Rekeem Harper
Personal information
Full name Rekeem Jordon Harper[1]
Date of birth (2000-03-08) 8 March 2000[2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Burton Albion
Number 8
Youth career
2012–2017 West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 West Bromwich Albion 29 (1)
2017 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 4 (0)
2021 → Birmingham City (loan) 18 (0)
2021–2023 Ipswich Town 13 (0)
2022 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 15 (0)
2022–2023 → Exeter City (loan) 20 (1)
2023– Burton Albion 10 (0)
International career
2017 England U17 3 (0)
2018–2019 England U19 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:31, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

Rekeem Jordan Harper (born 8 March 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Burton Albion.

A product of West Bromwich Albion's academy, Harper made his first appearance for the club in August 2017 and later spent time on loan at Blackburn Rovers in 2017 and at Birmingham City in 2021. Harper left West Brom to join Ipswich Town in June 2021. He spent the second half of the 2021–22 season on loan at Crewe Alexandra and the whole of the 2022–23 season at Exeter City.

Club career

West Bromwich Albion

Harper joined West Bromwich Albion at the age of 12.[4] He spent 5 years in the West Brom academy before making his professional Albion debut on 12 August 2017 as a second-half substitute in the club's 1–0 win over AFC Bournemouth, in doing so becoming only the second Premier League player to have been born in the 2000s.[5] On 31 August 2017, Harper signed his first professional contract with the club, a deal to run for two years.[4]

Blackburn Rovers (loan)

On 31 August 2017, League One club Blackburn Rovers signed Harper on loan for the 2017–18 season.[6] He made his first start for Rovers on 12 September 2017 in the club's 1–0 win over Scunthorpe United. He received a red card for a professional foul in an FA Cup tie against Crewe Alexandra on 3 December. He made 9 appearances for Blackburn before returning to West Brom in the New Year.[7]

Return to West Bromwich Albion

After returning to West Brom, Harper made his first appearance of the 2018–19 season in an EFL Cup tie on 14 August, starting in a 1–0 win against Luton Town. He scored the first senior goal of his career on 27 April 2019, a 79-minute winner in a 2–1 win over Rotherham United in Albion's final home game of the 2018–19 season.[8] He made 23 appearances over the course of the season, scoring once, helping West Brom to qualify for the EFL Championship play-offs following a 4th league placed finish.[9] His performances during the season earned him the club's Young Player of the Year award.[10] In July 2019 he signed a new three-year contract with West Brom.[11]

Harper made his first appearance of the 2019–20 season as a second-half substitute in the opening match of the season, a 2–1 win against Nottingham Forest. Harper found regular game time limited during the season, making 4 starts and 6 substitute appearances in the league and helping West Brom to win promotion to the Premier League following a 2nd place finish in the Championship. He made 13 appearances in total during the season.[12]

Following West Brom's return to the Premier League, Harper made his first appearance of the season on the opening match day, coming on as a substitute in a 0–3 loss to Leicester City. He scored his first goal of the season in the following match against Harrogate Town in an EFL Cup second round tie on 16 September, scoring Albion's opening goal in a 3–0 win with a shot from outside the 18-yard box. His only other appearance for West Brom during the 2020–21 season came as a substitute in a 0–4 loss against Arsenal on 2 January.[13]

Birmingham City (loan)

Harper joined Championship club Birmingham City on loan on 21 January 2021 for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[14] He made his debut as a second-half substitute on 30 January in a 1–1 draw with Coventry City.[15] He made 18 appearances in all during his time on loan at Birmingham.[13]

Ipswich Town

On 25 June 2021, Harper joined Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £500,000. He signed a three-year contract with the club, with the option of a further one-year extension.[16] He made his debut for the club in the first game of the season against Morecambe on 7 August.

Crewe Alexandra (loan)

On 31 January 2022, Harper joined fellow League One side Crewe Alexandra on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[17]

Exeter City (loan)

Harper joined League One side Exeter City on a season-long loan on 24 August 2022.[18]

International career

Harper was born in England of Jamaican descent.[19] In February 2017, he represented England U17 in matches against Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands.[20] In September 2018, he started for England Under-19 against Belgium.[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
West Bromwich Albion U23s 2016–17[22] ———3[lower-alpha 1]030
West Bromwich Albion 2017–18[23] Premier League 10—10—20
2018–19[9] Championship 16130301[lower-alpha 2]0231
2019–20[12] Championship 1002010—130
2020–21[13] Premier League 200021—41
Total 291507110422
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2017–18[23] League One 4030—2[lower-alpha 1]090
Birmingham City (loan) 2020–21[13] Championship 180———180
Ipswich Town 2021–22[24] League One 13020003[lower-alpha 1]0180
2022–23[25] League One 0000100010
Total 130201030190
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 2021–22[24] League One 150000000150
Exeter City (loan) 2022–23[25] League One 20100003[lower-alpha 1]0231
Burton Albion (loan) 2023–24[26] League One 10010104[lower-alpha 1]0160
Career total 1092110911601453
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearance in Championship play-offs

Honours

West Bromwich Albion

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Rekeem Harper at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Rekeem Harper". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "Rekeem Harper". Exeter City F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Harper out on loan after penning pro contract". www.wba.co.uk. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  5. ↑ Lofthouse, Amy (12 August 2017). "West Bromwich Albion 1–0 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 August 2017. The source actually says "21st century", however the 21st century started in 2001, not 2000.
  6. ↑ "Rovers sign Premier League prodigy". www.rovers.co.uk. 31 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Blackburn 3–3 Crewe". BBC Sport. 3 December 2017.
  8. ↑ "West Bromwich Albion 2–1 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Albion's 2018/19 award winners". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 27 April 2019.
  11. ↑ "Rekeem Harper: West Bromwich Albion midfielder extends contract". BBC Sport. 6 July 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Rekeem Harper signs". Birmingham City F.C. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. ↑ "Birmingham City 1–1 Coventry City". BBC Sport. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Town Sign Rekeem Harper". Ipswich Town F.C. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "Reekem Harper Joins On Loan". Crewe Alexandra FC. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  18. ↑ Heath, Mark (24 August 2022). "Midfielder Harper goes on loan to League One rivals". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  19. ↑ "Rakeem Harper". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "England call-ups for West Brom youngsters delighting academy manager Mark Harrison". Express & Star. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  21. ↑ "England U19s enjoy 2–1 victory away in Belgium". The Football Association. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  23. 1 2 "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  24. 1 2 "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Rekeem Harper in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  27. ↑ "West Bromwich Albion 2–2 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
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