Notts County McGoldrick was born in
Nottingham,
Southampton In August 2004, at the age of 16, he was signed by
Southampton for an undisclosed fee.
Leon Best also made the move from Notts County to Southampton over the summer. McGoldrick did not feature in the
2004–05 Premier League campaign. He was a member of Southampton's youth team that reached the final of the
FA Youth Cup in 2005, losing on
aggregate to
Ipswich Town. On 20 September 2005, he made his "Saints" debut as a
substitute in a 1–0
League Cup defeat to
Mansfield Town, having replaced
Dexter Blackstock on 81 minutes. Four days later, he returned to
Notts County for a one-month
loan spell to gain more first-team experience. On his return to Southampton he scored 44 goals for the Reserves and Under-18 teams, bagging a
hat-trick in the Under-18s play-off final win over
Aston Villa, as well as three goals over the two legs of the
FA Youth Cup semi-final against
Liverpool. The loan was later extended until the end of the season, but an injury-hit Southampton recalled McGoldrick on 23 April. He maintained a record of a goal every other game for Bournemouth, having struck six times in twelve games. His efforts helped the club to avoid relegation into
League Two.
Loan to Port Vale However, his first-team opportunities remained limited at Southampton, and so in August 2007, he joined
Martin Foyle's
Port Vale on loan until January 2008. He went on to score twice in 18 games for the "Valiants" in
2007–08, though was unable to save them from relegation. Back at Southampton, he found himself behind
Stern John,
Marek Saganowski and
Bradley Wright-Phillips in the pecking order and therefore considered quitting the club.
Return to Southampton McGoldrick rarely featured under
George Burley or
Nigel Pearson, but managed to force his way into the first-team regularly under youth-focused Dutch
managers
Jan Poortvliet and
Mark Wotte. McGoldrick scored his first league goal for the "Saints" in a 2–1 defeat to
Cardiff City on 9 August 2008. This was followed three days later by another two goals in a League Cup victory over
Exeter City. After four goals in four games at the start of the
2008–09 campaign, he signed a new three–year
contract with Southampton in September. An ever-present throughout the season, he scored 14 goals in fifty appearances to finish as the club's top-scorer. However, Southampton were relegated and faced a financial crisis; which meant that McGoldrick was expected to move away from
St Mary's.
Nottingham Forest in 2009 In June 2009, he joined
Nottingham Forest for a fee of
£1 million, signing a four-year contract. He faced competition from numerous other strikers at his new club. McGoldrick made his Forest debut against
Reading at the
Madejski Stadium on 8 August. Two weeks later, he scored his first goal for Forest away at
Queens Park Rangers. However, he endured a disappointing
2009–10, scoring just three league goals in 18 starts and 17 substitute appearances. After undergoing a
shoulder operation in the
2010–11 pre-season, he was out of action until late September. He recovered to post six goals that season, and also pushed Forest back into the
play-off picture when he came off the bench to score twice past
Burnley on 12 April. However, he could not prevent his team from exiting the play-offs at the semi-final stage, after a 3–1 loss to eventual play-off winners
Swansea City.
Loan to Sheffield Wednesday On 15 September 2011, McGoldrick joined
Sheffield Wednesday on an emergency one-month loan. Two days later he scored on his Owls debut away at
Yeovil Town. He returned to Nottingham having made four appearances for Wednesday.
Loan to Coventry City On 31 August 2012, McGoldrick joined League One club
Coventry City on loan until 2 January 2013. He opened his account for the "Sky Blues" at the
Ricoh Arena with consolation goals in 2–1 home defeats to
Stevenage and
Carlisle United. On 6 October, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 home win against Bournemouth. After a goal in a 4–0 win against
York City in the
Football League Trophy, McGoldrick then scored two in a 2–2 draw against
Swindon Town. McGoldrick then scored the first goal in a 2–1 away defeat to
Brentford, and followed that up with the winner in a 1–0 win over
Leyton Orient – his performance against Orient earned him a place on the League One Team of the Week. By the end of the calendar year he had scored 17 goals for Coventry, becoming the division's leading scorer and winning the
League One Player of the Month award for December.
Ipswich Town in 2013 On 4 January 2013, McGoldrick joined
Mick McCarthy's
Ipswich Town on loan until the end of the
2012–13 season, with a view to a permanent move in the summer. He made his debut for Ipswich on 5 January 2013, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–2 away loss to
Aston Villa in an FA Cup third round tie. On 2 February, he scored his first goal for Ipswich in a 4–0 home win against
Middlesbrough. McGoldrick scored 4 goals in 14 appearances during his loan spell at Ipswich. He formed at a strong partnership with
Daryl Murphy at
Portman Road during the
2013–14 season, as the pair netted 18 goals in 22 games in the first half of the campaign. He was named as
Championship Player of the Month for September 2013 after scoring braces against Middlesbrough and
Brighton & Hove Albion. However, he was struck down for ten weeks with a partial
tear of the
medial ligament in his right
knee in mid-February. He finished the season as Ipswich's top goalscorer, scoring 16 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions. He was voted Ipswich's Players' Player of the Year at the end of the campaign. Newly-
promoted Premier League club
Leicester City placed an initial £5 million bid for the striker during the close of the summer
transfer window, but Ipswich held out for a sum of £8 million. Leicester decided to pull out of the deal. He was a key part of Ipswich's side during the first half of the season, before getting injured in February. He missed the second half of the season with a recurring thigh problem, only managing to return for the final 20 minutes of the play-off semi-final second leg defeat to
East Anglian rivals
Norwich City at
Carrow Road on 16 May. He signed a contract extension in August 2015 to keep himself tied to the club until summer 2018. He scored his first goal of the
2015–16 season on 18 August, netting in a 2–0 home win against
Burnley. McGoldrick struggled with niggling injuries in the first half of the 2015–16 campaign and then picked up a "nasty
tear" in his
hamstring in December. The injury kept him out of action for four months. In total, he made 27 appearances during the season, scoring 5 goals. He then scored in the following league match against Barnsley in a 2–1 away win. Speaking about McGoldrick in January 2018, McCarthy stated that "he is an obvious target. None of us want to lose him but we'll see what happens" after the club reportedly put a £500,000 price tag on his potential
transfer, with the player out of contract in the summer. However, he stayed put and ended up picking up a
groin injury the following month, which kept him out of action for the rest of the
2017–18 season. McGoldrick scored 8 goals in 24 appearances during an injury-hit season in 2017–18.
