Early career Saunders joined local club Barnard Castle at the age of 6 or 7, leaving at under-14s after the club folded. Whilst at Darlington he had loan spells at
Ryhope Colliery Welfare and
Dunston UTS.
Fleetwood Town He signed for
Fleetwood Town in January 2019 for an undisclosed fee, on a -year contract, and was immediately loaned back to Darlington. He made his first-team debut for Fleetwood on 3 September 2019 in the
EFL Trophy. He scored his first goals for Fleetwood when he scored twice in an
EFL Trophy tie against
Carlisle United on 1 September 2020, and his first league goal followed in a 2–1 defeat to
Rochdale on 3 October 2020. On 6 October 2020, Saunders scored a hat-trick in the EFL Trophy against
Aston Villa U21s. He signed on loan for
Hartlepool United on 22 April 2021. At the end of the
2020–21 season, Saunders was released by Fleetwood Town.
Bristol Rovers On 25 June 2021, Saunders agreed to join
Bristol Rovers on a two-year deal from the expiration of his Fleetwood contract. Saunders joined former Fleetwood teammates
Paul Coutts and
Sam Finley in joining former manager
Joey Barton that summer. On 7 August 2021, Saunders made his debut for the club in a 2–1 opening day defeat to
Mansfield Town, playing the full match as he was the club's only fit striker. On 17 August 2021, Saunders scored his first goal for the club with the only goal in a victory over
Oldham Athletic, the club's first win of the season, heading home a cross from
Harry Anderson via a deflection. After suffering an injury during an aerial collision in a match against
Bradford City on 16 October, Saunders was ruled out until the new year with torn ankle ligaments. On 29 January 2022, Saunders made his return to action from the bench as he assisted Rovers' late winner to defeat
Walsall.
Tranmere Rovers On 27 January 2023, Saunders signed for League Two club
Tranmere Rovers for an undisclosed fee on an eighteen-month contract. The club had previously tried to sign him in the summer. In August 2025 he moved on loan to
Eastleigh. ==Career statistics==