Zach Jeacock

Zach Jeacock

Personal information
Full name	Zachary Anton John Jeacock [1]
Date of birth	(2001-05-08) 8 May 2001 (age 22) [2]
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
2006–2009	West Hagley
2009–2018	Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2024	Birmingham City	4	(0)
2018	→ Stourport Swifts (loan)	2	(0)
2019–2020	→ Gloucester City (loan)	13	(0)
2021–2022	→ Salford City (loan)	1	(0)
2023–2024	→ Gloucester City (loan)	28	(0)
International career
2019	England U19	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:02, 2 February 2024 (UTC)

Zachary Anton John Jeacock (born 8 May 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.

He began his career with EFL Championship club Birmingham City, and made his Football League debut for the club in 2020. He also spent time on loan at Stourport Swifts of the Midland League Premier Division, National League North club Gloucester City (two spells), and Salford City of League Two. He left Birmingham by mutual consent in January 2024. In international football, he has represented England at under-19 level.

Early life and club career

Jeacock was born in Birmingham ^[2] and lived in Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire, where he attended Winterfold House preparatory school before moving on to nearby Bromsgrove School. ^{[3] [4]} He played football as an attacking midfielder or striker for West Hagley F.C. before, a few days after his eighth birthday in May 2009, becoming the then youngest boy to sign for Birmingham City. ^[3] He went on to compete for Birchfield Harriers as a sprinter, ^[5] and played football as a defender, only converting to goalkeeper at the age of 14. ^[4]

Birmingham City

Jeacock took up a two-year scholarship with Birmingham City's Academy in July 2017. ^[1] He went on to make ten appearances for Birmingham's development squad team in the 2018–19 season as they finished as runners-up in the Professional Development League northern section and lost out to Leeds United on penalties for the overall title. ^{[6] [7]} He was offered a three-year deal in March 2019, ^[8] and signed it in May. ^[9] His apprenticeship went well off the field as well: he achieved top grades in his BTEC course, was selected in League Football Education's Team of the Year, and was described by Birmingham City's Head of Education and Welfare, Mark Sinclair, as "an excellent ambassador for the football club, and somebody who has embraced all aspects of his apprenticeship, with him maximising his opportunities to continually develop himself and others." ^[10]

In August 2019, Jeacock joined National League North club Gloucester City on loan for the season. ^[6] He went straight into the starting eleven and in his fourth appearance, after his team came back from 2–0 down to lead 3–2 at Kidderminster Harriers, he saved a late penalty and was named man of the match. ^[11] He started in 10 of the first 12 matches of the league season –he was away on international duty for the other two –but then a broken hand kept him out until January 2020. After a couple of games for Birmingham U23s, he rejoined Gloucester City and made three more appearances in January before he was recalled by Birmingham to "explore other loan opportunities". ^{[12] [13]} No such opportunities occurred before the season was abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He played in the first team's pre-season friendlies before the arrival of Andrés Prieto, ^[14] who started the first competitive fixture of the season, in the 2020–21 EFL Cup at home to Cambridge United, with Jeacock on the bench. ^[15] He was selected ahead of the injured Prieto and the newly arrived Neil Etheridge to start the opening match of the Championship season, at home to Brentford on 12 September. ^[16] He kept a clean sheet as Birmingham won the match 1–0, ^[17] after which Etheridge became first choice and Prieto second. Jeacock injured an ankle playing for Birmingham U23s, required surgery, and was out for much of the season. He made another four appearances for the U23s as they went on to win the Professional Development League title, ^[18] but did not himself play in the final. ^[19] He started the penultimate Championship match of the season, a 4–0 defeat at home to Cardiff City, in which new manager Lee Bowyer fielded a number of fringe players after relegation had been avoided. ^[20] In July 2021, his contract was extended to run until 2024. ^[18]

Salford City loan

After Birmingham signed Matija Sarkic on loan to cover Etheridge's recovery from COVID-19, ^[21] Jeacock was allowed to leave on a season-long loan at League Two club Salford City, whose previous first-choice goalkeeper, Václav Hladký, had left the club. ^{[22] [23]} Jeacock began the season as backup to Tom King, ^[12] and made his debut on 31 August in an EFL Trophy match against Oldham Athletic. He conceded once, to a Carl Piergianni header, and his side lost 1–0. ^[24] With King away on international duty, ^[25] Jeacock made his first league appearance four days later in a 2–1 defeat away to Carlisle United. ^[26] Over the next four months, his only appearances were in the EFL Trophy, ^[26] and on 11 January 2022, after Sarkic suffered a season-ending injury, Jeacock was recalled by Birmingham. ^[27]

