Scott Sinclair

At 35 years old, Scott Sinclair has this physical status:

Scott Andrew Sinclair (born 25 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Celtic.

He played for England at youth level, from the under-17s to the under-21s, and he also competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics. He began his career with Bristol Rovers before moving to Chelsea, where he spent time on loan at Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers, Charlton Athletic, Birmingham City, and Wigan Athletic.

He signed for Swansea City in 2010 and then for Manchester City, who loaned him to West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa.

In 2015, he joined Villa on a permanent basis and then moved to Celtic in August 2016.

Early life

Sinclair was born in Bath, Somerset, where he attended Ralph Allen School. He began his playing for Bath Arsenal and then moved to Manchester United to help Manchester United. At the age of nine, Sinclair joined Bristol Rovers. In the League Two match against Leyton Orient in December 2004, he was the second-youngest (after Ronnie Dix).

Personal life

Martin Sinclair's brother Martin has cerebral palsy and was chosen in the British Cerebral Palsy football team for the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Jake, his younger brother, is also a footballer, and he plays for Mangotsfield United.

Sinclair proposed Helen Flanagan on May 31, 2018. They have two daughters and one son.

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Club career

Chelsea signed Sinclair in July 2005. A Football League tribunal determined the compensation would be paid to Bristol Rovers at an initial £200,000, with increases up to a potential £750,000 payout if and when the player reached various performance milestones at club or international level. Any future sale of Chelsea will also have to pay Rovers 15% of the profit.

Sinclair was called up to Chelsea's squad to play Macclesfield Town in the FA Cup on January 6, 2007, but he remained on the bench. In the 2007 League Cup semi-finals against Wycombe Wanderers, his debut came four days later. In the 37th minute of Chelsea's third-round match against Hull City, he scored his first goal for Chelsea in September 2007. Chelsea beat Chelsea 4–0. In a 3–1 victory over Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup, Frank Lampard scored his 100th goal for Chelsea. On May 6, 2007, he made his Chelsea debut on May 6, 2007, when he came off the bench to substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips for the final ten minutes of the game against Arsenal.

Sinclair was signed by Plymouth Argyle for a month's loan, and Rovers' boss Ian Holloway had noticed him as a ten-year-old prospect at former club Bristol Rovers during the January transfer window. In the 3–2 victory over Coventry City at Home Park, he made his debut as a replacement. He scored a fine individual goal in his second game against Barnet in the FA Cup fourth round, winning by a 2–0 margin, running the ball half the length of the field before defeating the goalkeeper and scoring a spectacular goal.

In the game, which they lost 2–2, Sinclair also scored against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux to bring Plymouth 1–0 up.

Argyle defeated Derby County 2–0 in their FA Cup fifth-round tie on February 17, 2007, Sinclair scored their second goal, with a looping header from a David Norris cross. For the first time since 1984, the team advanced to the last eight. He was in the quarter-finals but Plymouth lost 1–0 to Watford and was suspended in the second half of the game.

Sinclair raced from his own half past two defenders before hitting the ball in off the crossbar to score the only goal of the home match against Crystal Palace on March 17th.

Sinclair was selected in Chelsea's squad to face Arsenal in one of the season's most crucial matches: anything but a win would have denied Manchester United the Premier League title. Sinclair came on as a substitute for Shaun Wright-Phillips, but Chelsea was unable to prevent Chelsea from drawing 1–1. Following Chelsea's 2-0 draw with Manchester United in the following Premier League game, Sinclair made his first appearance for Chelsea against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge and sustained a fractured metatarsal after a challenge from Wes Brown.

Sinclair also agreed to a new four-year contract on August 15, 2007. He was given squad number 17 for the new season and made his debut as a late replacement against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Community Shield. In a 4–0 victory over Hull City in the League Cup on September 25, he scored his first senior goal for the team. In the fourth round of the League Cup, he was drafted in the starting eleven against Leicester City; he was involved in Chelsea's first two goals and his shot was turned into the post by Leicester's goalkeeper.

