Harry Leslie Pickering (born 29 December 1998) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a defender for club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

Career

Crewe Alexandra

A graduate of

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, Pickering signed professional terms with Crewe in March 2016. He made his debut on 22 April 2017, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Callum Ainley against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

at Gresty Road. Pickering scored his first senior goal on 24 February 2018 with an equaliser from a direct free kick away at Lincoln City in a game Crewe eventually won 4–1. In April 2018, Pickering signed a new three-year contract at Crewe, with the option of a further year. At

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

on 21 August 2018, Pickering sustained a hamstring injury ruling him out of action for over a month. In September 2020, Pickering signed a new three-year contract with the club, and in December 2020 was named Crewe captain in the absence of Perry Ng (Ng moved to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

the following month). Crewe rejected an initial offer from

during the January 2021 transfer window, but later agreed his move to Blackburn on a four-and-a-half-year deal (to summer 2025) for an undisclosed fee, with Pickering remaining at Crewe on loan (and remaining club captain) until the end of the 2020–21 season.

Blackburn Rovers

Pickering made his Rovers debut at Ewood Park in a 2–1 win over

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

on 7 August 2021. He scored his first goal for Blackburn just over a month later in a 2–2 league draw against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a Association football, football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the English Football League, Football League and Premier League, who have played there since ...

on 11 September 2021. After a run of strong defensive performances, Pickering suffered a hamstring injury on 2 January 2022 in Blackburn's game against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

which ruled him out of first team action for several weeks. On 19 August 2023, Pickering received his first career red card after bringing down Hull City's Liam Delap in the 16th minute of Blackburn's 2–1 home defeat at Ewood Park. In December 2023, shortly before his 100th game for Blackburn, he signed a contract extension committing himself to the club until 2027. In January 2024, Pickering suffered a hamstring injury ruling him out for around six weeks.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickering, Harry 1998 births Living people English men's footballers English Football League players Footballers from Chester Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Men's association football midfielders 21st-century English sportsmen