Ellis Reco Simms (born 5 January 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for

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 ...

club Coventry City.

Club career

Simms was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester. After playing for Blackburn Rovers and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

as a youth, he signed for Everton at the age of 16. In July 2017, Simms won the golden boot at the

CEE Cup The Central & Eastern European Youth Football Tournament, known as the CEE Cup is an annual invitational under-19 Association football, football tournament, which takes place in Czech Republic. The tournament has taken place 10 times, initially re ...

in Czech Republic with six goals in four games. He turned professional in 2019. In January 2021, Simms moved on loan to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, making his debut on 23 January 2021 in the FA Cup as a substitute against Brighton & Hove Albion in a 2–1 loss. In his second appearance and his league debut the following week, again as a substitute, he scored his first professional goals when he scored twice in a 5–0 win over Wigan Athletic. On 26 January 2022, Simms joined Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. He made his league debut the same day in a 2–1 loss at home to Celtic, coming off the bench at half time to replace Josh Ginnelly. He scored his first goal for Hearts three days later in a 2–0 home win against

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. On 29 July 2022, Simms signed for

club

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on loan for the duration of the 2022–23 season. He was recalled on 31 December 2022. He scored his first goal for Everton on 18 March 2023, scoring a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw away at Chelsea. In June 2023, reports began to emerge that newly promoted

club Ipswich Town were interested in signing Simms, with an initial bid of up to £4m believed to have been rejected by Everton. In July 2023 he was linked with a transfer to Coventry City, and signed for the club later that month on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. On 26 February 2024, Simms scored his first career hat trick in the first half of the fifth round of the

2023–24 FA Cup The 2023–24 FA Cup is the 143rd season of the Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. It is sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. Premier League team Manchester ...

in a 5–0 rout of

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

. After scoring his first goal, Simms held up his jersey to reveal a shirt bearing the name of his teammate, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, who had been hospitalized due to an injury sustained during a game against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

three days earlier. On 16 March, Simms scored a brace, including an equalizing stoppage time goal, against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, ending the game 3–2 in Coventry City's favour and helping the team progress beyond the quarter-finals for the first time since the

1986–87 FA Cup The 1986–87 FA Cup was the 106th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Coventry City, who beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2, after extra-time, in the final at Wembley Stadium. It was Totte ...

International career

Simms is eligible to play internationally for England, Poland and Jamaica. On 6 November 2020, he was called up to the England U20 squad for a training camp. The following week, he played for England U20s as a second-half substitute in an unofficial friendly match against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Ellis 2001 births Living people Footballers from Oldham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players English people of Polish descent English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Coventry City F.C. players Black British sportsmen