Amari Miquel Miller (born 4 November 2002) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

. A product of Birmingham City's academy, he made his senior debut for Birmingham in the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

in April 2021. Miller signed for Leeds in June 2021.

Life and career

Early life and career

Miller was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, where he attended SS Mary and John Primary School and St Edmund Campion Catholic School in the

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

district. He took up a two-year scholarship with

Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first tea ...

in July 2019. According to the then academy manager Kristjaan Speakman, Miller "progressed through the Academy as a wide player who can also play in central attacking positions. He is a creative player, able to stay on the ball and dribble with speed and changes of direction. He is an attacking player who is exciting to watch and one the players enjoy playing with due to his flair in possession."

Birmingham City

He played in all four of Birmingham's

pre-season friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

ahead of the 2020–21 season; in the last, he "tucked home a superb cross-field cross from Odin Bailey" for the second goal in a 3–0 win at home to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. Miller continued his development in the club's junior teams before making his first appearance in a senior matchday squad on 10 April 2021. With

Scott Hogan Scott Andrew Hogan (born 13 April 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Birmingham City and the Republic of Ireland national team. Hogan played in the youth system at Rochdale but was released in 2010. He entered ...

and Jon Toral injured, new manager

Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer (; born 3 January 1977) is an English football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who featured for Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, West Ham United (two spells), Newcastle United, Birmingha ...

named Miller among the substitutes for the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

match at home to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

. He came on in stoppage time to replace

Lukas Jutkiewicz Lukas Isaac Paul Jutkiewicz (born 28 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Birmingham City. He previously played for Swindon Town, Everton, Plymouth Argyle, Huddersfield Town, Motherwell, Coventr ...

with his side 2–0 ahead to make his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut, and made two more appearances from the bench. After Birmingham avoided relegation, Bowyer used the two remaining matches as an opportunity to look at his fringe players, and Miller started in both. In May 2021, Birmingham confirmed that Miller was one of five second-year scholars to be offered a professional contract.

Leeds United

Amid reported interest from

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

clubs including Everton,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, Miller signed a four-year contract with

on 28 June 2021. The fee was undisclosed. He played for Leeds U23 in

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Football Association via the Elite Player Performanc ...

, and on 14 September, made his

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

debut for Leeds U21 away to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

, who led 3–0 at half-time. Miller made the score 3–1 after 63 minutes with a confident finish from Archie Gray's through ball, but Tranmere won 4–1.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Amari 2002 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Birmingham City F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players English Football League players Black British sportsmen