Ethan Benjamin Laird (born 5 August 2001) 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

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for club

Birmingham City 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 te ...

. Laird is a graduate of Manchester United's youth system and made his first-team debut for the club in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

game in November 2019. He spent time on loan at Milton Keynes Dons,

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

and Queens Park Rangers. In the 2021–22 season, he helped Bournemouth gain promotion to the Premier League by finishing as runners-up in the Championship. He spent the 2022–23 season on loan at Queens Park Rangers before joining Birmingham City. Laird has played for England at under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels. He is also eligible to represent Jamaica at international level.

Club career

Manchester United

Laird joined

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

's youth system at the age of 10. He made his reserve team debut in a match against

on 18 March 2018. He signed his first professional contract with the club in October 2018, but less than two months later he suffered a long-term injury in a UEFA Youth League match at home to BSC Young Boys, Young Boys, and made just two more appearances in 2018–19. Laird graduated to the reserve team for the 2019–20 season, and scored in the team's opening match of their 2019–20 EFL Trophy, EFL Trophy campaign away to Rotherham United F.C., Rotherham United on 6 August 2019; however, he suffered another injury in a game against Reading F.C., Reading on 16 August and was ruled out for two months. After returning to action, he was included in the 20-man travelling party for the first team's

match away to FK Partizan, Partizan on 24 October, but was not named in the 18-man squad for the match. After United qualified for the Europa League knockout phase, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær took a squad mostly made up of youth team players to Kazakhstan for their away game against FC Astana, Astana on 28 November, and named Laird as one of three players to make their senior debuts in the match, along with Di'Shon Bernard and Dylan Levitt; the match finished as a 2–1 defeat.

Loan to Milton Keynes Dons

On 8 January 2021, Laird joined EFL League One, League One side Milton Keynes Dons on loan until the end of the 2020–21 season. He made his professional league debut for the club on 16 January 2021 in a 3–0 defeat away to Peterborough United F.C., Peterborough United.

Loan to Swansea City

On 16 August 2021, Laird joined EFL Championship club

on loan for the duration of the 2021–22 season, reuniting with former MK Dons manager Russell Martin (footballer), Russell Martin.

Loan to AFC Bournemouth

On 6 January 2022, Laird joined

on a short-term loan deal until the end of the season.

Loan to Queens Park Rangers

On 15 August 2022, Laird joined Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season. On 30 August 2022, Laird scored his first senior goal with the second in an impressive 3–1 victory over Hull City A.F.C., Hull City, converting a cross from opposite full-back Kenneth Paal.

Birmingham City

Laird signed for another Championship club,

, on a three-year contract on 30 June 2023; the fee was undisclosed, but was reported by the ''Manchester Evening News'' as £750,000 plus add-ons and a sell-on clause.

International career

Laird is eligible to represent England or Jamaica at international level. He has played youth international football for England at under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels. He was a member of the under-17 squad that hosted the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Career statistics

Honours

AFC Bournemouth *EFL Championship, Championship runner-up: 2021–22 EFL Championship, 2021–22

References

External links

Profile
at the Birmingham City F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laird, Ethan 2001 births Living people Footballers from Basingstoke English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Birmingham City F.C. players English Football League players Black British sportsmen English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent