Zeki Fryers
Ezekiel David "Zeki" Fryers (born 9 September 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for Swindon Town. He is a youth international, having played for the England under-16, under-17 and under-19 teams.
Fryers in 2013 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ezekiel David Fryers[1] | ||
Date of birth | 9 September 1992 | ||
Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Left back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Swindon Town | ||
Number | 3 | ||
Youth career | |||
2009–2011 | Manchester United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2012 | Manchester United | 2 | (0) |
2012–2013 | Standard Liège | 7 | (0) |
2013–2014 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | (0) |
2014–2017 | Crystal Palace | 9 | (0) |
2015 | → Rotherham United (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2015 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2017–2019 | Barnsley | 27 | (1) |
2019– | Swindon Town | 32 | (1) |
National team | |||
2007–2008 | England U16 | 5 | (0) |
2008–2009 | England U17 | 7 | (0) |
2010 | England U19[3] | 3 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:22, 16 January 2021 (UTC) |
Career
Manchester United
During the 2010–11 season, Fryers suffered a serious knee injury that kept him out for most of the season.[4] Fryers made his senior debut for Manchester United in the League Cup on 20 September 2011, starting alongside Michael Carrick in central defence in United's third round 3–0 victory over rivals Leeds United.[5] He then played in their 3–0 fourth round win against Aldershot Town on 25 October, appearing as a left back.[6] On 2 November, he was a late substitute for Jonny Evans during a 2–0 win against Oțelul Galați in a Champions League group stage match at Old Trafford. He made his Premier League debut in a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, coming on as a substitute for Patrice Evra in the 68th minute; the game finished 4–1.[7] On 26 December 2011, Fryers continued to press for more inclusions as a 46th-minute substitute for Jonny Evans in a league match against Wigan Athletic.
In February 2012, Sky Sports carried a story suggesting that Fryers could follow fellow academy product Ravel Morrison out of Old Trafford at the end of the 2011–12 season.[8] On 4 July 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson stated in an interview: "We haven't heard anything from Zeki Fryers, I don't know what's happening there but he's not been in touch with the club. His agent hasn't been in touch with the club and I can only assume he'll be back for training."[9]
Standard Liège
Fryers spent the summer training with Tottenham Hotspur ahead of a proposed transfer, but the two clubs were unable to agree on a compensation package (in England, when a player under the age of 23 leaves a club at the end of his contract, his new club must pay a fee to his old club as compensation for having trained him up). Belgian club Standard Liège also expressed interest in Fryers, and as they are not an English club, they did not have to pay Manchester United the same level of compensation.[10] Fryers signed a two-year contract with Liège on 23 August 2012.[11] Fryers played in seven matches for Standard, but with the sacking of Ron Jans in November, he was left out of the squad and ultimately reported to his agent that he was homesick.[12]
Tottenham Hotspur
With Fryers out of favour in Belgium, Tottenham renewed their interest in him in the January 2013 transfer window and reached an agreement with Standard Liège to sign him.[13] The transfer was criticised by the then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who accused Tottenham of "blatant manipulation" of the rules,[12] having attempted to sign Fryers directly from United in the previous transfer window. Upon signing, Fryers was made part of Tottenham's development squad.[10] During the Asia Cup competition, in July 2013, Tottenham brought Fryers on as a substitute, where he played at left back for the remainder of the game.
Crystal Palace
On 1 September 2014, Fryers signed a three-year deal with Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee.[14] The defender was released from his contract on 30 June 2017.[15]
Loan moves
After making only one 3 minute substitute appearance in the League for Crystal Palace, Fryers joined Rotherham United on a one-month loan on 16 January 2015.[16] On 26 March 2015, Fryers signed for Ipswich Town on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season, alongside Crystal Palace teammate Jonny Williams.[17]
Barnsley
On 1 July 2017, it was announced that Fryers had joined Championship club Barnsley on a three-year contract.[18]
He was released by Barnsley at the end of the 2018–19 season.[19]
Swindon Town
After his release from Barnsley, Fryers signed for Swindon Town on a two-year deal.[20] Fryers scored his first goal for Swindon Town against Carlisle United in 3–2 victory.
Career statistics
- As of match played 16 January 2021.[21]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Manchester United | 2011–12 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Standard Liège | 2012–13 | Belgian Pro League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
Tottenham Hotspur | 2013–14 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 16 | 0 |
Crystal Palace | 2014–15 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2016–17 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
Total | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
Rotherham United (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
Ipswich Town (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
Barnsley | 2017–18 | Championship | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | |
2018–19 | League One | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
Total | 27 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
Swindon Town | 2019–20 | League Two | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
2020–21 | League One | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
Total | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
Career total | 97 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 123 | 3 |
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
References
- "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Barnsley" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- "Barclays Premier League Player Profile Ezekiel Fryers". Premier League. 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- "Ezekiel Fryers Profile". TheFA.com. The Football Association. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- Marshall, Adam; Coppack, Nick (30 November 2011). "Fryers thrilled with progress". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- "Leeds 0–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- Winter, Henry (25 October 2011). "Aldershot 0 Manchester United 3: match report". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- "Manchester United 4–1 Wolves". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- O'Rourke, Pete (2 February 2012). "United risk losing starlet". Sky Sports. BSkyB. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- Marshall, Adam (4 July 2012). "Boss confirms Pogba exit". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- "Ferguson blames Spurs over Fryers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- "Un défenseur de Manchester United signe au Standard !" [A Manchester United defender signs for Standard!]. standard.be (in French). Royal Standard de Liège. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- "Sir Alex Ferguson accuses Tottenham over Zeki Fryers deal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- "Fryers joins from Standard Liege". tottenhamhotspur.com. Tottenham Hotspur FC. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- "Zeki Fryers has joined Crystal Palace on a three year contract". ITV. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- "Premier League clubs reveal released lists". Premier League. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- "Fryers Joins Rotherham On Loan". cpfc.co.uk. Crystal Palace FC. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- "Jonny Williams and Zeki Fryers join Ipswich Town". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- Warlow, Robert (1 July 2017). "Former Crystal Palace and Tottenham defender joins Championship side Barnsley". croydonadvertiser.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- "Adam Davies & Ryan Hedges: Barnsley offer Wales duo new deals". BBC Sport. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- "Zeki Fryers joins Swindon Town". www.swindontownfc.co.uk. Swindon Town F.C. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Z. Fryers". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- "League One & League Two clubs vote to end seasons early". BBC Sport. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
External links
- Zeki Fryers at tottenhamhotspur.com
- Zeki Fryers at Soccerbase