Jordan Hugill
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Jordan Thomas Hugill (born 4 June 1992) 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 forward for club Rotherham United. A relative latecomer to the professional game, he had spells with non-League sides Seaham Red Star,
Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...
, Whitby Town and Marske United, and also spent time at the then Glenn Hoddle Academy club Jerez Industrial in Spain. He was signed by Port Vale in June 2013 and made his debut for the club four months later following a productive
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
spell at
Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
. He signed with Preston North End in June 2014. He was loaned out to Tranmere Rovers in February 2015 and then Hartlepool United the following month. Premier League West Ham United signed him in January 2018 for an undisclosed fee. He returned to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
the following
transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...
in a season-long loan to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
and was then loaned to Queens Park Rangers for the 2019–20 season. He was sold to Norwich City for a fee of up to £5 million in August 2020 and helped the club to win the Championship title in the 2020–21 season. He joined West Bromwich Albion on loan for the first half of the 2021–22 season. He spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Cardiff City before joining Rotherham United on a permanent deal in January 2023.


Career


Early career

Hugill, who was a pupil at Nunthorpe School, attended George Smith's academy in Hemlington from the age of nine. He began his career with Northern League club Seaham Red Star at the age of 16 and was due to go on trial at
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
before he was struck down with an ankle injury in September 2009. He later moved on to
Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...
, but left his
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
in August 2010 to spend two years at the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Spain. He signed with Whitby Town in December 2011 and scored in his debut game against Nantwich Town, only to damage his
anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...
(ACL) later in the match and spend the next ten months out injured. He joined Marske United in October 2012 initially on
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
so as to regain match fitness. His last appearance for Marske came in the final of the North Riding Senior Cup, where they were beaten 3–0 by Pickering Town. During his time at the club he worked as a barman at the ''Dickens Inn'' in
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
.


Port Vale

Hugill signed with League One club Port Vale in June 2013. He was loaned out to
Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
of the Conference Premier on 20 September 2013. "Tynesiders" boss Gary Mills stated that Hugill was a "talented... goalscorer" and put him in the starting line-up for the next match. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 September in a 3–2 win over
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
at the Gateshead International Stadium. He finished his loan spell with five goals in four starts and three substitute appearances. He made his debut for the "Valiants" on 22 October, and played the first 75 minutes of a 3–0 victory over
Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...
. He performed well on his debut, justifying his manager's surprise decision to play him alongside fellow Glenn Hoddle Academy graduate Ben Williamson in place of established strikers Tom Pope and Lee Hughes. He scored his first Football League goal on 16 November, scoring the final goal of a 3–1 victory over Shrewsbury Town at
Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...
; after the match Adams said that the club had "unearthed a gem" in Hugill. Hugill continued to turn out for the first-team, but admitted that he needed to work on his fitness to play a full 90 minutes of professional football. At the end of the 2013–14 campaign he was named as the club's Young Player of the Year, and also featured in Vale's Staffordshire Senior Cup final defeat to Rushall Olympic. However, in the summer Micky Adams confirmed that Hugill had rejected the club's offer of a new contract, and stated: "It is disappointing ... we spent a lot of time and effort with Jordan last season, but we will have to accept it." The club were forced to sell him for a cheap price, though Adams successfully negotiated a 20% sell on clause that would net the club a £1.8 million windfall.


Preston North End

Hugill signed a two-year contract with League One club Preston North End in June 2014, who paid Port Vale an undisclosed fee; manager
Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is head coach of National League (division), National League club Hartlepool ...
stated that "he's young, he's raring to go, hungry, he's a strong, powerful player, and he's got many attributes that will help us along the way this season and complement the squad well". He had an eventful match after coming on for Andrew Little as a 20th-minute substitute at
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
on 13 September; he provided an assist for Joe Garner before being sent off for clashing with opposition defender Andy Butler, he also picked up an injury in the game that required surgery and a lengthy spell on the sidelines. He returned to fitness in February 2015, at which point he joined his former Vale manager
Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 43 ...
at League Two side Tranmere Rovers for a one-month loan spell. On 26 March 2015, loan deadline day, Hugill signed for bottom-placed League Two club Hartlepool United on loan until the end of the season; "Pools" boss Ronnie Moore said that "It just didn't work at Tranmere. But we've seen a lot of him and he'll go straight in and get goals for us, no doubt about it". He scored four goals in eight games for the club, including the winning goal against Exeter City at Victoria Park that secured Hartlepool's place in the
English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
. He was an unused substitute at Wembley in the play-off final as Preston won promotion into the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
. He signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract in October 2015. He ended the 2015–16 campaign with five goals in 32 games. He continued to impress in the 2016–17 season and was given another new two-and-a-half-year contract in September 2016. The club rejected an offer of £1.5 million from Ipswich Town in January 2017. He ended the 2016–17 season with 13 goals in 47 appearances to end up as Preston's top-scorer. He started the 2017–18 season in good form and was linked with several clubs in the summer transfer window. He handed in a transfer request on 29 August 2017.


