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] | EFL League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Career total | 44 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 58 | 4 |