| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ethan Craig Brierley [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 November 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Rochdale, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Exeter City (on loan from Brentford) | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2020 | Rochdale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2023 | Rochdale | 32 | (2) |
| 2022 | → Spennymoor Town (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2023– | Brentford | 0 | (0) |
| 2025– | → Exeter City (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:13, September 7, 2025 (UTC) | |||
Ethan Craig Brierley (born 23 November 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Exeter City, on loan from Premier League club Brentford.
Brierley was born in Rochdale. [2] He attended Oulder Hill Community School in Rochdale. [3] Brierley was a childhood Rochdale supporter, having attended matches from the age of three onwards. [4]
Brierley started playing junior football for local team Roach Dynamos in Heywood and after trials at the academies of Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City,
Brierley joined Rochdale's academy aged seven. [3] Brierley was named on Rochdale's bench for a FA Cup match against Newcastle United in January 2020, at the age of 15. Because of his age, Brierley had to get changed separately to the rest of Rochdale's first team. [5] He made his professional debut for Rochdale on 5 September 2020 in a 1–0 EFL Cup victory away to Huddersfield Town. [6] He signed his first professional contract with the club on 26 November 2020, having turned 17 earlier that week. [7] He made his league debut as a late substitute in a 2–0 defeat away to Ipswich Town on 26 September 2020, and made a further four league appearances across the 2020–21 season as Rochdale were relegated to EFL League Two after finishing 21st. [8] [9]
Having made just three cup appearances for Rochdale during the 2021–22 season, [10] Brierley joined National League North side Spennymoor Town on loan for the remainder of the season on 24 March 2022. [11] On 29 April 2022, Brierley was recalled from this loan spell by parent club Rochdale, [12] and started Rochdale's final two matches of the season. [10] He was nominated for the LFE League Two Apprentice of the Season award, but lost out to Junior Tchamadeu of Colchester United. [13] [14]
In July 2022, Brierley agreed an extension to his contract with Rochdale until summer 2024. [15] He scored his first senior goal for the club in a 3–3 EFL Trophy draw away to Accrington Stanley on 30 August 2022. [16] In January 2023, Brierley spent time on trial at both Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers. Brierley was unable to sign for Sheffield United due to the club being under a transfer embargo, whilst a deadline day transfer to Blackburn fell through after the English Football League rejected their application to register the player. Blackburn appealed this decision unsuccessfully, and Brierley returned to first-team action for Rochdale in late February. [17] [18] [19] With Rochdale embroiled in a relegation battle, Brierley registered three assists in his first four games back as Dale picked up five points. [18] However, Rochdale were eventually relegated after finishing bottom on 38 points, [20] with Brierley having made 25 league appearances. [21]
On 2 June 2023, it was confirmed that Brierley had signed for Brentford for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal. [22] [23]
On 26 June 2025, Brentford announced the player had signed a one-year loan deal with Exeter. [24]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rochdale | 2020–21 [8] | League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [a] | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2021–22 [10] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 [a] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 [21] | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 [a] | 1 | 31 | 3 | ||
| Total | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 45 | 3 | ||
| Spennymoor Town (loan) | 2021–22 [2] | National League North | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Brentford | 2023–24 [25] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024–25 [26] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 [27] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Exeter City (loan) | 2025–26 [27] | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Career total | 46 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 60 | 4 | ||