Crewe Alexandra Whilst on the books at
Crewe Alexandra as a youth player, Leitch-Smith was
loaned out to
non-League clubs
Halifax Town in November 2008 and
Newcastle Town in March 2009. He signed his first
professional contract in April 2009, before joining Icelandic club
ÍBV on loan. He was recalled from his loan, along with
Chris Clements, in early September due to injury problems at Crewe. He made his
League Two debut for Crewe at
Gresty Road in a 3–2 defeat to
Bury on 29 September 2009, replacing
Joel Grant as a
substitute in the 80th minute. This was his only appearance of the
2009–10 season. He joined
Curzon Ashton on loan in March 2010. He scored seven goals in ten
Northern Premier League appearances, which was enough to win him a new contract at Crewe. He scored his first goal in the
English Football League on 21 August 2010, adding the final goal of the "Railwaymen's" 7–0 win over
Barnet. However, he was limited to only 18 appearances in the
2010–11 season as he struggled to step up to first-team football, and
manager Dario Gradi devised a special pre-season fitness programme in the summer to help him to adapt to senior football. Leitch-Smith scored nine goals in 44 games in the
2011–12 campaign. He signed a new one-year contract in April 2012, and manager
Steve Davis stated, "I'd like to think that he can become the 15 to 20 goal a season man we need." On 27 May, he played the first 85 minutes of the
League Two play-off final victory over
Cheltenham Town at
Wembley Stadium, providing the
assist for
Byron Moore's goal which secured the 2–0 victory and Crewe's
promotion into
League One. He scored six goals in 35 matches in the
2012–13 season. On 7 April he made another appearance at Wembley, as the Alex beat
Southend United 2–0 in the
Football League Trophy final; he was an 83rd-minute substitute for
Max Clayton. The next month he signed a one-year extension to his existing contract. However, he played just 24 games in the
2013–14 season, scoring two goals. He left Crewe after an eleven-year association with his hometown club.
Yeovil Town In June 2014, Leitch-Smith signed for
Gary Johnson's League One club
Yeovil Town on a two-year contract. He struggled in
his first season for the "Glovers", as he was played mostly in a wide position. He only scored twice in 38 appearances. He was one of four players offered a contract termination by new manager
Paul Sturrock following Yeovil's
relegation into League Two at the end of the season.
Port Vale In July 2015, Leitch-Smith signed a 12-month deal with League One side
Port Vale after agreeing to leave Yeovil. He earned the contract after impressing manager
Rob Page during pre-season training. He scored his first goal for the "Valiants" on 14 November, with a
header that opened the scoring in a 2–1 win at
Barnsley. This was to start a sequence of five goals in four games, which was the best scoring run of his career to that point. For his performances he was short-listed for the
League One player of the month award. After scoring his sixth goal of the season in a 1–1 draw with
Scunthorpe United at
Vale Park on 12 December he was named in the Football League Paper's team of the day. He scored four goals in four games in January to go into double figures for the season to earn himself a nomination for the
PFA fans' Player of the Month award for League One. Chairman
Norman Smurthwaite confirmed that Leitch-Smith had rejected the offer of a new contract from the club in May 2016.
Shrewsbury Town Leitch-Smith signed with League One side
Shrewsbury Town in June 2016, along with former Port Vale teammates
Ryan McGivern and
Louis Dodds. He scored his first goal for the club in the first minute of a first-round
League Cup tie against
Championship side
Huddersfield Town, with Shrewsbury going on to win 2–1. After an indifferent run of form in
Micky Mellon's last weeks as manager, he was recalled to the starting eleven by new manager
Paul Hurst for an
FA Cup first round tie on 5 November, and scored the second goal in a 3–0 victory over
Barnet. He was limited to five goals in 12 starts and nine substitute appearances throughout the
2016–17 campaign, and was not allocated a
squad number ahead of the following season as he was not in the club's future plans. On 31 August 2017, he joined
Scottish Premiership club
Dundee on a five-month loan deal. He made his debut for the "Dee" on 9 September, coming on as a 38th-minute substitute for
Scott Allan in a 4–1 defeat at
Rangers. He was given his first start at
Dens Park seven days later, scoring twice in a 3–2 win over
St Johnstone. In January 2018, the loan agreement was extended to the end of the
2017–18 season after "Dee" manager
Neil McCann was impressed by the link-up play he made with striker
Sofien Moussa despite him being unable to secure a regular place in the starting eleven. He was released by Shrewsbury at the end of the 2017–18 season.
Morecambe On 8 August 2018, Leitch-Smith signed a one-year contract with League Two side
Morecambe; manager
Jim Bentley stated that he had "tried to sign him a couple of years ago." He scored six goals in 29 appearances for the "Shrimps" in the
2018–19 season, having missed the second half of the campaign with a
hamstring tear. Despite only scoring six goals and missing half the season he ended the campaign as the club's top-scorer and went on to sign a new two-year contract at the
Globe Arena. However, he was restricted to just eight league starts in the
2019–20 season before football was suspended in March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in England.
Non-League On 7 August 2021, Leitch-Smith joined
National League side
Altrincham. He said that the attractive football played at
Moss Lane reminded him of his time at Crewe. He made just four starts during the
2021–22 season, though made a further 15 substitute appearances and scored four goals, claiming one assist. In July 2022, Leitch-Smith returned to his native Cheshire to join Northern Premier League Premier Division side
Nantwich Town. He scored two goals in 16 games for the "Dabbers". In November 2022, Leitch-Smith signed for league rivals
Warrington Rylands. He joined
Hyde United on loan in March 2023. He scored one goal in five games for Hyde. and made 11 appearances during the early part of the
2023–24 season, scoring four goals, before leaving to join
Stafford Rangers. He left the field injured as Stafford lost 1–0 to
Ashton United at
Marston Road as relegation from the Northern Premier League Premier Division was confirmed. He switched to divisional rivals
Hanley Town in October 2024. He featured 20 times in the
2024–25 campaign, scoring two goals, as the club suffered relegation. On 28 July 2025, he signed with Midland League Premier Division side
Northwich Victoria. The club qualified for the play-offs at the end of the
2025–26 season, and Leitch-Smith played in the play-off final defeat to
1874 Northwich. ==Style of play==