Jerome Sinclair Explained

Jerome Sinclair
Full Name:Jerome Terence Sinclair[1]
Birth Date:20 September 1996
Birth Place:Birmingham, England
Height:1.81m (05.94feet)[2]
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:2006–2011
Youthclubs1:West Bromwich Albion
Youthyears2:2011–2012
Youthclubs2:Liverpool
Years1:2012–2016
Clubs1:Liverpool
Caps1:2
Goals1:0
Years2:2015
Clubs2:Wigan Athletic (loan)
Caps2:1
Goals2:0
Years3:2016–2021
Clubs3:Watford
Caps3:9
Goals3:0
Years4:2017
Clubs4:Birmingham City (loan)
Caps4:5
Goals4:0
Years5:2018
Clubs5:Sunderland (loan)
Caps5:13
Goals5:1
Years6:2019
Clubs6:Oxford United (loan)
Caps6:16
Goals6:4
Years7:2019–2020
Clubs7:VVV-Venlo (loan)
Caps7:23
Goals7:0
Years8:2020–2021
Clubs8:CSKA Sofia (loan)
Caps8:18
Goals8:1
Nationalyears1:2011–2012
Nationalteam1:England U16
Nationalcaps1:5
Nationalgoals1:3
Nationalyears2:2012
Nationalteam2:England U17
Nationalcaps2:5
Nationalgoals2:1
Club-Update:18:26, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
Totalcaps:87
Totalgoals:6

Jerome Terence Sinclair is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England up to under-17 level.

Jerome spent his youth at West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool, making his senior debut for the latter at the age of 16 years and 6 days in 2012, their youngest player of all time. He went on to make four further appearances for Liverpool after a brief loan spell at Wigan Athletic where he appeared just once. He signed for Watford in July 2016 for a fee of £4 million. He spent the second half of the 2016–17 season on loan to Championship club Birmingham City and the following season on loan at Sunderland and then to Oxford United. He then had loan spells abroad, with VVV-Venlo and CSKA Sofia before leaving Watford when his contract expired at the end of the 2020–21 season.[3]

Early life

Sinclair was born in Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham, and raised in the Quinton district.[4] He began playing organised football as a seven-year-old with Phoenix United, part of a scheme designed to use sport to keep youngsters off the streets and promote positive values. He was spotted while playing for Phoenix United, invited to a trial with West Bromwich Albion, and joined that club as a schoolboy at the age of eight.[5] As a boy, he supported Arsenal and idolised Thierry Henry.[6] When Sinclair joined Liverpool's youth academy, his father moved to Liverpool with him, while his mother, sister and four brothers remained at home in Birmingham.[7] While with West Brom, he had attended Sandwell Academy;[8] [9] as customary with Liverpool's academy recruits, he continued his education at Rainhill High School in St Helens.[10] He got good grades in his GCSEs,[7] and went on to study for an A level in business studies.[11]

Club career

Liverpool

Academy

Liverpool signed Sinclair as a 14-year-old from the West Bromwich Albion youth academy in the summer of 2011.[12] The Liverpool staff compared him to Raheem Sterling.[13] He spent most of the 2011–12 season with the Under-16s before coach Mike Marsh gave him a run of four games with the Under-18s at the end of the season. He impressed greatly in those games, though he failed to find the back of the net. On 14 July 2012, Sinclair came off the bench to score a hat-trick against Exeter City in an Under-18s pre-season friendly. In all, Sinclair netted eight goals in the six Under-18s pre-season friendly games in the run up to the 2012–13 Academy Under-18s season. He went on to score his first competitive goal for the Under-18s on 25 August 2012, hitting a brace in a 3–3 draw with Crystal Palace.

Reserves and first-team debut

While still only 15, Sinclair was called up to Rodolfo Borrell's NextGen Series side for the away match with defending champions Inter Milan in September 2012, after first-team manager Brendan Rodgers included a number of young players in his Europa League squad. He started the match and performed well, winning a penalty that Krisztián Adorján converted and going close himself on more than one occasion.[14] Rodgers called Sinclair up to the first team for the League Cup third-round tie away to his boyhood club, West Bromwich Albion, on 26 September. At the age of 16 years and 6 days, he came off the bench in the 81st minute to replace Samed Yeşil in the 2–1 win at The Hawthorns, thus breaking Jack Robinson's record as Liverpool's youngest ever player.[15] For the remainder of the 2012–13 season Sinclair continued to play for Liverpool U18s, but his 2013–14 season was disrupted by injury.[16]

