| Ross Sykes | |
| Fullname: | Ross James Sykes[1] |
| Birth Date: | 1999 3, df=yes[2] |
| Birth Place: | Burnley, England |
| Height: | 1.96m[3] |
| Position: | Defender |
| Currentclub: | Union SG |
| Clubnumber: | 26 |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2012 |
| Youthclubs1: | Burnley |
| Youthyears2: | 2012–2016 |
| Youthclubs2: | Accrington Stanley |
| Years1: | 2016–2022 |
| Clubs1: | Accrington Stanley |
| Caps1: | 131 |
| Goals1: | 10 |
| Years2: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs2: | → Southport (loan) |
| Caps2: | 6 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2022– |
| Clubs3: | Union SG |
| Caps3: | 71 |
| Goals3: | 9 |
| Club-Update: | 1 December 2024 |
Ross James Sykes (born 26 March 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Belgian Pro League club Union SG.[4]
Sykes was born in Burnley, Lancashire and attended Unity College in the town.[5] He started his career with local side Burnley, playing for their youth team between the ages of eleven and thirteen before being released.[6] After nearly giving up the game he was persuaded to go on trial at Accrington Stanley by his mother and was later signed up by the club.[6] In May 2016, he signed his first professional contract on a two-year deal, despite being a first-year scholar.[6] He made his senior debut for the club in August 2016, starting in the 3–0 defeat to Crewe Alexandra in EFL Trophy group-stage.[7] Accrington exercised a contractual option at the end of the 2017–18 season to retain him.[8]
On 23 June 2022, Sykes joined Belgian First Division A side Union SG for an undisclosed fee.[9] [10] On 28 February 2024, he scored a goal in stoppage time of 2–0 victory over Club Brugge in the Belgian Cup semi-final second leg, which granted Union SG a 3–2 win on aggregate and qualification to their first final since 1914.[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Accrington Stanley | 2016–17 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | League One | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | 26 | 4 | |||
| 2019–20 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | 39 | 3 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22[12] | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 44 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 101 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 131 | 11 | |||
| Southport (loan) | 2017–18 | National League North | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Royale Union Saint-Gilloise | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2023–24 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 34 | 5 | |||||
| 2024–25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 11 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 49 | 7 | 8 | 1 | — | 14 | 1 | — | 71 | 9 | |||||
| Career total | 156 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 3 | 208 | 20 | |||
Union SG