Sheffield United On 24 July 2018, McGoldrick signed a one-year contract with Championship side
Sheffield United after impressing manager
Chris Wilder during a one-week trial period. On the day of his signing, he played and scored for the Blades in a pre-season friendly against
Inter Milan at
Bramall Lane which ended 1-1. On 29 September, he scored twice in a 3–2 win at Millwall and was named on the EFL Team of the Week. On 25 January, Sheffield United announced that McGoldrick had signed a contract extension with them. On 22 April, he scored a brace in a 3–0 victory over
Hull City at
KCOM Stadium and was again named in the EFL Team of the Week. He featured only in league matches during the
2018–19 campaign, and was named as the club's Player of the Year as his 15 goals in 44 appearances helped to secure promotion out of the Championship. McGoldrick suffered a long domestic goal drought in the
2019–20 season, which he ended by opening the scoring in a 2–1 win at
Reading in the fifth round of the FA Cup on 3 March. In the league though, it was reported that
Opta Sports statistics showed no Premier League player had ever managed 36 shots on target or had an
expected goals rating of 6.2 without finding the net; in a positive light, he made 36 tackles per game, more than any other regular Premier League forward that season. During his run he missed an
open goal against Brighton & Hove Albion and had a goal against
Tottenham Hotspur at
White Hart Lane ruled out for
offside by the
video assistant referee. On 13 June, Sheffield United announced that McGoldrick had signed a contract extension with them. On 11 July, he scored his first Premier League goals with a brace in a 3–0 home win over
Chelsea. On 17 December 2020, McGoldrick scored two goals in a 3–2 home defeat to
Manchester United that left Sheffield United bottom of the Premier League with just one point and said that the team had to stay positive despite their poor start to the season. He scored nine goals from 40 games in the
2020–21 season, including eight Premier League goals, to become the club's top-scorer. However, the season was a poor one for the club, as Wilder left and Sheffield United were relegated in last place under
caretaker manager Paul Heckingbottom. He started the
2021–22 season poorly under
Slaviša Jokanović. He was then sidelined with a thigh injury picked up in February. Nevertheless, he acted as a "father figure" for young players such as
Rhian Brewster and
Jayden Bogle. Having been limited to two goals in 21 appearances during the season, he was released upon the expiry of his contract in the summer.
Derby County On 6 July 2022, McGoldrick joined League One club
Derby County on a one-year contract. On 29 October, he scored a first-half hat-trick to secure
Paul Warne's first home win as Derby manager in a 4–2 win over
Bristol Rovers at
Pride Park. It was his first career hat-trick. He scored another hat-trick on 17 December, during a 4–0 home victory over
Forest Green Rovers. He scored a third hat-trick of the season on 4 February, in a 5–0 home win over
Morecambe. He won the League One Player of the Month award for February 2023 after scoring six goals and providing three assists, and went on to be named as
Derby County's Player of the Year,
PFA Fans' Player of the Year and in the
PFA Team of the Year for the
2022–23 season. He scored 25 goals in 45 games and was offered a new contract.
Return to Notts County On 10 June 2023, McGoldrick re-signed with League Two club Notts County on a two-year deal, having first left his hometown club 19 years previously. A club statement read that "David hasn't made this decision for financial reasons. His love and respect for the club have brought him home". Manager
Luke Williams said that it was "a joy" to manage McGoldrick, who struck up a
strike partnership with
Macaulay Langstaff as the club sat top of the table in September. He ended the
2023–24 season with 13 goals from 39 games. He was named as the League Two Player of the Week after scoring both goals in a 2–0 win over
Swindon Town on 4 January. He again was named on the EFL Team of the Week after following this with another brace in a 3–0 win at
Accrington Stanley. A goal in a 2–1 win at
Gillingham on 1 February saw him named as one of that week's top five performers in League Two. He was named in the League Two Team of the Season at the
EFL Awards. He also won the club's Player of the Year award. He was offered a new deal at the end of the campaign, with head coach
Stuart Maynard saying "he is incredible, we want him to be at the club". However, McGoldrick left the club after rejecting the contract offer.
Barnsley On 9 July 2025, McGoldrick signed a one-year deal with League One club
Barnsley, having been a former international teammate of manager
Conor Hourihane. On 21 October, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–2 win over
Manchester United U21 in an
EFL Trophy game at
Oakwell. However, he initially struggled for goals in the league, despite taking the tenth most shots out of everyone in the third tier. His form improved, and he was named February
League One Player of the Month with an assist and six goals in as many games, including a
hat-trick in a 3–1 win at
Leyton Orient, part of a run of ten goals in nine games. ==International career==