Up to the beginning of March 2015, Sinclair scored 22 goals for Liverpool youth teams at various levels, including 6 goals in 7 UEFA Youth League games[17] as well as an impressive finish against Manchester United U21, beating Víctor Valdés at his near post,[18] and a solo effort against Chelsea U21.[16] He was one of several youngsters to travel to a Europa League tie against Beşiktaş in February, but was not included in the matchday squad as Liverpool were eliminated on penalties.[19]

On 16 March 2015, Sinclair was loaned to Championship side Wigan Athletic, where he linked up with academy teammate Sheyi Ojo.[20] The next day, he made his Football League debut in what proved to be his only Wigan appearance, replacing Marc-Antoine Fortuné for the final eight minutes of a 2–0 loss to Watford at the DW Stadium.[21] On returning to Liverpool, Sinclair made his Premier League debut as a 68th-minute substitute for Rickie Lambert in a 1–1 draw away to champions Chelsea on 10 May.[22]

On his first appearance of the 2015–16 season, away to Exeter City in the FA Cup on 8 January 2016, Sinclair scored his first senior goal for Liverpool in a 2–2 draw.[23] Ten days later he confirmed that he would leave Liverpool at the end of the season, suggesting that he wanted to play in Spain.[24] In April, an offer from AFC Bournemouth of £4 million plus add-ons was accepted by the club but rejected by the player.[25]

Watford

In the January 2016 transfer window, Liverpool had rejected an offer of £1.5 million for Sinclair from Premier League club Watford. On 21 May, Sinclair agreed to join that club when his current contract expired.[26] Because Sinclair was aged under 24, Liverpool were due a developmental fee; the clubs settled on £4 million, and Sinclair signed a five-year contract.[27] He did not make his debut until 3 December, as a 94th-minute substitute in a defeat by West Bromwich Albion,[28] and made his first start a few days later against Manchester City, a match in which City won at home for the first time since mid-September and BBC Sport's reporter described Sinclair as "a peripheral figure".[29] An approach in late December by Championship club Brentford to take him on loan was rebuffed because manager Walter Mazzarri felt he was needed as cover,[30] and Sinclair scored his first goal for Watford in their FA Cup third-round tie against Burton Albion on 7 January 2017.[31] Towards the end of the transfer window, Mazzarri stated that Sinclair needed to gain experience and was free to go out on loan if he so wished.[32]

Birmingham City (loan)

On 31 January 2017, Sinclair moved to Championship club Birmingham City on loan until the end of the season.[33] He went straight into the starting eleven for the next match, at home to Fulham, partnering Lukas Jutkiewicz, and was replaced after 67 minutes with the score still goalless; Birmingham won the match 1–0.[34] He appeared regularly during February, but the last of his five appearances came as a very late substitute in a home defeat against Leeds United on 3 March.

Sunderland (loan)

Having played just 27 minutes of Premier League football for his parent club in the 2017–18 season, Sinclair joined Sunderland, newly relegated to League One, on loan for the 2018–19 season,[35] but the loan was cut short by mutual agreement in January 2019.[36]

Oxford United (loan)

On transfer deadline day in January 2019, Oxford United announced that they had signed Sinclair on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[37] His first Oxford goals came in a 2–1 home victory over Scunthorpe United on 2 March 2019, in which he scored both Oxford goals.[38]

VVV-Venlo (loan)

He signed for Dutch club VVV-Venlo on loan, for the 2019–20 season.[39]

CSKA Sofia (loan)

On 5 October 2020, Sinclair moved to CSKA Sofia on a one-year loan.[40]

As a free agent

After a year without a club, Sinclair rejoined Oxford on a trial basis during the 2022–23 pre-season, playing his first match in over a year in a friendly against Banbury United.[41] However, he did not earn a contract, and by January 2023, he appeared to have stepped away from football to focus on other business interests, including owning a branch of fried chicken chain Morley's.[42]

