Ross Sykes

Ross Sykes
Ross Sykes in 2023
Personal information
Full name Ross James Sykes[1]
Date of birth (1999-03-26) 26 March 1999[2]
Place of birth Burnley, England
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Union SG
Number 26
Youth career
2010–2012 Burnley
2012–2016 Accrington Stanley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2022 Accrington Stanley 101 (8)
2017–2018 → Southport (loan) 6 (0)
2022– Union Saint-Gilloise 99 (13)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 May 2026

Ross James Sykes (born 26 March 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Belgian Pro League club Union SG.[4]

Career

Sykes was born in Burnley, Lancashire and attended Unity College in the town.[5] He started his career with local side Burnley, playing for their youth team between the ages of eleven and thirteen before being released.[6] After nearly giving up the game he was persuaded to go on trial at Accrington Stanley by his mother and was later signed up by the club.[6] In May 2016, he signed his first professional contract on a two-year deal, despite being a first-year scholar.[6] He made his senior debut for the club in August 2016, starting in the 3–0 defeat to Crewe Alexandra in EFL Trophy group-stage.[7] Accrington exercised a contractual option at the end of the 2017–18 season to retain him.[8]

On 23 June 2022, Sykes joined Belgian First Division A side Union SG for an undisclosed fee.[9][10] On 28 February 2024, he scored a goal in stoppage time of 2–0 victory over Club Brugge in the Belgian Cup semi-final second leg, which granted Union SG a 3–2 win on aggregate and qualification to their first final since 1914.[11]

Career statistics

As of match played 4 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Accrington Stanley 2016–17[12] League Two 000000—3[c]030
2017–18[13] League Two 200000—3[c]050
2018–19[14] League One 2032000—4[c]1264
2019–20[15] League One 3111010—6[c]2393
2020–21[16] League One 911010—3[c]0141
2021–22[17] League One 3931020—2[c]0443
Total 101850400021313111
Southport (loan) 2017–18[3] National League North 6000——0060
Union Saint-Gilloise 2022–23[18] Belgian Pro League 20210—5[d]0—262
2023–24[19] Belgian Pro League 24461—4[e]0—345
2024–25[20] Belgian Pro League 23230—8[f]1—343
2025–26[21] Belgian Pro League 32561—6[g]1—447
2026–27[22] Belgian Pro League 0000—1[g]01[h]020
Total 9913162—2421014017
Career total 206212124024222327728
  1. ↑ Includes FA Cup, Belgian Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appearances in EFL Trophy
  4. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ↑ One appearance in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  7. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  8. ↑ Appearance in Belgian Super Cup

Honours

Union SG

References

  1. ↑ "Notification of shirt numbers: Accrington Stanley" (PDF). English Football League. p. 1. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Ross Sykes". 11v11. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 Ross Sykes at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "DEPARTURE: Sykes leaves the Reds after ten years". www.accringtonstanley.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Unity College claim county title!". Burnley Express. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Robinson, Dany (20 May 2016). "Nathan Webb and Ross Sykes have both signed professional contracts with Accrington Stanley". Accrington Stanley F.C. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "Accrington Stanley vs. Crewe Alexandra - 30 August 2016". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "Accrington Stanley: Scott Brown and Aaron Chapman offered new deals". BBC Sport. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "DEPARTURE: Sykes leaves the Reds after ten years". www.accringtonstanley.co.uk. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "Ross Sykes: Accrington Stanley centre-back signs for Union SG". BBC Sport. 25 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Former Accrington Stanley defender grabs late goal to send Union St Gilloise through to first Belgian Cup final since 1914". OneFootball. 28 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  14. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Ross Sykes | Football Stats | Accrington Stanley | Season 2021/2022 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Ross Sykes in 2026/2027". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  23. ↑ "Union Saint-Gilloise end 90-year wait for Belgian league title". Reuters. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  24. ↑ "Union St Gilloise end 110 year wait for third Belgian Cup victory". One Football. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  25. ↑ "Royale Union Saint-Gilloise edge Anderlecht in extra time to win Belgian Cup". flashscore.com. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
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