 Hector playing forHull City in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Anthony James Hector[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1992-07-19)19 July 1992 (age 33)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | East Ham,London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Millwall | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| –2009 | Thurrock | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Reading | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2015 | Reading | 54 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | →Bracknell Town (loan) | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | →Didcot Town (loan) | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | →Havant & Waterlooville (loan) | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | →Oxford City (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | →Horsham (loan) | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | →Dundalk (loan) | 11 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | →Barnet (loan) | 27 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | →Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | →Aldershot Town (loan) | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | →Cheltenham Town (loan) | 20 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | →Aberdeen (loan) | 20 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | →Reading (loan) | 26 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | →Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | →Hull City (loan) | 36 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 37 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Fulham | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Charlton Athletic | 51 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015– | Jamaica | 45 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:10, 6 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:33, 30 June 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Michael Anthony James Hector (born 19 July 1992) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back. He is currently afree agent. Born in England, he representsJamaica at the international level.
Hector started his football journey at the Barking Abbey School 6th form academy. Then, Hector began his career in the youth teams atMillwall andThurrock before moving toReading in 2009 where he joined the academy. In his first two seasons at the club he spent time on loan at a succession ofnon-league sides includingDidcot Town,Oxford City andHorsham. Hector signed professional terms with Reading in May 2010 and joinedLeague of Ireland sideDundalk on loan in February 2011. He made hisFootball League debut forBarnet in November 2011 and his successful spell with the club culminated with Hector winning the Young Player of the Season award. He signed a new contract at Reading in summer 2012 and soon after joinedShrewsbury on a six-month loan. Another temporary spell, this time withAldershot Town followed, before moving toCheltenham Town on loan in January 2013. He spent the first half of the 2013–14 season atAberdeen and made his Reading debut in January 2014.[citation needed]
Hector was born in England but chose to representJamaica at the international level, being selected in their squad for the2015 Copa América.
Hector was born inEast Ham, London.[2] He began his career atMillwall before moving on toThurrock where he played in the youth team. He was spotted byReading after playing against them in a friendly for Barking Abbey and joined on scholarship terms at the start of the 2009–10 season.[4][5]
In October 2009, Hector joinedBracknell Town onloan, spending a month there before moving toDidcot Town in November.[6][7] He went out on loan one further time that season, joiningConference South sideHavant & Waterlooville in January 2010 though he made just one appearance as a substitute againstBromley.[8] After playing in the reserves and gaining experience out on loan, Hector was rewarded with his first professional contract at Reading in May 2010.[5][9][10]
The 2010–11 season again saw Hector go out on several loan spells. He joinedOxford City in August 2010 along with fellow Reading defenderJack Mills and made seven appearances during a one-month stay.[11] Hector then moved toHorsham in November on an initial one-month loan and scored his first career goal on debut againstBillericay Town.[12] In December his loan was extended for a second month after which he returned to Reading having made 12 appearances, scoring once.[13] His spell at Horsham was marred by three red cards, including two dismissals in successive games prompting manager John Maggs to accuse referees of "destroying" the young defender.[14]
On 1 February 2011, days after returning from Horsham, Hector joinedLeague of Ireland Premier Division sideDundalk on loan until 30 June.[15] The red cards received during his time at Horsham meant Hector was unable to officially sign for Dundalk until 16 February though he played in four pre-season friendlies in the meantime.[16] His competitive debut came on 4 March as a substitute in the opening day league fixture againstShamrock Rovers and he made a further 14 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.[17] Although Dundalk had initially hoped to extend Hector's loan for the rest of the season, he suffered a knee injury in May and he returned to Reading the following month.[18]
Hector spent the next five months working his way back to full fitness and on 3 November he joinedLeague Two sideBarnet on an initial one-month youth loan.[4][19] After an impressive start to his spell his loan was extended for a further month, and, on 23 December, was renewed until the end of the season.[20][21] He became a regular in the first team and at the end of the season he was voted Barnet's Young Player of the Season.[22] With Hector's contract up at the end of the 2011–12 season, his performances at Barnet attracted the attention of other clubs withNorwich City andWest Ham United reportedly interested in signing him.[23]
No move materialised though and Hector signed a new contract at Reading in summer 2012.[24] On 24 July he joinedLeague One sideShrewsbury Town on a six-month loan but after falling out of contention, he returned to Reading on 7 November to train and play reserve games.[25][26] He remained eligible to play for Shrewsbury until his loan ended although on 22 November Hector was recalled early and immediately sent out toAldershot Town until 1 January.[27][28][29] He made his Aldershot debut in central midfield in theFA Cup second round tie againstFleetwood Town on 1 December.[30] After a successful start at Aldershot Hector had expressed an interest in extending his stay with the club and on 2 January it was confirmed that his loan had been renewed.[31][32] Hector's stay at Aldershot finished on 29 January 2013 with managerDean Holdsworth revealing he had hoped to extend his deal and was disappointed to lose him, adding that Hector had wanted to go to a "bigger club".[33]
The day after his loan at Aldershot finished Hector made his third move of the 2012–13 season, this time on an initial one-month loan toCheltenham Town.[34] He made his debut in a 2–1 win overTorquay United on 2 February and earned praise from managerMark Yates for his performance.[35] On 28 February his loan was extended for another month[36] and at the end of March it was renewed again, this time for the rest of the season.[37] He scored his first Cheltenham goal with the winner againstGillingham on 13 April, securing a play-off spot for the club in the process.[38] He played in both legs of the play-off semi-final againstNorthampton Town but could not prevent Cheltenham losing 2–0 on aggregate.[39]
On 26 July 2013, Hector joinedAberdeen on loan for six months.[40] Upon his arrival Aberdeen managerDerek McInnes described him as "a big strong lad who comes with a good pedigree".[41] In November, he scored his only goal for the Dons with a 20-yard strike in a 4–0 win againstPartick Thistle.[42] It was confirmed the following month that Hector's spell would not be extended due to an injury crisis at his parent club,[43] though McInnes was hopeful that he could re-sign him at the end of the transfer window providing Reading's situation improved.[44] Hector became a fans' favourite and despite not re-signing for the Dons, travelled to Glasgow to watch Aberdeen win the2014 Scottish League Cup Final.