International career

Sinclair has represented England at under-16 and under-17 level. He made his under-16 debut on 27 October 2011,[43] and scored as England beat Wales 4–0 in the 2011 Victory Shield.[44] He also scored twice in the 2012 Montaigu Tournament, earning England wins against host nation France, and Morocco.[45] He scored his first goal for the under-17 team on 31 August 2012, opening the scoring in a 4–1 win against Turkey.[46] He played twice in the 2013 European U17 Championship qualifying round matches in Estonia,[47] and was selected for the elite round of qualifying but had to withdraw from the squad because of injury.[48]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool2012–13Premier League0000100010
2013–14Premier League00000000
2014–15Premier League2000000020
2015–16Premier League0021000021
Total2021100051
Wigan Athletic (loan)2014–15Championship1010
Watford2016–17Premier League50210071
2017–18Premier League40100050
2020–21Championship00002020
Total903120141
Birmingham City (loan)2016–17Championship5050
Sunderland (loan)2018–19League One131300031192
Oxford United (loan)2018–19League One164164
VVV-Venlo (loan)2019–20Eredivisie23010240
CSKA Sofia (loan)2020–21[49] First League1815240273
Career total876144307111111

Honours

CSKA Sofia

2020–21[50]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists . Premier League . 26 June 2020 . 12 July 2020.
  2. Web site: Jerome Sinclair . Watford F.C. . 26 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190330221325/https://www.watfordfc.com/teams/first-team/jerome-sinclair-0 . 30 March 2019.
  3. Web site: News: Retain & Release List confirmed . Watford F.C. . 18 May 2021 . 28 May 2021.
  4. News: Birmingham City's Jerome Sinclair: This is why I couldn't turn Gianfranco Zola down . Aidan . McCartney . Birmingham Mail . 31 January 2017 . 3 February 2017.
  5. News: Phoenix United – giving talented kids a goal . BBC Black Country . 9 September 2008 . 3 February 2017.
  6. Web site: Meet our NexLions stars: Part two . Steve . Hunter . Liverpool F.C. . 13 December 2012 . 3 February 2017.
  7. News: Football: Jerome Sinclair could be the Reds' next star . Gary . Lim . The New Paper . Singapore . 2 October 2014 . 3 February 2017 . 6 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170206063922/http://news.asiaone.com/news/sports/football-jerome-sinclair-could-be-reds-next-star?nopaging=1 . dead .
  8. Sports round-up . Ashley . Bailey . The Student Voice . Sandwell Academy . 23 . Spring 2011.
  9. Web site: 2010–2011 competitions: ESFA Under 14 Premier League Schools' Cup: Round 6 . English Schools' Football Association . 5 February 2017.
  10. News: Videos: Homework is as important as footwork, Brendan Rodgers tells the next generation of Liverpool FC stars . Phil . Kirkbride . Liverpool Echo . 6 November 2013 . 3 February 2017.
  11. News: Soup kitchens to superstars . https://web.archive.org/web/20150415052823/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/sport/football/Premiership/article1500239.ece . dead . 15 April 2015 . Jonathan . Northcroft . Sunday Times . London . 28 December 2014 . 3 February 2017.
  12. News: Liverpool teenager Jerome Sinclair set to become club's youngest ever player aged 16 years and six days . The Daily Telegraph . London . 26 September 2012 . 2 February 2017.
  13. News: Ciss is one for Kenny . The People . London . 5 June 2011 . 54 . 2 February 2017 . Infotrac Newsstand . subscription.
  14. News: Liverpool youngsters edged out by NextGen champions Inter Milan . Adrian . Back . International Business Times . 20 September 2012 . 2 February 2017.
  15. News: West Brom 1–2 Liverpool . Mandeep . Sanghera . BBC Sport . 26 September 2012 . 2 February 2017.
  16. News: Liverpool FC U21s 2–0 Chelsea U21s: Jerome Sinclair could be next Academy graduate heading to first team and Sergi Canos' form going from strength to strength – five things we learned . Andy . Kelly . Liverpool Echo . 3 March 2015 . 2 February 2017.
  17. Web site: UEFA Youth League: Liverpool FC . UEFA . 10 April 2015 . 2 February 2017.
  18. News: Manchester United U21s beat Liverpool 2–1 as Victor Valdes makes first appearance for the club . Sky Sports . 27 January 2015 . 2 February 2017.
