Rico Henry

Rico Antonio Henry (born 8 July 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for Championship club Brentford. He is a product of the Walsall academy and represented England at U19 and U20 level.

Rico Henry

Henry playing for Walsall in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Rico Antonio Henry[1]
Date of birth	(1997-07-08) 8 July 1997[2]
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[3]
Playing position(s)	Left back[4]
Club information
Current team	Brentford
Number	3
Youth career
2008–2014	Walsall
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	Walsall	46	(2)
2016–	Brentford	80	(1)
National team
2015–2016	England U19	4	(0)
2017	England U20	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:41, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Walsall

Henry joined Walsall at age 11 and progressed through the youth ranks to make his first non-competitive senior appearance for the club shortly after his 16th birthday, in a pre-season friendly against Leeds United in July 2013.[5] One year later, he signed his first professional contract after impressing for the club's youth team.[6] Henry received his maiden calls into the first team squad for two League One matches in September and October 2014 respectively,[7] before making his competitive debut with a start in a Football League Trophy northern area semi-final shootout win over Tranmere Rovers on 9 December.[8] He made his league debut four days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 victory over Barnsley.[8] Henry made eight further appearances during the 2014–15 season,[8] but his progress was disrupted by a dislocated shoulder.[9] He signed a two-year contract extension in April 2015 and was named as Walsall's Young Player of the Year.[10][11]

Henry broke into the starting line-up on a full-time basis during the 2015–16 season.[12] He had a successful season, making 44 appearances, scoring three goals, signing a new three-year contract and winning England youth international recognition.[12][13] Walsall consistently challenged for promotion during the season and finished in third position to qualify for a place in the 2016 League One play-offs,[14] but Henry's season ended with a 6–1 aggregate defeat to the eventually-promoted club Barnsley in the semi-finals.[12] He was recognised for his performances during the season, winning the September 2015 Football League Young Player of the Month award,[15] in addition to being named in the League One PFA Team of the Year and receiving a nomination for the Football League Young Player of the Year award.[16]

Henry made three early-2016–17 season appearances,[17][12] before suffering a dislocation to the same shoulder previously injured in February 2015 after half an hour of 0–0 draw with Oldham Athletic on 13 August 2016.[9] The Oldham appearance proved to be Henry's last for Walsall and he departed the Bescot Stadium on 31 August.[18] He made 57 appearances and scored three goals for the club.[19]

Brentford

On 31 August 2016, Henry signed for Championship club Brentford for an initial fee of £1.5m on a five-year contract,[20] rising to £5 million.[18] The transfer reunited Henry with former Walsall manager Dean Smith and the fee made him the Bees' record transfer fee paid for a teenager.[20] He underwent surgery on the dislocated shoulder on 8 September and after returning to fitness, he made his first Brentford appearance on 21 February 2017,[21] with a start in a 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.[19] He immediately replaced Tom Field as head coach Dean Smith's first-choice left back and made 12 appearances before his season was ended by a knee injury suffered in training in early May 2017.[19][22]

Henry returned fit for the start of the 2017–18 season,[23] but his season was ended on his eighth appearance by a serious knee injury suffered in a 2–2 draw with Middlesbrough on 30 September 2017.[24] Henry returned to full-contact training in October 2018 and on 24 November,[25] he made his first appearance for nearly 14 months, coincidentally against Middlesbrough, with a late substitute appearance in a 2–1 defeat.[26] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over Stoke City on 12 January 2019 and his performances throughout the month led to his nomination for the PFA Fans' Player of the Month award.[27] A foot injury suffered in February saw Henry miss two months of the season and he finished an injury-affected campaign with 16 appearances and one goal.[26][28]

Henry began the 2019–20 season fully fit and signed a new four-year contract in August 2019.[29] He made a career-high 51 appearances during the season, which culminated in defeat in the 2020 Championship play-off Final.[30]

International career

On 10 November 2015, Henry received his first call-up to the England U19 squad for friendly matches against the Netherlands and Japan.[31] He won four caps at U19 level.[32] Henry was named in England's U20 squad for the 2017 Four Nations Tournament and appeared in all three matches as the Young Lions won the competition.[33] Henry was named in the England squad for the 2017 U20 World Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.[34]

Personal life

Henry was born in Birmingham, West Midlands[35] and is a Birmingham City supporter.[5]

Career statistics

As of match played 4 August 2020

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Walsall	2014–15[8]	League One	9	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	10	0
	2015–16[12]	League One	35	2	4	0	3	1	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	44	3
	2016–17[19]	League One	2	0	—		1	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		46	2	4	0	4	1	3	0	57	3
Brentford	2016–17[19]	Championship	12	0	0	0	—		—		12	0
	2017–18[23]	Championship	8	0	0	0	0	0	—		8	0
	2018–19[26]	Championship	14	1	2	0	0	0	—		16	1
	2019–20[30]	Championship	46	0	1	0	1	0	3[lower-alpha 3]	0	51	0
	Total		80	1	3	0	1	0	3	0	87	1
Career total			126	3	7	0	5	1	6	0	144	4

1. Appearance in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in League One play-offs
3. Appearances in Championship play-offs

Honours

England U20

• Four Nations Tournament: 2017[33]

Individual

• PFA League One Team of the Year: 2015–16[17]
• Football League Young Player of the Month: September 2015[15]
• Walsall Young Player of the Year: 2014–15[11]

References

1. "Rico Antonio Henry". L'Union (in French). Rossel La Voix. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
2. "Rico Henry". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
3. "Rico Henry". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
4. "Rico Henry". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
5. Brett, Ciaran (31 August 2016). "Get to know: Rico Henry". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
6. "PRO DEAL FOR TALENTED YOUNGSTER". Walsall F.C. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
7. "Rico Henry Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
8. "Games played by Rico Henry in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
9. "Rico Henry's Walsall injury fate to be revealed today". Express & Star. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
10. Poole, Andrew. "NEW DEAL FOR RISING STAR". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
11. Poole, Andrew. "HOORAY FOR HENRY". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
12. "Games played by Rico Henry in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
13. Briggs, Daniel. "Rico Henry". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
14. "Walsall results for the 2015-2016 season". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
15. Briggs, Daniel. "Rico Henry – Football League Young Player of the Month". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
16. "Leeds United's Lewis Cook named Football League Young Player of the Year". The Football League. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
17. "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
18. Moon, Dale. "CLUB STATEMENT: RICO HENRY". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
19. "Games played by Rico Henry in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
20. "Brentford sign England Youth International Rico Henry from Walsall on a five-year contract". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
21. "Brentford defender Rico Henry undergoes shoulder surgery". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
22. "Colin and Woods battling to be fit for Blackburn clash –". TEAMtalk. Planet Sport Publishing. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
23. "Games played by Rico Henry in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
24. "Brentford FC Rico Henry undergoes surgery on knee injury". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
25. "Head of Medical Neil Greig provides an injury update". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
26. "Games played by Rico Henry in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
27. "Benrahma and Henry nominated for PFA Player of the Month". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
28. "We could have taken all three points". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
29. "Rico Henry signs new Brentford contract". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
30. "Games played by Rico Henry in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
31. "Walsall's Rico Henry called up to England under-19 squad". Express & Star. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
32. "England Matches – Under-19's 2010–20". England Football Online. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
33. Brett, Ciaran. "Brentford defender Rico Henry plays as England win Four Nations Tournament". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
34. "Brentford FC Rico Henry withdrawn from England U20s with injury". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
35. "Rico Henry: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

External links

• Profile at the Brentford F.C. website
• Rico Henry – FIFA competition record
• Rico Henry at Soccerbase