Adam Eckersley

Adam James Eckersley (born 7 September 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played primarily as a full-back.

He is the older brother of fellow professional footballer Richard Eckersley.

As a nine-year-old, he signed his first contract with Manchester United in 2002.

He started his career with Manchester United in 2004, but failed to break into the first team in his four years there and was loaned out to Royal Antwerp, Brøndby, Barnsley and Port Vale, before joining Port Vale permanently in 2008.

Later that year, he transferred to Danish club AC Horsens.

He became a professional in July 2004 and was a member of the United reserve team that won the quadruple in 2005.

He made his senior team debut in the League Cup on 26 October 2005, starting at left back in the 4–1 home win over Barnet.

Eckersley then went on loan to the Belgian Second Division club Royal Antwerp in January 2006, to gain further first team match experience.

Eckersley was linked with a move to NEC of the Netherlands as a replacement for Jeffrey Leiwakabessy in April 2006, but instead he was loaned out to Brøndby in August 2006.

He was injured during his stay at Brøndby, however, and only played six matches for the club before the loan ended on 31 December 2006.

He joined Barnsley on 8 January 2007 on loan until the end of the season, but the loan was effectively cut short in April 2007 when Eckersley returned to Manchester United after suffering a tore thigh muscle and did not play for Barnsley again.

He was promoted to the first-team squad as cover for the injured Mikaël Silvestre at the start of the 2007–08 season, before moving to Port Vale on a month-long loan on 12 October 2007.

He made his debut in a defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on 13 October 2007, in which he was sent off.

However, he only made one more appearance before picking up a knee injury and returning to Manchester United for treatment.

On 1 January 2008, Eckersley moved back to Port Vale, this time on a permanent basis, though only signing a six-month deal, becoming manager Lee Sinnott's first non-loan signing.

Eckersley scored his first goal in English football and his first anywhere since a loan spell at Royal Antwerp in a 2–2 home draw with Yeovil Town on 29 January 2008, but he soon left the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 campaign, following Port Vale's relegation to League Two.

Prior to the 2008–09 season, he joined Danish Superliga team Horsens on a free transfer.

The "Yellow Danger" were relegated at the end of 2008–09, after manager Kent Nielsen resigned and short-term replacement Henrik Jensen failed to spark a revival; Horsens finished four points behind the safety of SønderjyskE.

He won the Danish 1st Division championship with both clubs, in 2009–10 and then in 2010–11.

The club made an immediate return to the top-flight by topping the 1st Division in 2009–10 under Johnny Mølby.

Over the course of his seasons, Eckersley made forty league appearances, scoring twice.

In 2010, he moved on to AGF Aarhus.

In the summer of 2010, Eckersley moved to AGF Aarhus, manager Peter Sørensen intending him to replace Dennis Cagara.

In his first season he helped the club to promotion into the Danish top-flight as champions of the 1st Division, and after some consistently great performances for AGF as attacking left back and a tremendous first half season in the Danish Superliga, including a stunning free kick goal against Lyngby in round 13, he was selected for Les Rosbifs 'Team of the Year 2011' for best Englishmen playing overseas.

AGF finished fifth in 2011–12, with Eckersley scoring seven goals in 48 appearances.

The club finished in seventh place in 2012–13, and Eckersley played 35 games, including two Europa League matches.

AGF dropped out of the top-flight after suffering relegation in 2013–14.

At the end of the season, it was announced that Eckersley was being released by AGF and hinted that he may return to England.

In 2014, he moved to Hearts, and helped the club to win the Scottish Championship in 2014–15.

In August 2014, Eckersley signed for Scottish Championship side Hearts until the end of the season, and having turned down an offer from a Scottish Premiership club to join Hearts he stated that move was the "best decision of his career".

He made his Hearts debut on 13 September, coming on as a substitute for Kevin McHattie, in a 0–0 draw with Dumbarton.

Eckersley then scored his first goal for Hearts, in a 1–0 win over Alloa Athletic on 11 October, and he scored his second goal for the club in a 4–1 win over Queen of the South on 6 December.

He was a regular first team player under manager Robbie Neilson, and helped Hearts to win promotion as champions in the 2014–15 campaign.

He spent a brief time at Hibernian in 2015, before joining Canadian side FC Edmonton in January 2016.

It was reported in the Edinburgh Evening News that Hearts had decided in April 2015 not to renew Eckersley's contract for the next season.

His agent stated that money was not an issue in negotiations, and that the club simply retracted an initial informal offer of a new contract.

He returned to Scotland 12 months later to play for St Mirren, helping the club to the Scottish Championship title at the end of the 2017–18 season.

After a spell on loan with Forfar Athletic, Eckersley joined Airdrieonians for a one-season stay in May 2019.

He also played for England at U16, U17, and U18 level.

Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Eckersley grew up in Walkden.