Michael Hector

Michael Anthony James Hector (born 19 July 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Charlton Athletic.

Born in England, he represents the Jamaica national team.

Hector began his career in the youth teams at Millwall and Thurrock before moving to Reading in 2009 where he joined the academy.

In his first two seasons at the club he spent time on loan at a succession of non-league sides including Didcot Town, Oxford City and Horsham.

He was spotted by Reading after playing against them in a friendly for Barking Abbey and joined on scholarship terms at the start of the 2009–10 season.

In October 2009, Hector joined Bracknell Town on loan, spending a month there before moving to Didcot Town in November.

Hector signed professional terms with Reading in May 2010 and joined League of Ireland side Dundalk on loan in February 2011.

He went out on loan one further time that season, joining Conference South side Havant & Waterlooville in January 2010 though he made just one appearance as a substitute against Bromley.

After playing in the reserves and gaining experience out on loan, Hector was rewarded with his first professional contract at Reading in May 2010.

The 2010–11 season again saw Hector go out on several loan spells.

He joined Oxford City in August 2010 along with fellow Reading defender Jack Mills and made seven appearances during a one-month stay.

Hector Then moved to Horsham in November on an initial one-month loan and scored his first career goal on debut against Billericay Town.

In December his loan was extended for a second month after which he returned to Reading having made 12 appearances, scoring once.

His spell at Horsham was marred by three red cards, including two dismissals in successive games prompting manager John Maggs to accuse referees of "destroying" the young defender.

He made his Football League debut for Barnet in November 2011 and his successful spell with the club culminated with Hector winning the Young Player of the Season award.

On 1 February 2011, days after returning from Horsham, Hector joined League of Ireland Premier Division side Dundalk on loan until 30 June.

The red cards received during his time at Horsham meant Hector was unable to officially sign for Dundalk until 16 February though he played in four pre-season friendlies in the meantime.

His competitive debut came on 4 March as a substitute in the opening day league fixture against Shamrock Rovers and he made a further 14 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.

Although Dundalk had initially hoped to extend Hector's loan for the rest of the season, he suffered a knee injury in May and he returned to Reading the following month.

Hector spent the next five months working his way back to full fitness and on 3 November he joined League Two side Barnet on an initial one-month youth loan.

After an impressive start to his spell his loan was extended for a further month, and, on 23 December, was renewed until the end of the season.

He became a regular in the first team and at the end of the season he was voted Barnet's Young Player of the Season.

With Hector's contract up at the end of the 2011–12 season, his performances at Barnet attracted the attention of other clubs with Norwich City and West Ham United reportedly interested in signing him.

He signed a new contract at Reading in summer 2012 and soon after joined Shrewsbury on a six-month loan.

No move materialised though and Hector signed a new contract at Reading in summer 2012.

On 24 July he joined League One side Shrewsbury Town on a six-month loan but after falling out of contention, he returned to Reading on 7 November to train and play reserve games.

He remained eligible to play for Shrewsbury until his loan ended although on 22 November Hector was recalled early and immediately sent out to Aldershot Town until 1 January.

He made his Aldershot debut in central midfield in the FA Cup second round tie against Fleetwood Town on 1 December.

After a successful start at Aldershot Hector had expressed an interest in extending his stay with the club and on 2 January it was confirmed that his loan had been renewed.

The day after his loan at Aldershot finished Hector made his third move of the 2012–13 season, this time on an initial one-month loan to Cheltenham Town.

He made his debut in a 2–1 win over Torquay United on 2 February and earned praise from manager Mark Yates for his performance.

On 28 February his loan was extended for another month and at the end of March it was renewed again, this time for the rest of the season.

He scored his first Cheltenham goal with the winner against Gillingham on 13 April, securing a play-off spot for the club in the process.

He played in both legs of the play-off semi-final against Northampton Town but could not prevent Cheltenham losing 2–0 on aggregate.

Another temporary spell, this time with Aldershot Town followed, before moving to Cheltenham Town on loan in January 2013.

He spent the first half of the 2013–14 season at Aberdeen and made his Reading debut in January 2014.

Hector's stay at Aldershot finished on 29 January 2013 with manager Dean Holdsworth revealing he had hoped to extend his deal and was disappointed to lose him, adding that Hector had wanted to go to a "bigger club".

Hector was born in England but chose to represent Jamaica at international level, being selected in their squad for the 2015 Copa América.

Hector was born in East Ham, London.

He began his career at Millwall before moving on to Thurrock where he played in the youth team.