  19. News: Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho absent for Liverpool at Besiktas . Sky Sports . 25 February 2015 . 2 February 2017.
    News: Besiktas 1–0 Liverpool . Mike . Whalley . BBC Sport . 26 February 2015 . 2 February 2017.
  20. News: Sinclair joins Wigan on youth loan deal . Liverpool F.C. . 16 March 2015 . 17 March 2015.
  21. News: Wigan 0–2 Watford . BBC Sport . 3 December 2015 . 17 March 2015.
  22. News: Chelsea 1–1 Liverpool . Marc . Higginson . BBC Sport . 10 May 2015 . 13 July 2015.
  23. News: Exeter City 2–2 Liverpool . Gary . Rose . BBC Sport . 8 January 2016 . 8 January 2016.
  24. News: Jerome Sinclair: Liverpool youngster to leave the club . Simon . Stone . BBC Sport . 18 January 2016 . 2 February 2017.
  25. News: Liverpool hope for Sinclair tribunal windfall . Neil . Jones . Liverpool Echo . 23 May 2016 . 2 February 2017.
  26. News: Liverpool striker Jerome Sinclair to join Watford on four-year contract . Neil . Jones . Liverpool Echo . 21 May 2016 . 2 February 2017.
  27. News: Jerome Sinclair: Watford sign out-of-contract Liverpool striker . BBC Sport . 30 June 2016 . 1 July 2016.
  28. News: West Bromwich Albion 3–1 Watford . BBC Sport . 3 December 2016 . 2 February 2017.
  29. News: Manchester City 2–0 Watford . Jonathan . Jurejko . BBC Sport . 13 December 2016 . 2 February 2017.
  30. News: Former Liverpool striker Jerome Sinclair told to fight for his place at Watford . TalkSport . 28 December 2016 . 2 February 2017.
  31. News: Watford 2–0 Burton Albion . BBC Sport . 7 January 2017 . 2 February 2017.
  32. News: Watford boss admits Nottingham Forest & Birmingham City target Jerome Sinclair can leave on loan . Matt . Storey . Hertfordshire Mercury . 30 January 2017 . 2 February 2017.
  33. News: Birmingham sign Arsenal's Krystian Bielik and Watford's Jerome Sinclair on loan . BBC Sport . 31 January 2017 . 2 February 2017.
  34. News: Birmingham City 1 Fulham 0 – report, stats and video as Gianfranco Zola picks up first win in charge . Brian . Dick . Birmingham Mail . 4 February 2017 . 5 February 2017.
  35. News: Jerome Sinclair: Watford forward loaned to Sunderland for the 2018–19 season . BBC Sport . 25 July 2018 . 30 July 2018.
  36. News: Jerome Sinclair looks set for swift Sunderland reunion as he heads for League One rivals . Sunderland Echo . 31 January 2019 . Phil . Smitrh . 31 January 2019.
  37. News: Deadline day: Watford striker Jerome Sinclair joins Oxford United on loan . David . Pritchard . Oxford Mail . 31 January 2019 . 31 January 2019.
  38. Web site: Oxford United 2 Scunthorpe 1 . BBC Sport . 2 March 2019 . 2 March 2019.
  39. News: Watford forward Jerome Sinclair joins VVV-Venlo on loan . Anthony . Matthews . Watford Observer . 29 June 2019 . 2 August 2019.
  40. Web site: Official: loan moves for Peñaranda and Sinclair. Watford F.C.. 5 October 2020. 28 May 2021.
  41. News: Oxford United team news for pre-season friendlies as Jerome Sinclair set to play. Oxford Mail. 13 July 2022.
  42. News: Jerome Sinclair: The Liverpool prodigy who now owns a fried-chicken takeaway. The Athletic. 7 January 2023. 9 April 2023.
  43. Web site: Profile: Jerome Sinclair . The Football Association . 2 February 2017 . 4 September 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140904210635/http://www.thefa.com/England/All-Teams/Players/S/jerome-sinclair . dead .
  44. Web site: Gilliead stars in England win . Dan . King . Newcastle United F.C. . 27 October 2011 . 2 February 2017.
  45. Book: Playfair Football Annual 2012–2013 . Glenda . Rollin . Jack . Rollin . amp . Headline . London . 2012 . 409 . 978-0-7553-6357-5.
  46. Web site: St George's Park Tournament (U-17 National Team) England 4 Turkey 1 . Turkish Football Association . 2 February 2017.
  47. Web site: UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2013: Jerome Sinclair . UEFA . 27 October 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121028224459/http://www.uefa.com/under17/season=2013/teams/player=250056570/index.html . 28 October 2012.
  48. Web site: Gilliead called up . Dan . King . Newcastle United F.C. . 20 March 2013 . 2 February 2017.
  49. Web site: J. Sinclair: Summary . Soccerway . Perform Group . 15 January 2023.
  50. Web site: Arda vs. CSKA Sofia 0–1: Summary . Soccerway . Perform Group . 15 January 2023.