Thierry Small

Thierry Small (born 1 August 2004) is an English footballer who plays as a left-back for Scottish Premiership club St Mirren on loan from EFL Championship club Southampton.

Thierry Small
Personal information
Full name Thierry Small[1]
Date of birth (2004-08-01) 1 August 2004[2]
Place of birth Solihull, England[3]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)[4]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 St Mirren
(on loan from Southampton)
Youth career
2011–2016 West Bromwich Albion
2016–2021 Everton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 Everton 0 (0)
2021– Southampton 0 (0)
2022 → Port Vale (loan) 4 (0)
2023 → St Mirren (loan) 14 (0)
2023– → St Mirren (loan) 1 (0)
International career
2021 England U17 1 (0)
2022 England U18 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:29, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

Small became the youngest player in Everton's history in January 2021, aged 16 years and 176 days, but turned professional with Southampton shortly after turning 17. He spent the 2022–23 season on loan at EFL League One side Port Vale and Scottish Premiership club St Mirren, returning to St Mirren on loan for the 2023–24 campaign.

Club career

Everton

Small spent time at West Bromwich Albion, before joining the academy at Everton at the age of 11.[5] He made his first-team debut for Everton on 24 January 2021, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–0 FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday at Goodison Park. In doing so, he became the youngest player in Everton history at the age of 16 years and 176 days, breaking Jose Baxter's 2008 record by 15 days.[6] However he feared not getting game-time under Carlo Ancelotti, with Lucas Digne and Niels Nkounkou ahead of him the first-team pecking order, and subsequently rejected the opportunity to turn professional at Everton at the age of 17 and instead became a free agent.[7][4] Everton coach David Unsworth said that "we made him an unbelievable offer... but when a player doesn't want to be at your club, it's very difficult to try and keep him".[8]

Southampton

On 24 August 2021, Small signed for Southampton on a three-year contract.[9] Everton rejected Southampton's offer of £1.5 million compensation, leaving the case to be decided by a tribunal.[4] Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl stated that "we have already signed a player this summer with good experience at left-back in Romain Perraud, and Thierry's arrival now gives us a very good balance and a strong additional option in that position".[10] He scored for the under-21 team in their 4–0 victory at Crawley Town in the EFL Trophy on 9 November.[11] He went on to be shortlisted for the November 2021 Premier League 2 Player of the Month award.[12] He made his first-team debut for the club in the FA Cup on 5 February 2022, in a 2–1 win over Coventry City at St Mary's.[13]

Loan to Port Vale

On 26 July 2022, Small joined EFL League One club Port Vale on a season-long loan deal.[5] Manager Darrell Clarke experimented by playing him as a forward in the Staffordshire Senior Cup.[14] He continued to play for the Southampton youth team after not making the matchday squads at Vale Park.[15][16] He was recalled to Southampton by new manager Nathan Jones on 11 November, with Clarke admitting that "for various reasons, he hasn't played the minutes that we would have liked" as the Vale had Mal Benning, Dan Jones and Liam McCarron to compete for the left-wing back position.[17]

Loan to St Mirren

On 31 January 2023, Small joined Scottish Premiership club St Mirren on loan for the rest of the 2022–23 season.[18] Manager Stephen Robinson said that his arrival would provide competition for Scott Tanser on the left-hand side.[19] On 22 April, he was sent off for receiving two yellow cards in the space of 14 seconds during a 2–0 defeat to Kilmarnock at St Mirren Park; the first yellow was for dissent and the second was for a shirt pull.[20] On 24 May, he was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Bojan Miovski in a 3–0 defeat at Aberdeen.[21]

On 26 August 2023, Small rejoined St Mirren on a season-long loan.[22]

International career

Small has represented England at youth international level. He appeared as a second-half substitute for the under-17 side in a friendly against Watford under-23s in March 2021.[23] He made his debut for England U18s on 7 June 2022, during a 3–2 victory over Austria in Croatia.[24] This was the first of three games he played in a four-team mini-tournament that England won.[25]

