Rico Henry

Rico Henry
Henry playing for Walsall in 2015
Personal information
Full name Rico Antonio Henry[1]
Date of birth (1997-07-08) 8 July 1997
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.74 m)
Playing position Left back
Club information
Current team
 Brentford
Number 3
Youth career
0000–2014 Walsall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Walsall 46 (2)
2016– Brentford 20 (0)
National team
2015–2016 England U19 4 (0)
2017 England U20 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:24, 6 May 2018 (UTC)

Rico Antonio Henry (born 8 July 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for Brentford. He is a product of the Walsall academy and is a current England U20 international.

Club career

Walsall

Henry joined Walsall at age 11 and progressed through the youth ranks to make his first non-competitive senior appearance for the club shortly after his 16th birthday, in a pre-season friendly versus Leeds United in July 2013.[2] One year later, he signed his first professional contract after impressing for the club's youth team.[3] Henry received his maiden calls into the first team squad for two League One matches in September and October 2014 respectively,[4] before making his competitive debut with a start in a Football League Trophy northern area semi-final shootout win over Tranmere Rovers on 9 December.[5] He made his league debut four days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 victory over Barnsley.[5] Henry made eight further appearances during the 2014–15 season,[5] but his progress was disrupted by a dislocated shoulder.[6] He signed a two-year contract extension in April 2015 and was named as Walsall's Young Player of the Year.[7][8]

Henry broke into the starting lineup on a full-time basis during the 2015–16 season.[9] He had a successful season, making 44 appearances, scoring three goals, signing a new three-year contract and winning England youth international recognition.[9][10] The Saddlers consistently challenged for promotion during the season and finished in 3rd position to qualify for a place in the 2016 Football League play-offs,[11] but Henry's season ended with a 6–1 aggregate defeat to the eventually-promoted side Barnsley in the semi-finals.[9] He was recognised for his performances during the season, winning the September 2015 Football League Young Player of the Month award,[12] in addition to being named in the League One PFA Team of the Year[13] and receiving a nomination for the Football League Young Player of the Year award.[14]

Henry made three early-2016–17 season appearances,[15] before suffering a dislocation to the same shoulder previously injured in February 2015 after half an hour of 0–0 draw with Oldham Athletic on 13 August 2016.[6] The Oldham appearance proved to be Henry's last for Walsall and he departed the Bescot Stadium on 31 August.[16] He made 57 appearances and scored three goals for the club.[15]

Brentford

On 31 August 2016, Henry signed for Championship side Brentford for an initial fee of £1.5m on a five-year contract,[17] rising to £5 million.[16] The transfer reunited him with former Walsall manager Dean Smith and teammate Romaine Sawyers, while the fee made Henry the Bees' record transfer fee paid for a teenager.[17] He underwent surgery on the dislocated shoulder on 8 September and made his first Brentford appearance on 21 February 2017,[18] with a start in a 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.[15] He immediately replaced Tom Field as head coach Dean Smith's first-choice left back and made 12 appearances before his season was ended by a knee injury suffered in training in early May.[15][19]

Henry returned fit for the start of the 2017–18 season,[20] but his season was ended on his eighth appearance by a serious knee injury suffered in a 2–2 draw with Middlesbrough on 30 September 2017.[21]

International career

On 10 November 2015, Henry received his first call-up to the England U19 squad for friendly matches versus the Netherlands and Japan.[22] He won four caps at U19 level.[23] Henry was named in England's U20 squad for the 2017 Four Nations Tournament and appeared in all three matches as the Young Lions won the competition.[24] Henry was named in the England squad for the 2017 U20 World Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.[25]

Personal life

Henry is a Birmingham City supporter.[2]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 May 2018.
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps GoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Walsall 2014–15[5] League One 9000001[lower-alpha 1]0100
2015–16[9] 35240312[lower-alpha 2]0443
2016–17[15] 2 0 — 1 0 0 0 3 0
Total 462404130573
Brentford 2016–17[15] Championship 12 0 0 0 — — 12 0
2017–18[20] 8 0 0 0 0 0 — 8 0
Total 20 0 0 0 0 0 — 20 0
Career total 662404130773
  1. ↑ Appearance in Football League Trophy.
  2. ↑ Appearances in Football League play-offs.

Honours

England U20

  • Four Nations Tournament: 2017[24]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Brett, Ciaran (31 August 2016). "Get to know: Rico Henry". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 Brett, Ciaran. "Find out more about Brentford's latest summer signing Rico Henry from Walsall". Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "PRO DEAL FOR TALENTED YOUNGSTER". Walsall Football Club. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rico Henry Player Profile – ESPN FC". www.espnfc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Rico Henry in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Rico Henry's Walsall injury fate to be revealed today « Express & Star". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Poole, Andrew. "NEW DEAL FOR RISING STAR". www.saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  8. 1 2 Poole, Andrew. "HOORAY FOR HENRY". www.saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Rico Henry in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Briggs, Daniel. "Rico Henry". www.saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Walsall results for the 2015-2016 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  12. 1 2 Briggs, Daniel. "Rico Henry – Football League Young Player of the Month". www.saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  13. 1 2 "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Leeds United's Lewis Cook named Football League Young Player of the Year". Football League. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Games played by Rico Henry in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  16. 1 2 Moon, Dale. "CLUB STATEMENT: RICO HENRY". Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  17. 1 2 FC, Brentford. "Brentford sign England Youth International Rico Henry from Walsall on a five-year contract". Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  18. ↑ FC, Brentford. "Brentford defender Rico Henry undergoes shoulder surgery". Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "Colin and Woods battling to be fit for Blackburn clash – TEAMtalk | Latest Football News & Transfer Rumours". teamtalk.com. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Games played by Rico Henry in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  21. ↑ "Brentford FC Rico Henry undergoes surgery on knee injury". Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  22. ↑ "Walsall's Rico Henry called up to England under-19 squad « Express & Star". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  23. ↑ "England Matches – Under-19's 2010–20". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  24. 1 2 Brett, Ciaran. "Brentford defender Rico Henry plays as England win Four Nations Tournament". Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  25. ↑ "Brentford FC Rico Henry withdrawn from England U20s with injury". Retrieved 13 August 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.