Daniel Andrew Harding (born 23 December 1983) is an English footballer who last played as a defender for National League South club Whitehawk. Harding began his career with Brighton & Hove Albion and has also played for Leeds United, Ipswich Town, Southend United, Reading, Southampton, Nottingham Forest and Millwall before joining Eastleigh and then Whitehawk in September 2016. Harding is a former England under-21 player. Career Brighton & Hove Albion Harding joined the Brighton & Hove Albion youth scheme in 1999 aged sixteen. After a successful run in the reserves he made his first Albion appearance as a substitute for Shaun Wilkinson in the 79th minute in a 2–0 home loss against Norwich City on 17 August 2002. This was his only appearance in the 2002–03 season after he suffered a back injury in October. In April 2003 Harding signed his first professional contract with the club. After impressing in 2003–04 pre-season friendlies, Harding spent the first half of the season on the substitutes' bench with seven appearances. Soon after the appointment of manager Mark McGhee, Harding was selected to make his full debut against AFC Bournemouth on 21 February 2004 following the suspension of Kerry Mayo. The game ended in a 3–0 win for Bournemouth. Harding remained in the starting eleven for the remainder of the 2003–04 season and helped the club gain promotion to the Championship after beating Bristol City 1–0 in the play-off final in Cardiff. Harding finished the season making twenty-three appearances. Harding was sent-off in the second match of the 2004–2005 season, a 2–0 loss to Plymouth Argyle. After the game manager Mark McGhee defended Harding and he regained his first team place and then scored his first goal for the club, in a 1–0 win over against Rotherham United. However, in the next game against Millwall Harding was at fault for the two goals which saw Brighton lose 2–0. He was also dropped by McGhee after making mistakes during a match against Stoke City. Despite this, Harding helped to keep the club in the Championship 2004–05, finishing 20th, their highest league position in 14 years. After two seasons in which England's U21 coach Peter Taylor and a number of Premier League clubs had reportedly taken an interest in him, Harding was preparing to move on. With his contract expiring at the end of the 2004–05 season, he expressed an interest in a new long-term