Style of play

Small is a powerful and pacey left-back with good ball-striking ability and stamina.[3] He is also able to play in central defence or on the left-wing.[26]

Personal life

Small was born in England of Jamaican, Kittitian and Panamanian descent.[27] He has a Panamanian grandfather.[28] Small's uncle, Bryan Small, was a professional footballer who played for Aston Villa in the Premier League and other Football League clubs.[27]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 September 2023[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Everton 2020–21[29] Premier League 0010000010
Southampton 2021–22[30] Premier League 001000—10
2022–23[31] Premier League 000000—00
2023–24[32] EFL Championship 000000—00
Total 0010000010
Southampton U21 2021–22[30] — ———1[lower-alpha 1]111
Port Vale (loan) 2022–23[31] EFL League One 4000103[lower-alpha 1]080
St Mirren (loan) 2022–23[31] Scottish Premiership 140100000150
2023–24[32] Scottish Premiership 1000100020
Total 150101000170
Career total 190302041281
  1. Appearance/s in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". premierleague.com. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  2. Thierry Small at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  3. Lennox, Peter (2 January 2021). "Thierry Small on learning from Baines, studying Maldini and 'great club' Everton". Everton F.C. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  4. "Thierry Small 51". toffeeweb.com. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. Mounteney, Luke (26 July 2022). "Thierry Small Joins The Vale on Loan". www.port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  6. "Everton 3–0 Sheffield Wednesday: Dominic Calvert-Lewin back on the scoresheet for Toffees". Sky Sports. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  7. Archer, Kyle (7 May 2021). "Arsenal target Thierry Small wants assurances on Carlo Ancelotti's plans before signing Everton contract". The Boot Room. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  8. Jones, Adam (20 September 2021). "Thierry Small exit explained after 'unbelievable' Everton offer rejected". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. House, Alfie (24 August 2021). "Southampton FC sign young Everton left-back Thierry Small". Daily Echo. Southampton. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  10. "Saints sign teenage star Small". Southampton FC. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  11. Drake, Jonny (9 November 2021). "Report | Crawley Town 0-4 Southampton U21s". www.crawleytownfc.com. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. "November 2021 PL2 Player of the Month shortlist". www.premierleague.com. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  13. "Southampton beat Coventry in extra time". BBC Sport. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  14. Warlow, Rob (4 October 2022). "Saints loanee Thierry Small makes mark with Port Vale in Staffordshire cup tie". hampshirelive. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  15. Warlow, Rob (10 October 2022). "Thierry Small makes one-off appearance as Saints' B team win against Aston Villa". hampshirelive. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  16. Baggaley, Michael (11 October 2022). "On-loan Port Vale defender Thierry Small impresses for Southampton B". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  17. Baggaley, Michael (11 November 2022). "Clarke message as Southampton cut short Small's loan at Port Vale". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  18. "St Mirren sign Southampton teenager Small on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  19. "Thierry Small joins St Mirren on loan until the end of the season". www.stmirren.com. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  20. Herrall, Jack (22 April 2023). "St Mirren lose but 'good enough' for top-six spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  21. O'Neill, George (24 May 2023). "'Phenomenal' Aberdeen crush St Mirren to take third". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  22. "Thierry Small joins St Mirren on loan". Southampton FC. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  23. "England U17 Vs. Watford U23 2 - 1". Soccerway. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  24. "Match Report: England MU18s 3-2 Austria". EnglandFoobtall.com. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  25. House, Alfie (14 June 2022). "Saints youngster wins mini-tournament with England youth". Daily Echo. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  26. "In Profile: Thierry Small". Southampton FC. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  27. "Player profiles: Thierry Small". Everton F.C. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  28. Eduardo Cotes, Raúl (20 July 2021). "Thierry Small pidió no ser presionado en jugar para Panamá o Inglaterra". www.rpctv.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  29. "Games played by Thierry Small in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  30. "Games played by Thierry Small in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  31. "Games played by Thierry Small in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  32. "Games played by Thierry Small in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
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