Ross Sykes

Ross Sykes
Ross Sykes in 2023
Personal information
Full name Ross James Sykes[1]
Date of birth (1999-03-26) 26 March 1999 (age 25)[2]
Place of birth Burnley, England
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Union SG
Number 26
Youth career
2010–2012 Burnley
2012–2016 Accrington Stanley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2022 Accrington Stanley 131 (10)
2017–2018 → Southport (loan) 6 (0)
2022– Union SG 71 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 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]

Career

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]

Career statistics

As of match played 1 December 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
Accrington Stanley 2016–17[12] League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3[c] 0 3 0
2017–18[13] 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 3[c] 0 5 0
2018–19[14] League One 20 3 2 0 0 0 — 4[c] 1 26 4
2019–20[15] 31 1 1 0 1 0 — 6[c] 2 39 3
2020–21[16] 9 1 1 0 1 0 — 3[c] 0 14 1
2021–22[17] 39 3 1 0 2 0 — 2[c] 0 44 3
Total 101 8 5 0 4 0 0 0 21 3 131 11
Southport (loan) 2017–18[18] National League North 6 0 0 0 — — 0 0 6 0
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2022–23[19] Belgian Pro League 20 2 1 0 — 5[d] 0 — 26 2
2023–24[20] 24 4 6 1 — 4[e] 0 — 34 5
2024–25[21] 5 1 1 0 — 5[f] 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
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, Belgian Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c d e f Appearances in EFL Trophy
  4. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ One appearance in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ^ 5 appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Union SG

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Accrington Stanley" (PDF). English Football League. p. 1. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Ross Sykes". 11v11. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Ross Sykes profile". Playmaker Stats. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  4. ^ "DEPARTURE: Sykes leaves the Reds after ten years". www.accringtonstanley.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Unity College claim county title!". Burnley Express. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Robinson, Dany (20 May 2016). "Nathan Webb and Ross Sykes have both signed professional contracts with Accrington Stanley". Accrington Stanley F.C. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Accrington Stanley vs. Crewe Alexandra - 30 August 2016 - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Accrington Stanley: Scott Brown and Aaron Chapman offered new deals". BBC Sport. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  9. ^ "DEPARTURE: Sykes leaves the Reds after ten years". www.accringtonstanley.co.uk. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Ross Sykes: Accrington Stanley centre-back signs for Union SG". BBC Sport. 25 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Former Accrington Stanley defender grabs late goal to send Union St Gilloise through to first Belgian Cup final since 1914". OneFootball. 28 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Ross Sykes | Football Stats | Accrington Stanley | Season 2021/2022 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  18. ^ Ross Sykes at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  21. ^ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  22. ^ "Union St Gilloise end 110 year wait for third Belgian Cup victory". One Football. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.