Rico Henry

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 against Leeds United in July 2013.[5] One year later, he signed his first professional contract after impressing for the club's youth team.[6] Henry received his maiden calls into the first team squad for two League One matches in September and October 2014 respectively,[7] 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.[8] He made his league debut four days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 victory over Barnsley.[8] Henry made eight further appearances during the 2014–15 season,[8] but his progress was disrupted by a dislocated shoulder.[9] He signed a two-year contract extension in April 2015 and was named as Walsall's Young Player of the Year.[10][11]

Henry broke into the starting line-up on a full-time basis during the 2015–16 season.[12] He had a successful season, making 44 appearances, scoring three goals, signing a new three-year contract and winning England youth international recognition.[12][13] Walsall consistently challenged for promotion during the season and finished in third position to qualify for a place in the 2016 League One play-offs,[14] but Henry's season ended with a 6–1 aggregate defeat to the eventually-promoted club Barnsley in the semi-finals.[12] He was recognised for his performances during the season, winning the September 2015 Football League Young Player of the Month award,[15] in addition to being named in the League One PFA Team of the Year and receiving a nomination for the Football League Young Player of the Year award.[16]

Henry made three early-2016–17 season appearances,[17][12] 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.[9] The Oldham appearance proved to be Henry's last for Walsall and he departed the Bescot Stadium on 31 August.[18] He made 57 appearances and scored three goals for the club.[19]

On 31 August 2016, Henry signed for Championship club Brentford for an initial fee of £1.5m on a five-year contract,[20] rising to £5 million.[18] The transfer reunited Henry with former Walsall manager Dean Smith and the fee made him the Bees' record transfer fee paid for a teenager.[20] He underwent surgery on the dislocated shoulder on 8 September and after returning to fitness, he made his first Brentford appearance on 21 February 2017,[21] with a start in a 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.[19] 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 2017.[19][22]

Henry returned fit for the start of the 2017–18 season,[23] 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.[24] Henry returned to full-contact training in October 2018 and on 24 November,[25] he made his first appearance for nearly 14 months, coincidentally against Middlesbrough, with a late substitute appearance in a 2–1 defeat.[26] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over Stoke City on 12 January 2019 and his performances throughout the month led to his nomination for the PFA Fans' Player of the Month award.[27] A foot injury suffered in February saw Henry miss two months of the season and he finished an injury-affected campaign with 16 appearances and one goal.[26][28] He began the 2019–20 season fully fit and signed a new four-year contract in August 2019.[29]