Sam Clucas

Clucas started his career with Leicester City, joining their academy at the age of 10, leaving at the age of 16, after being told he was too short.[7][8] Following his release from Leicester City, he had a short spell playing for Nettleham in the Central Midlands Football League at the end of the 2008–09 season.[5] He then studied sports development qualification at Lincoln College.[7][6]

He was offered a soccer scholarship in the United States, before signing for Lincoln City at the start of the 2009–10 season after a successful trial period with his hometown club, impressing manager Peter Jackson, who described him as a "real find".[7][8] Whilst on trial with the club he made an appearance in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup final defeat to Scunthorpe United.[7] He made his professional debut on 1 September for Lincoln City in their 1–0 home defeat to Darlington in the Football League Trophy, before being replaced by Chris Fagan in the 63rd minute as a substitute.[9] In late December 2009, manager Chris Sutton announced Clucas would be one of three players to be put on the transfer list.[10] In March 2010, a proposed loan move to Lincoln Moorlands Railway fell through as Northern Counties East League rules prevented member clubs from signing contracted Football League players on short-term loans.[11] Clucas was released by Lincoln City in the summer of 2010.[12]

In August 2010, having successfully attended trials at Bisham Abbey, he was handed a two-year scholarship at the Glenn Hoddle Academy,[13] the move also enabled him to turn out for Spanish Tercera División (fourth tier) side Jerez Industrial.[14] He made 20 appearances for Jerez before returning to England.[15]

Clucas signed for Hereford United in November 2011 after a trial period.[16] Clucas made 18 appearances for Hereford in 2011–12 as they suffered relegation to the Conference Premier.[17] Clucas remained with Hereford for the 2012–13 season where he scored nine goals in 47 appearances as the Bulls finished in 7th position.[18][19]

Clucas playing for Mansfield Town in 2014

On 21 June 2013, Clucas signed a two-year contract with Mansfield Town for a fee of £20,000 plus a 15% sell-on clause which was decided by a tribunal.[20] He had rejected an offer from Crewe Alexandra and chosen to sign for Mansfield as it was closer to his home in Lincoln.[20] Clucas began his Stags career well with a run of five goals in six games and scoring four in a 8–1 win against St. Albans City in the FA Cup.[21] He scored a total of 13 goals in 2013–14 helping Mansfield secure a mid-table position of 11th.[22] Throughout the summer of 2014 Clucas stated his desire to leave Mansfield and play in League One.[23]

On 1 September 2014, the 2014 summer transfer window deadline day, League One side Chesterfield signed Clucas from rivals Mansfield Town on a three-year deal until June 2017 for an undisclosed fee.[24] Under the management of Paul Cook, Clucas played key role in Chesterfield's 2014–15 season, scoring 12 goals in 49 matches as the team reached the League One play-offs where they lost out to Preston North End.[25]

On 27 July 2015, Clucas signed a three-year deal with Championship side Hull City for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £1.3 million.[26] Clucas made his competitive debut for Hull against Huddersfield Town on the first day of the 2015–16 season, scoring the first goal of the game.[27] Clucas played 52 times as the Tigers gained an instant return to the Premier League with a 1–0 win against Sheffield Wednesday in the 2016 Football League Championship play-off Final.[28]

On 13 August 2016, Clucas made a Premier League debut described as "exceptional" against Leicester City,[29] and four days later Clucas signed a new three-year deal with the club.[30] He scored for Hull in the return game in Leicester in March 2017. It was the fifth successive season in which he scored a goal, in a fifth different division, and in an ascending order—the Football Conference in 2012–13, League Two in 2013–14, League One in 2014–15, Football League Championship in 2015–16, and then the Premier League in 2016–17.[31] Hull were relegated back to the Championship following a 4–0 defeat to Crystal Palace on 14 May 2017.[32]

On 23 August 2017, Clucas signed a four-year contract with Premier League club Swansea City for an undisclosed fee.[33] Clucas made his Swansea debut in a 2–0 against Crystal Palace on 26 August 2017.[34] He scored three goals for Swansea, all of which came against Arsenal, once in a 2–1 defeat at the Emirates,[35] and twice in a 3–1 win at the Liberty Stadium in late January.[36] Swansea struggled throughout the 2017–18 campaign with Paul Clement unhappy with player recruitment which left his squad imbalanced.[37][38] Clement was replaced by Carlos Carvalhal in December 2017 and he stated that he was surprised to learn Clucas had struggled for form at the club.[39] Clucas suffered a knee injury towards the end of the season which required surgery.[40] The Swans were relegated to the Championship after a 2–1 defeat to Stoke on the final day.[41]

Clucas joined Stoke City on 9 August 2018 for a fee of £6 million.[42] Clucas missed the first three months of the 2018–19 campaign due to a slow recovery from knee surgery, eventually making his debut against Nottingham Forest on 10 November 2018.[43][44] He scored his first goal for Stoke in a 2–1 win over Derby County on 28 November 2018.[45] Clucas played 28 times for Stoke in 2018–19, scoring three goals as Stoke finished in 16th position.[46] Clucas came in for heavy criticism from supporters after a needless red card against Queens Park Rangers on 9 March 2019.[47][48]