in five games as Luton won promotion to League Two. Cullen played 36 times and scored 10 goals in all competitions during the season, and in May 2014, he signed a new three-year contract to keep him at the club until the end of 2016–17.

Cullen was promoted to a regular starting place in the team for the 2014–15 season after Luton sold Andre Gray. He played in 47 games in all competitions, scoring 14 goals to end the campaign as Luton's top scorer. In February 2015, Cullen was the subject of a bid from an unnamed club and expressed his desire to leave. Luton rejected the approach, stating that his valuation had not been met.

Blackpool

On 30 June 2015, Cullen signed for League One club Blackpool on a three-year deal for £180,000. Cullen scored both goals in a 2–2 draw with Colchester United on his debut on 8 August 2015.

On 28 May 2017, Cullen started as Blackpool beat Exeter City 2–1 at Wembley Stadium in the 2017 League Two play-off Final, scoring the winning goal on 64 minutes to earn promotion back to League One at the first attempt.

Career statistics

Honours

Luton Town

Blackpool