| Billy Sass-Davies | |
| Fullname: | William John Sass-Davies[1] |
| Birth Date: | 2000 2, df=y[2] |
| Birth Place: | Abergele, Wales |
| Height: | [3] |
| Currentclub: | Hartlepool United |
| Clubnumber: | 17 |
| Position: | Defender |
| Youthyears1: | –2017 |
| Youthclubs1: | Crewe Alexandra |
| Years1: | 2017–2024 |
| Clubs1: | Crewe Alexandra |
| Caps1: | 35 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2018 |
| Clubs2: | → Colwyn Bay (loan) |
| Caps2: | 8 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs3: | → Leek Town (loan) |
| Caps3: | 10 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2019 |
| Clubs4: | → FC United of Manchester (loan) |
| Caps4: | 8 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2019 |
| Clubs5: | → Altrincham (loan) |
| Caps5: | 2 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2019 |
| Clubs6: | → AFC Telford United (loan) |
| Caps6: | 6 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Years7: | 2020 |
| Clubs7: | → Ashton United (loan) |
| Caps7: | 5 |
| Goals7: | 1 |
| Years8: | 2020 |
| Clubs8: | → Altrincham (loan) |
| Caps8: | 7 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2021 |
| Clubs9: | → Yeovil Town (loan) |
| Caps9: | 22 |
| Goals9: | 1 |
| Years10: | 2023 |
| Clubs10: | → Woking (loan) |
| Caps10: | 7 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Years11: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs11: | → Boreham Wood (loan) |
| Caps11: | 36 |
| Goals11: | 4 |
| Years12: | 2024– |
| Clubs12: | Hartlepool United |
| Caps12: | 3 |
| Goals12: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017–2018 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2021 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 22:19, 20 August 2024 (UTC) |
| Ntupdate: | 18:27, 16 November 2021 (UTC) |
William John Sass-Davies (born 17 February 2000) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for National League club Hartlepool United. He has also represented Wales at under-19 and under-21 levels.
Sass-Davies signed professional terms with Crewe in July 2017. After being on the substitutes bench for the opening five games of the 2017–18 season, he made his first-team debut, aged 17, on 29 August 2017, being named in the starting line-up in an EFL Trophy group stage game against Newcastle United U21s at Gresty Road.[4]
In February 2018 he joined Colwyn Bay on loan.[5]
He joined Northern Premier League side Leek Town on loan in November 2018.[6]
In January 2019 he joined FC United of Manchester on loan[7] making his debut, and being voted man of the match, the next day in a victory in a league match against Bradford Park Avenue.[8] In March 2019, he joined Altrincham on loan and made one appearance, as a second-half substitute, in a 1–0 win at York City.[9] [10] On 19 April 2019, Sass-Davies made his first league start for Crewe, playing in a 2–0 win over Yeovil Town at Gresty Road.[11]
He was offered a new contract by Crewe at the end of the 2018–19 season.[12] During the 2019–20 season, Sass-Davies had a loan spell at AFC Telford United, and in February 2020 went on a month's loan to Northern Premier League side Ashton United,[13] making his debut against Witton Albion on 8 February 2020.[14]
Sass-Davies scored his first professional goal, for Crewe, in a 2–1 defeat to Lincoln City in the first round of the EFL Cup at Gresty Road on 5 September 2020.[15]
On 7 November 2020, he rejoined Altrincham on loan for a month.[16] He made seven league appearances during his second loan spell at the club. On 3 December 2020, Sass-Davies was recalled by Crewe Alexandra following injuries to several first-team players.[17]
On 9 February 2021, Sass-Davies joined National League side Yeovil Town on a one-month loan deal,[18] making his debut in a 1–0 defeat at Eastleigh later the same day.[19] He scored his first league goal for Yeovil in their 4–1 win at Barnet on 2 March 2021.[20] The loan was then extended for a further month,[21] and eventually continued until the end of Yeovil's season in late May. Meanwhile, on 13 May 2021, Crewe announced that it had triggered a contract extension.[22]
Sass-Davies was sent off after 13 minutes of Crewe's second game of the 2021–22 season, an EFL Cup first round tie at Hartlepool United on 10 August 2021.[23] He made his next appearance in the EFL Cup second round tie at Premier League Leeds United, where Crewe conceded three late goals to lose 3–0,[24] but did not make a league appearance for Crewe (his first in three seasons) until 25 September 2021 in a 1–1 draw at Rotherham United. On 6 January 2022, the club announced Sass-Davies had signed an extended deal through to 2024.[25] In February 2022, he suffered a blood clot in his calf ruling him out for the remainder of the season.[26]
On 4 March 2023, Sass-Davies joined National League side Woking on a 28-day loan deal,[27] making his debut as a late substitute in Woking's 1–0 win at Yeovil Town on the same day.[28]
Sass-Davies was made available for transfer by Crewe at the end of the 2022–23 season.[29] On 1 September 2023, he and teammate Regan Griffiths joined National League side Boreham Wood on loan deals running to 31 January 2024.[30] He made his debut on 2 September 2023, in a 1–0 home defeat by Barnet, coming on as a half-time substitute for Kwesi Appiah.[31] On his seventh appearance for Boreham Wood, Sass-Davies was sent off at Ebbsfleet United.[32] He scored his first Boreham Wood goal on 24 October 2023, helping his side to a 3–1 league win at Dagenham & Redbridge.[33] On 29 January 2024, Sass-Davies's loan deal at Boreham Wood was extended to the end of the season.[34] Sass-Davies was released by Crewe at the end of the 2023–24 season.[35]
Following a successful trial, Sass-Davies signed for National League side Hartlepool United on 3 August 2024.[36]
He was called up by the Wales national under-19 football team in September 2017 to play against Iceland,[37] starting four matches, including a UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifier against Kazakhstan on 13 November 2017.[38]
In March 2021, Sass-Davies was called up to the Wales national under-21 football team for the first time,[39] playing all 90 minutes in Wales's 2–1 defeat by Ireland at Colliers Park, Wrexham on 26 March 2021.[40] Manager Paul Bodin then selected a largely unchanged squad, including Sass-Davies, for the side's Euro 2023 qualifying game against Moldova on 4 June 2021;[41] Sass-Davies played the whole goal-less draw at Stebonheath Park, Llanelli.[42] In August 2021, Sass-Davies was called up for the under-21 side to play against Bulgaria in Sofia on 7 September 2021,[43] and scored the second goal in Wales's 4–0 victory.[44] He was then called up for under-21 matches against Moldova and the Netherlands on 8 and 12 October 2021 respectively,[45] earning two further caps,[46] and for under-21 matches against Gibraltar and Switzerland a month later.[47]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Crewe Alexandra | 2017–18 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | League One | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | League Two | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 48 | 1 | |||
| Leek Town (loan) | 2018–19 | NPL Division One West | 10 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | |||
| FC United of Manchester (loan) | 2018–19 | National League North | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Altrincham (loan) | 2018–19 | National League North | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| AFC Telford United (loan) | 2019–20 | National League North | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||||
| Ashton United (loan) | 2019–20 | NPL Premier Division | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Altrincham (loan) | 2020–21 | National League | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Yeovil Town (loan) | 2020–21 | National League | 22 | 1 | — | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||||
| Woking (loan) | 2022–23 | National League | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Boreham Wood (loan) | 2023–24 | National League | 36 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 4 | |||
| Hartlepool United | 2024–25 | National League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 141 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 156 | 9 | |||