According to reports, Queens Park Rangers "beat off intense competition from eight other Championship clubs" to sign Sinclair on loan for a month beginning on November 6, 2007. Sinclair's last game for Plymouth was against Crystal Palace, and he followed this up by scoring his first goal for QPR against the same team.

On his return to Chelsea, he played four times before going out on loan again in February 2008. Ian Holloway, who had supervised Sinclair at Plymouth Argyle, wanted to move the player to Leicester City, but Chelsea wanted him to join a team that was not in first place. Sinclair joined Charlton Athletic on loan until the end of the season on February 28th. Charlton's first team opportunities were limited, and the loan was terminated after a month.

Sinclair joined Crystal Palace on loan until the end of the season on March 27th. In six appearances against Hull and Burnley, he scored twice and helped Palace finish fifth in the Championship. Sinclair qualified for the play-off semi-finals in which Palace lost to Bristol City.

Sinclair was given a chance by new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari to be a first-team player, but the Reserves retained him in most of the Reserves' matches. Sinclair was given the number 16 for Chelsea on August 8, 2008, swapping with José Bosingwa (who wore 16 during pre-season) who had Sinclair's previous number 17. He was the second youngest player in Chelsea's first team for the season, older than the youngest, striker Franco Di Santo, by 13 days. In Chelsea's 5–0 victory on October 18, he made his first league appearance of the season.

Sinclair joined Birmingham City on loan for the first month of the 2008–09 season in January 2009. He made 14 appearances for the club and returned to Chelsea on May 4th.

Guus Hidddink, the Interim Chelsea boss, named Sinclair as one of the substitutions for the game against Blackburn Rovers on May 17th, but he did not participate. Carlo Ancelotti, the country's new coach, brought him along in the squad for a pre-season tour, where he appeared in two games.

Sinclair signed Wigan Athletic on loan from 2009 to 2010 for the 2009-10 season. In a 2–1 loss at Hull City on October 3rd and his second against Hull in the FA Cup on January 2nd 2010, he scored his first goal for Wigan and his second against Hull City in the FA Cup.

Sinclair was linked to Blackpool, recently promoted to the Premier League, and Swansea City, the Championship team. On August 9, 2010, he agreed to a three-year contract with Swansea City for a £500,000 fee, but the fee could increase to £1 million if the club's future success determines it. He made his debut against Preston North End on August 14th, when he had a goal disallowed during a 4–0 win. In the 1–0 home win over recently relegated Burnley, he scored his first goal for the team against Tranmere Rovers in the League Cup, as well as his first League goal for Swansea.

Sinclair won 3–1 League Cup for the first time in his career on September 21 in a 3–1 victory over Peterborough United. On February 26, 2011, he braced against Leeds United, raising his goal total for the season to 21. Swansea qualified for the end-of-season play-offs and reached the final while playing at Wembley Stadium on May 30. Sinclair had a hat-trick against Reading in a "pulsing" match against Reading, winning 4–2. The result culminated in the club's return to the top division of English football, having been relegated from the old First Division from 1982-83, and they became the first Welsh club to reach the Premier League.

In a 3–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, Sinclair scored Swansea's first Premier League goal on September 17th. With scores against Stoke City, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, and Arsenal, he became Swansea's top penalty taker. Sinclair scored against his old club Chelsea in a game that ended in a 1–1 draw on January 31, 2012. Joe Hart, a footballer, had been scoring 13 goals since joining the club, but his streak came to an end on March 15th when Manchester City's Joe Hart saved his chance. Swansea defeated Swansea 1-0, and Sinclair said he was still able to take Swansea's penalties.

Sinclair would not be committing to a new contract with Swansea with one season remaining on his deal. Swansea beat Queens Park Rangers 5–0 at Loftus Road on the first day of the 2012–13 season. He scored in a return appearance.