Second Gloucester City loan

Jeacock made no appearances in the 2022–23 season, and was on the bench for Birmingham's EFL Cup first-round match in August 2023. ^[12] He rejoined Gloucester City of the National League North on 15 August on loan until 31 January 2024. ^[28] He was Gloucester's regular goalkeeper throughout his spell, making 31 appearances in all competitions. ^[12]

When his loan expired, he returned to Birmingham, and was released by mutual consent on 1 February, with five months of his contract still to run. ^[29]

International career

Jeacock's first inclusion in an England squad came at under-19 level, for friendly matches in September 2019 in preparation for the Euro qualifiers later that year. ^[30] He made his debut in the starting eleven for a 3–1 win against Greece on 5 September, ^[31] and remained an unused substitute for the 1–0 defeat to Germany four days later. ^[32] He was again part of the squad for friendlies against France and Belgium in October, and started in the second game, a 4–2 win in which he was dispossessed in his area for Belgium's first goal. ^{[33] [34]} A broken hand prevented him being considered for the qualifiers in November. ^[35]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 January 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Birmingham City	2018–19 [36]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2019–20 [37]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [17]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2021–22 [26]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2022–23 [38]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2023–24 [39]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
Stourport Swifts (loan)	2018–19 [40]	Midland League Premier Division	2	0	1	0	—		—		3	0
Gloucester City (loan)	2019–20 [12]	National League North	13	0	0	0	—		0	0	13	0
Salford City (loan)	2021–22 [26]	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	4	0
Gloucester City (loan)	2023–24 [12] [41]	National League North	28	0	1	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	31	0
Career total			48	0	2	0	0	0	5	0	55	0

1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
2. Appearance in FA Trophy

References

1. "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/07/2017 and 31/07/2017". The Football Association. p. 53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
2. "Zach Jeacock". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
3. "Eight-year-old is singing the Blues". Kidderminster Shuttle. 21 May 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
4. Dick, Brian (20 March 2019). "Who are the players retained and released by Birmingham City – the lowdowns". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
5. "Impressive B&RAC excel in Worcester". Redditch Advertiser. 24 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
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16. Dick, Brian (12 September 2020). "Aitor Karanka makes shock goalkeeper selection as Birmingham City take on Brentford". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
17. "Games played by Zach Jeacock in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
18. "Zach Jeacock signs new deal". Birmingham City F.C. 10 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
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22. "Jeacock heads to Salford". Birmingham City F.C. 30 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
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25. Colman, Jon (4 September 2021). "Salford City defender: Carlisle United's Brunton Park "should suit us down to the ground"". News & Star. Carlisle. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
26. "Games played by Zach Jeacock in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
27. "Zach Jeacock back at Blues". Birmingham City F.C. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
28. "Blues' Zach Jeacock loaned to Gloucester City". Birmingham City F.C. 15 August 2023. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
29. "Zach Jeacock leaves Blues". Birmingham City F.C. 1 February 2024. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
30. Veevers, Nicholas (30 August 2019). "Young Lions begin U19 EURO preparations with games against Greece and Germany". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
31. Walker, Andy (5 September 2019). "The Young Lions kick-off new season with a win over Greece at St. George's Park". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
32. Veevers, Nicholas (9 September 2019). "Paul Simpson's Young Lions suffer 1–0 defeat against Germany in Haiger". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
33. Veevers, Nicholas (4 October 2019). "England MU19s squad selected for games with France and Belgium in Spain this October". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
34. Veevers, Nicholas (12 October 2019). "Paul Simpson's side end Spanish trip with a good win over Belgium in Marbella". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
35. "Match Preview: Gloucester City v Bradford (Park Avenue)". Gloucester City A.F.C. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
36. "Games played by Zach Jeacock in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
37. "Games played by Zach Jeacock in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
38. "Games played by Zach Jeacock in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
39. "Games played by Zach Jeacock in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
40. "Midland Football League: Stourport Swifts: 2018–19". FA Fulltime. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
41. For FA Cup 2nd qualifying round: "'Sacked in the morning' – Gloucester City fans let feelings known after slumping out of FA Cup". Severn Sport. 16 September 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.

External links

• Zach Jeacock at Soccerbase
• Zach Jeacock at Soccerway