Sam Greenwood (footballer)

Sam Greenwood
Personal information
Full name Sam Greenwood
Date of birth 26 January 2002
Place of birth Sunderland, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team
Middlesbrough
(on loan from Leeds United)
Number 29
Youth career
0000–2018 Sunderland
2018–2020 Arsenal
2020–2021 Leeds United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Leeds United 26 (1)
2023–Middlesbrough (loan) 20 (5)
International career
2018–2019 England U17 15 (12)
2019–2020 England U18 5 (3)
2019 England U19 1 (0)
2021– England U20 6 (1)
2021– England U21 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:05, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9:00, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

Sam Greenwood (born 26 January 2002) is an English footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough, on loan from EFL Championship club Leeds United.

Early life

Greenwood was born in Sunderland.

Club career

Greenwood started his career at Hebburn Town Juniors and Sunderland's academy, but left to join Arsenal's academy in 2018 at the age of 16, for a fee reported to be £500,000.

Greenwood joined Leeds United on a three-year deal on 28 August 2020 for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £1,500,000. He won the Premier League 2 player of the month award for September 2020. Greenwood made his senior Leeds debut on 10 January 2021 in the 3–0 FA Cup third round defeat against Crawley Town as a second-half substitute.

His second senior appearance for the club was in Leeds' 2-0 EFL Cup defeat at Arsenal on 26 October 2021, where he came on as a 70th minute replacement for Rodrigo. He made his Premier League debut on 18 December 2021 as a substitute in a 4–1 defeat at Arsenal. He was given his first Premier League start in the final match of the season away to Brentford on 22 May 2022, with Leeds needing to better Burnley's result to avoid relegation. Leeds won 2–1, with Greenwood playing as a central midfielder, and Burnley lost 2–1, ensuring Leeds' Premier League survival. In total, he made nine appearances across the 2021–22 season.

Greenwood’s first Premier League goal came in Leeds’ 4-3 win over Bournemouth at Elland Road on 5 November 2022.

On 31 August 2023, Greenwood joined fellow Championship club Middlesbrough on loan for the remainder of the 2023–24 season. On 7 October 2023, Greenwood scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 away win over home town club Sunderland in the Tees–Wear derby.

International career

Greenwood has represented England at under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels.

On 6 September 2021, Greenwood made his debut for the England U20s during a 6–1 victory over Romania U20s at St. George's Park.

On 16 November 2021, Greenwood made a goalscoring debut for the England U21s as a 36th-minute substitute during the 3–2 defeat to Georgia in Batumi.

Career statistics

As of match played 13 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
Arsenal U21 2019–20 2 0 2 0
Leeds United U21 2020–21 1 0 1 0
2021–22 1 1 1 1
2022–23 1 0 1 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 3 1
Leeds United 2020–21 Premier League 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2021–22 Premier League 7 0 1 0 1 0 9 0
2022–23 Premier League 18 1 3 0 2 0 23 1
2023–24 Championship 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Total 26 1 5 0 4 0 0 0 35 1
Middlesbrough (loan) 2023–24 Championship 23 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 24 5
Career total 49 6 5 0 4 0 5 1 64 7
  1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Style of play

Greenwood is noted for his proficiency from dead ball situations, including an important free kick winner scored over then-runaway leaders of the Championship, Leicester in November 2023.