Ross Sykes

Ross Sykes
Ross Sykes in 2023
Personal information
Full name Ross James Sykes
Date of birth (1999-03-26) 26 March 1999 (age 27)
Place of birth Burnley, England
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
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.

Career

Sykes was born in Burnley, Lancashire and attended Unity College in the town. He started his career with local side Burnley, playing for their youth team between the ages of eleven and thirteen before being released. 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. In May 2016, he signed his first professional contract on a two-year deal, despite being a first-year scholar. 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. Accrington exercised a contractual option at the end of the 2017–18 season to retain him.

On 23 June 2022, Sykes joined Belgian First Division A side Union SG for an undisclosed fee. 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.

Career statistics

As of match played 4 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Accrington Stanley 2016–17 League Two 000000—3030
2017–18 League Two 200000—3050
2018–19 League One 2032000—41264
2019–20 League One 3111010—62393
2020–21 League One 911010—30141
2021–22 League One 3931020—20443
Total 101850400021313111
Southport (loan) 2017–18 National League North 6000——0060
Union Saint-Gilloise 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 20210—50—262
2023–24 Belgian Pro League 24461—40—345
2024–25 Belgian Pro League 23230—81—343
2025–26 Belgian Pro League 32561—61—447
2026–27 Belgian Pro League 0000—101020
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.