On August 31, 2012, Sinclair signed a four-year deal with Manchester City, down from Swansea for a reported transfer fee of £8 million, including add-ons. On September 15, he was given the number 11 shirt and made his debut on his debut on September 15th, while Stoke City lost by 74 minutes in a 1–1 draw away from Stoke City.

He started against Arsenal on September 23 and was recalled at halftime and was then relegated to the bench. On December 4, Borussia Dortmund got off to a good start this season, with both teams' final position already determined. His 12 other appearances this season were all late from the bench. In a 3–1 loss away from Tottenham Hotspur, his last game of the season came as an 83rd-minute replacement on April 21. He had surgery on a blood clot in his shoulder on May 8, capping a miserable season in which he played only 190 minutes of league football after which he said that boss Roberto Mancini had not given him a fair chance.

Sinclair signed West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan in September 2013, with the possibility of concluding a permanent contract. He played regularly at the start of the season before being forced to recover from a hamstring injury in December. Immediately after, boss Steve Clarke was fired, Sinclair did little under Pepe Mel's replacement.

Sinclair joined Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the season after struggling to break into the Manchester City starting 11 years. In a 5–0 loss at Arsenal on February 1st, he made his debut in a 5–0 loss, and was replaced by Andreas Weimann after 65 minutes. After an 89 minutes of a 2–1 victory in the fifth round of the FA Cup against Leicester City on February 15, the team's second goal in a 2–1 loss at home to Stoke City is Sinclair's first goal. In Villa's 2–0 FA Cup quarter-final victory over local rivals West Brom, he scored once more.

Villa had won Premier League protection, but Sinclair would return on a permanent basis at the end of the season for an undisclosed fee, according to the five-year contract. "This is the happiest I have been in a long time," he said.

Sinclair defeated Notts County 5-3 in the second round of the League Cup on August 25, 2015. In a 2–2 draw with Sunderland four days later in the Premier League, Sinclair scored both goals for Villa.

Sinclair signed a four-year contract with Celtic, Scotland's highest Premiership winners, on August 7, 2016. He made his debut against Hearts later that day and was a replacement for Stuart Armstrong against Hearts, and he was crowned the winner in the 81st minute by placing Celtic 2–1 ahead. Sinclair made history by becoming the first Celtic player since Jimmy McGrory in 1922 to score in all of his first five league games on Sunday.

When the Hoops defeated Hearts 5–0 at Tynecastle on Sunday, Sinclair earned his first Celtic hat-trick, earning their sixth straight Scottish league victory. Sinclair was named Player of the Year and Player of the Year at Celtic's Player of the Year Awards on April 30. "This is the best time and the happiest time in my career right now," the club's website says. To me, having the connection with the supporters and many of them who voted for me was just so much. He scored 25 goals on his debut season, making him the club's second top scorer behind Moussa Dembélé, who scored 32 goals, who finished with 31 goals.

Celtic used a clause in Sinclair's deal to keep him at the club for a longer season in May 2019.

On January 8, 2020, Sinclair signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Preston North End, an EFL Championship club. Sinclair was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Sinclair, who had been training at the club for a few weeks, returned to his first club, Bristol Rovers, on a short-term basis until January 2023. In a 2–2 draw against a former club of Sinclair's in Plymouth Argyle on October 22, he made his second appearance for the club as a late subordinate.

International career

Sinclair was selected for the England under 19s for their matches in October 2007, but after breaking a team curfew, he was sent home.

Sinclair was called up for the England under-21s' friendly against the German under-21s on November 12, 2010. He earned his first cap while playing in this friendly in which England lost 2–0. Sinclair was selected in the England squad for the European Under-21 Championship in May 2011.

Ex Jamaica coach John Barnes tried to convince Sinclair to play for the Jamaica senior team.

Sinclair was selected in Stuart Pearce's 18-man squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics on July 2nd. He scored his second goal in Team GB's second game of the tournament against the UAE.

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