Darlington Born in
Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, Smith made his debut in the
Football League on 5 April 2010, replacing
Chris Moore in the 77th minute of
Darlington's 1–0 home defeat by
Hereford United in
League Two. He scored his first Football League goal on 1 May, in the 79th minute of Darlington's 2–0 away win at
Macclesfield Town. He joined
Conference North club
Workington on
loan for a month on 29 October 2010, and made seven appearances before returning to Darlington. In his first four
Conference matches back with Darlington he scored six goals.
Charlton After trials with
Watford and
Stoke City, and an unsuccessful bid of £80,000 from
Bristol City, Smith signed a three-year contract with
League One club
Charlton Athletic on 31 August 2011; the fee was undisclosed He made his Charlton debut against
FC Halifax Town in the FA Cup: he came on in the 87th minute and crossed for
Bradley Pritchard to score the fourth goal of the match. On 18 January 2012, Smith joined League Two club
Accrington Stanley on loan to the end of the season. Ten days later, he scored a
hat-trick and provided an
assist for
Luke Joyce as Stanley beat
Gillingham 4–3. He returned to his parent club in mid-March after suffering a season-ending knee injury. On 14 August 2012, Smith made his first startand what proved to be last appearancefor Charlton Athletic in a
League Cup defeat to
Leyton Orient. and scored against
Cambridge United on his debut. On 8 March 2013, he joined League One club
Colchester United, also for a month. In July 2013, Smith signed for League Two club
AFC Wimbledon on loan until 1 January 2014. Wearing the number 9 shirt, he made his debut on the opening day of the
2013–14 season in a 1–1 draw with
Torquay United. He scored Swindon's first and third goals as they beat
Shrewsbury Town 3–1 on his debut three days later.
Portsmouth On the final day of the January 2016 transfer window, Smith joined League Two club
Portsmouth on a three-month loan. The move was made permanent at the end of the season for an undisclosed fee. He scored a hat-trick against
Yeovil Town in an
EFL Trophy tie on 30 August, though Portsmouth lost the match 4–3.
Bury On 31 August 2017, Smith signed a two-year contract with
Bury of League One.
Rotherham United On 11 January 2018, Smith signed for fellow League One club
Rotherham United for an undisclosed fee. After an impressive month in which he scored five goals, assisting two others in five matches, Smith was awarded the
EFL League One Player of the Month Award for October 2021. He was named as the side's Player of the Season for 2021–22, having scored 24 goals in all competitions at the time of the award.
Sheffield Wednesday On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Smith had joined
Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer following the expiry of his Rotherham United contract. Smith made his Wednesday debut, against
Portsmouth on 30 July 2022 coming off the bench for
George Byers. His first goal would come against
Bradford City in the
EFL Trophy from the penalty spot. Following his first goal he would score back-to-back
League One goals against
Morecambe and
Ipswich Town which would see him win Wednesday's September player of the month award. He won the EFL Goal of the Month competition for October 2024, for his 25-yard strike against Portsmouth. The following month he won the clubs player of the month trophy for November, after scoring goals against
Watford and
Hull City. Following the end of the
2024–25 season an option was taken on his contract. On 17 July 2025, it was confirmed that Smith's contract had been terminated by mutual consent.
Preston North End On 22 July, Smith signed a two-year contract with
Championship side
Preston North End. He made his debut on the opening day of the season, starting the game in a 1–1 draw against
Queens Park Rangers. ==Career statistics==