*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 October 2024
Ashley Mark Coffey (born 1 December 1993) is an English professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Veikkausliiga side AC Oulu. Born in Leeds, Coffey played for various English non-league clubs before turning professional in Sweden and going on to play in Finland.
Career
England
Growing up, Coffey spent two years as part of the Bradford City academy before being released at aged 15 after being told that he was "too slow".[1] Following this, Coffey reflected on being released by the Bradford City academy, saying: "I didn't get a contract, so from there, I just thought, 'this is kind of over in terms of professional football, I'll get a qualification at university'".[1] He then attended the Teesside University.[2] While at university, he played for West Auckland Town before joining Newton Aycliffe in October 2014.[3] He later joined Marske United where he spent a year-and-a-half.[4] Following that he had a spell with Northern Premier League side Whitby Town scoring twice in 12 league games.[5]
Sweden
In 2019 he moved abroad for the first time to join Swedish Division 2 side Huddinge where he scored 12 goals in the second half of the season.[6] The following season, he moved up a division to join Haninge where he finished as the top scorer in the league.[7] In January 2021, he joined Superettan side AFC Eskilstuna on a three-year deal.[8] After two years, he left the club.[9]
AC Oulu
In January 2023, he joined Finnish Veikkausliiga side AC Oulu on a one-year deal with an option to extend for an additional year.[10] On 5 April 2023, Coffey made his professional league debut starting in a 2–0 win over KTP.[11] Coffey was the top goalscorer of the club in the 2023 season, scoring 19 goals and giving 6 assists in 36 matches in all competitions combined.[12] He was also the third-best goalscorer of the whole league in the 2023 season, after Bojan Radulović and Peter Godly Michael.[13]
On 10 November 2023, the club exercised their option to extend Coffey's contract for the 2024 season.[14] Coffey finished his second season with the club scoring 12 goals as the joint top goalscorer of Veikkausliiga with Jaime Moreno. After the last match of the season, he confirmed he would leave Oulu.[15] He scored a total of 36 goals, making him the second-best goalscorer in AC Oulu's history.