Our summer recruitment drive continued on Wednesday as Michael Woods joined Mackenzie Heaney and Martin Smith in committing his future to the club.
Michael Woods was born on April 6th, 1990 in York
His family have strong football heritage, with grandfather Alan Woods playing for Tottenham Hotspur, Swansea City and York City, and uncle Neil Woods representing clubs including Rangers, Ipswich Town and Bradford City
Woods began in the youth set-up at Leeds United, where his team-mates included future England internationals Danny Rose and Fabian Delph
His talent caught the attention of a number of high-profile clubs, with Chelsea securing the services of the 16-year-old in 2006
Woods made two senior appearances for Chelsea, the first of which saw him become the fourth-youngest player in the club’s history, aged 16 years and 275 days. He appeared as a substitute in place of Frank Lampard
His progress was hindered by a number of injuries at Stamford Bridge
Woods did though make his mark on the international stage, representing England at the Under-17 World Cup and playing for his country at Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-20 level
After a loan spell with Notts County, the midfielder had short permanent stints with Doncaster Rovers and Harrogate Town as he started to find his feet in the senior game
It was at then-National League North side Harrogate Town that Woods began to establish himself, with a one-and-a-half year spell yielding 37 appearances and nine goals
His form with Harrogate earned him a move back to the Football League with Hartlepool United
Woods truly found a home at Hartlepool, spending four-and-a-half years with the club, the first three of which were in League Two
He made more than 150 appearances for Pools and was a regular in the side before moving back to Harrogate in November 2018
The following season was spent with another National League outfit, Dover Athletic, and Woods then moved onto hometown club York in the summer of 2020
Woods has spent the last two seasons attempting to help York win promotion from National League North and he was successful in that pursuit, with the Minstermen triumphing in the play-off final last month
He will now be looking to bring his considerable experience to South Shields after opting not to remain with York
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