Omar Richards

Omar Richards
Personal information
Full name Omar Tyrell Crawford Richards[1]
Date of birth (1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Lewisham, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.74 m)[2]
Position(s) Left-back, wing-back
Team information
Current team
 Rio Ave
(on loan from Nottingham Forest)
Number 98
Youth career
2008–2013 Fulham
2013–2017 Reading
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Reading 92 (2)
2021–2022 Bayern Munich 12 (0)
2022– Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
2023–2024 → Olympiacos (loan) 10 (0)
2024– → Rio Ave (loan) 2 (0)
International career
2019 England U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 September 2024

Omar Tyrell Crawford Richards (born 15 February 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back or a wing back for Rio Ave on loan from Premier League club Nottingham Forest.

Club career

Reading

Richards played for local teams before he joined Fulham at age 10.[3] Following his release from Fulham Under-16, he first played at Kinetic Academy, and then he signed his first professional contract with Reading under academy manager Eamonn Dolan in July 2016.[4][5][6] Reading's academy coach, David Dodds, converted him from a left-sided forward into a left-back.[7]

Richards made his debut for Reading under coach Jaap Stam on the opening day of the 2017–18 season, coming on as a 59th minute substitute for Jón Daði Böðvarsson following Tiago Ilori's red card.[8] On 30 November 2017, Reading announced that Richards had signed a new deal with club until 2021.[9] He scored his first professional goal in a 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest on 20 February 2018.[10]

Bayern Munich

On 27 May 2021, Bayern Munich announced the signing of Richards to a four-year contract as a free agent once his Reading contract expired in June 2021.[11]

Nottingham Forest

On 10 July 2022, recently promoted Premier League club Nottingham Forest announced the signing of Richards on a four-year contract for an €8.5 million transfer fee.[12][13]

On 20 August 2024, Richards joined Primeira Liga side Rio Ave on a season-long loan.[14]

International career

Born in England, Richards is of Jamaican descent and has expressed an interest in representing the Jamaica national team.[15] On 30 August 2019, Richards received his first international call-up with a place in the England U21 squad.[16] He eventually made his U21 debut on 11 October 2019 as a substitute during a 2–2 draw against Slovenia in Maribor.[17]

Personal life

Richards was born in Lewisham; where he grew up with his mother, a single parent, and two brothers.[3]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 September 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Reading U23 2016–17[18] — — — — 2[c] 0 2 0
Reading 2017–18[19] Championship 13 2 2 0 1 0 — — 16 2
2018–19[20] Championship 10 0 1 0 1 0 — — 12 0
2019–20[21] Championship 28 0 4 1 2 0 — — 34 1
2020–21[22] Championship 41 0 0 0 1 0 — — 42 0
Total 92 2 7 1 5 0 — — 104 3
Bayern Munich 2021–22[23] Bundesliga 12 0 1 0 — 4[d] 0 0 0 17 0
Nottingham Forest 2022–23 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Olympiacos (loan) 2023–24 Super League Greece 10 0 1 0 — 3[e] 0 — 14 0
Rio Ave (loan) 2024–25 Primeira Liga 2 0 0 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Career total 114 2 9 1 5 0 7 0 2 0 139 3
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ One appearance in the UEFA Europa League, and two appearance in the UEFA Conference League

Honours

Bayern Munich

Olympiacos

References

  1. ^ "EFL: Club retained and released lists published". English Football League. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Omar Richards". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "The Long Read: Omar Richards on family and 'growing up' on the pitch". readingfc.co.uk. 6 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Omar Richards". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  5. ^ "15 youngsters sign new pro deals with Reading". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. ^ White, Matt (18 August 2023). "Kinetic graduate Omar Richards opens up on a tough 12 months - | Kinetic Foundation". Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Who is Bayern Munich's new English target Omar Richards?". DW. 13 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Opening day defeat for ten-man Royals". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Omar Richards signs until 2021". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Nottingham Forest 1-1 Reading". BBC Sport. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Omar Richards signs until 2025". FC Bayern Munich. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  12. ^ Nottingham Forest Football Club (10 July 2022). "Omar Richards signs for The Reds". Nottingham Forest Football Club. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  13. ^ Taylor, Paul. "Omar Richards, Nottingham Forest and the curious case of a missing season". The Athletic.
  14. ^ Club, Nottingham Forest Football (20 August 2024). "Richards joins Rio Ave on loan". Nottingham Forest Football Club.
  15. ^ "'Commitment is number one'". jamaica-gleaner.com. 15 December 2021.
  16. ^ "England U21s kick-off a new campaign and Aidy Boothroyd has picked his squad". The FA. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Goals from Eddie Nketiah and Sam Surridge cancelled out as Young Lions tie in Maribor". The FA. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Games played by Omar Richards in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Games played by Omar Richards in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Games played by Omar Richards in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Games played by Omar Richards in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Games played by Omar Richards in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Omar Richards". kicker.de (in German). Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Robert Lewandowski double as Bayern Munich overcome Borussia Dortmund to win the Supercup". Bundesliga Official. Bundesliga. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  25. ^ "El Kaabi swoops to secure Greece's first major European trophy". UEFA. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.