West Ham United

On 31 January 2018, Hugill completed a deadline day signing for
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
club
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
in a reported £10 million transfer deal, becoming manager David Moyes' second signing at the
London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...
. However, he was restricted to a handful of brief cameos in the second half of the 2017–18 season, playing just 22 minutes in total.


Middlesbrough loan

On 8 August 2018, Hugill returned to the Championship on a season-long loan to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
. On 10 November, he opened his league account for the club by scoring both goals in a 2–0 win over
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
at the
Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since its opening in 1995. It has an all-seated capacity of 34,742, although provisional planning permission is in place to expan ...
. He was subsequently named on the EFL Team of the Week. He battled with Britt Assombalonga for the role as target man striker and scored seven goals in 41 appearances during the 2018–19 season as Tony Pulis's "Boro" side missed out on the play-offs by one point.


QPR loan

On 28 July 2019, Hugill joined Championship side Queens Park Rangers on loan for the 2019–20 season. Manager
Mark Warburton Mark Warburton (born 6 September 1962) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is currently the Sporting Director and Head of Soccer for Sporting Club Jacksonville ...
said he hoped Hugill would "lead the line" and link up well with fellow loanee striker Jan Mlakar. He scored on his "Hoops" debut on 3 August as they recorded a season opening 2–1 victory at Stoke City. He ended the season with 15 goals in 41 appearances throughout the 2019–20 campaign.


Norwich City

After two loan spells and just three appearances, amounting to 22 minutes of playing time for West Ham, on 24 August 2020, he joined recently
relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
Championship team Norwich City for a fee "that could be worth £5m". He signed a three-year contract and was given the club's number nine shirt. He scored his first goal for the "Canaries", a late penalty, in a 2–1 win at Rotherham United on 17 October. A
hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...
injury meant he was limited to just seven league starts in the 2020–21 season. However, he still scored five goals from 34 appearances in all competitions as Norwich secured promotion back to the Premier League as Championship title winners. Manager Daniel Farke said that Hugill was "''a key player for me... I don't just rate a player because of his minutes and his impact on the pitch. You don't win a title or promotion just as 11 players. A leader in our dressing room and one of the main topics why we were promoted''". However, Hugill failed to displace Teemu Pukki and Josh Sargent in the starting eleven and was sidelined under first Dean Smith and then David Wagner.


West Brom loan

Hugill once again returned to the Championship on loan after being promoted into the Premier League, joining West Bromwich Albion on loan for the 2021–22 season on 25 August. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 victory over Bristol City at
The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. ...
on 23 October. However, this was his only goal from his first 20 appearances for the "Baggies", leading to speculation that he would be recalled to Norwich following West Brom's decision to sign American striker Daryl Dike. He later said that he felt
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
Valérien Ismaël did not really want him at the club, which caused his confidence to drop. Hugill was recalled to Norwich City on 29 January 2022 as West Brom completed the signings of both Daryl Dike from Orlando City and
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
Andy Carroll.


Cardiff City loan

On 30 January 2022, Hugill returned to the Championship to join Cardiff City on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season. His debut came at the
Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium () is a stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City and the Wales national football team, Wales national team. Following expansion of the Ninian S ...
later that same day, and he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win over
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
. He had an enjoyable spell with Steve Morison's "Bluebirds", helping the team to avoid relegation, in contrast to his time at West Brom where he was frozen out of the first-team and forced to train alone.


Rotherham United

On 25 January 2023, Hugill joined fellow Championship club Rotherham United on a three-and-a-half-year deal after being signed for an undisclosed fee. He failed to find the net in his first six games for the "Millers", but was praised by manager Matt Taylor for his all round contribution to the team. He did though challenge Hugill to work on becoming a bigger threat in set-pieces. He scored five goals in 18 games in the second half of the 2022–23 season, scoring braces against former clubs Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion. He struggled with knee problems in the 2023–24 pre-season. He went on a goal drought form October as Leam Richardson's team struggled at the foot of the table and he again suffered with a knee problem. He scored a brace in a 5–2 win over former club Cardiff City on the final day of the season as Rotherham exited the Championship. He scored five goals from 35 games in the 2024–25 campaign.


Style of play

Hugill is a target man forward, has great strength and can out-muscle opposition defenders. Former Port Vale teammate Tom Pope stated that Hugill had an excellent attitude and "was desperate to learn and improve".


Career statistics


Honours

Marske United * North Riding Senior Cup runner-up: 2012–13 Port Vale * Staffordshire Senior Cup runner-up: 2013–14 Preston North End * Football League One play-offs:
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
Norwich City *
EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...
: 2020–21 Individual * Port Vale Young Player of the Year: 2013–14


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hugill, Jordan 1992 births Living people Footballers from Middlesbrough English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Seaham Red Star F.C. players Consett A.F.C. players Jerez Industrial CF players Whitby Town F.C. players Marske United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Tercera División players Northern Football League players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players English Football League players Premier League players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain 21st-century English sportsmen