Hector made his debut as a late substitute in Reading's 7–1 win overBolton Wanderers in January 2014.[45] He made two more appearances off the bench before starting for the first time in place ofKaspars Gorkšs away atBrighton & Hove Albion in a game that finished 1–1.[46] He went on to make nine appearances in total, including four starts,[47] and at the end of the season was offered a new contract,[48] which he signed in May, keeping him with the club until 2016 with the option of a further year.[49] The following summer Hector signed a new three-year contract with Reading until the summer of 2018.[50]
In a deadline day deal, Hector signed for Premier League clubChelsea on 1 September 2015. As part of the deal, he was sent back on loan toReading for the 2015–16 season.[51] Hector returned to Chelsea on 28 April 2016, a week before his loan deal was due to expire.[52] After the arrival ofAntonio Conte, Hector trained with the first-team and was included in the squad of the Austrian tour and U.S. tour duringpre-season.[53]
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On 14 August 2016, Hector joined German sideEintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan, making this his 13th loan in his career.[54] On 21 August 2016, Hector made his debut against1. FC Magdeburg in the first round of theDFB-Pokal. He was sent-off after receiving a second-yellow in 100th minute; Eintracht Frankfurt went on to advance to the second round after winning 4–3 in the penalty shootout.[55] He scored his first Eintracht Frankfurt goal, a stoppage time equaliser against Hertha BSC on 24 September.[56]
On 27 July 2017, Hector signed a season-long loan deal withHull City.[57] He made his debut on the opening day of the season, 5 August 2017, away atAston Villa, in a 1–1 draw.[58] Hector scored his first goal for Hull City on 28 October 2017, with the final goal in a 2–3 defeat at home toNottingham Forest.[59]
On 31 August 2018, Hector joinedSheffield Wednesday on a season-long loan deal.[60] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win againstPreston on 22 December 2018.[61][62] He made 39 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday in all competitions, scoring two goals. At the end of the season, he was voted as the club'sPlayer of the Year.[63]
On 5 September 2019, it was announced that Hector would joinFulham, for an undisclosed fee, in the upcoming January transfer window. In an unusual move, he trained with the Fulham team until then.[64] This move, combined with the suspension of the season due to the COVID pandemic, resulted in the headline that he effectively played "three pre-seasons" during the 2019–20 season.[65] He made his debut in a 2–1 win againstAston Villa in theFA Cup third round on 4 January 2020.[66] On 4 August 2020, he started the2020 EFL Championship play-off final which promoted Fulham back to the Premier League.
On 12 September 2020, Hector made his Premier League debut in a 3–0 defeat againstArsenal in the opening match of the 2020–21 campaign.[67][68]
On 31 January 2023, Hector signed forLeague One clubCharlton Athletic on a short-term deal until the end of the season.[69]
On 29 June 2023, Hector signed a new contract with the club ahead of the2023–24 season.[70]
On 3 May 2024, it was confirmed that Hector would leave Charlton Athletic when his contract expired.[71]
On 8 March 2025, Hector joinedDagenham & Redbridge on a deal until the end of the season.[72]
Hector was called up to theJamaica national football team on 27 February 2015 for friendly games againstVenezuela andCuba.[73] Later that year he was included in their2015 Copa América squad, having received international clearance to represent them.[74] He made his debut on 13 June, playing the full 90 minutes as Jamaica lost 1–0 to holdersUruguay in their openinggroup match inAntofagasta.[75]
Hector attendedLangdon School, Newham[citation needed] and is the son of formerEssex cricketerPat Hector.[4] He was eligible to play for bothEngland andJamaica at international level.[16]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Reading | 2013–14 | Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Championship | 41 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 3 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 54 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 63 | 3 | |||||
| Bracknell Town (loan) | 2009–10 | Hellenic League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Didcot Town (loan) | 2009–10 | Southern League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Havant & Waterlooville (loan) | 2009–10[8] | Conference South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Oxford City (loan) | 2010–11[78] | Southern League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Horsham (loan) | 2010–11[79] | Isthmian League | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 12 | 1 | |||
| Dundalk (loan) | 2011[17] | Irish Premier Division | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 15 | 2 | ||
| Barnet (loan) | 2011–12 | League Two | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 2012–13 | League One | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Aldershot Town (loan) | 2012–13 | League Two | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | ||
| Cheltenham Town (loan) | 2012–13 | League Two | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Aberdeen (loan) | 2013–14 | Scottish Premiership | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Chelsea | 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Reading (loan) | 2015–16 | Championship | 26 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 22 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | ||||
| Hull City (loan) | 2017–18 | Championship | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 1 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2018–19 | Championship | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 2 | |||
| Fulham | 2019–20 | Championship | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||||
| Charlton Athletic | 2022–23 | League One | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||||
| 2023–24 | League One | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 36 | 0 | |||
| Total | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 53 | 0 | ||||
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 2024–25 | National League | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 374 | 16 | 29 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 429 | 17 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | 2015 | 11 | 0 |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 0 | |
Fulham
Jamaica
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