 Brannagan playing forLiverpool in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cameron Mark Thomas Brannagan[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1996-05-09)9 May 1996 (age 29)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Oxford United | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2014 | Liverpool | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2018 | Liverpool | 3 | (0) |
| 2017 | →Fleetwood Town (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2018– | Oxford United | 288 | (51) |
| International career | |||
| 2014 | England U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2015 | England U20 | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:34, 1 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Cameron Mark Thomas Brannagan (born 9 May 1996) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forEFL Championship clubOxford United.
An academy graduate ofLiverpool, Brannagan made his senior debut in 2015 but managed just nine appearances for the club. He joinedFleetwood Town onloan in 2017 before signing for Oxford United on a permanent deal the following year.
Born inManchester, Brannagan was raised inSalford. Despite growing up supporting Manchester United, as did his family,[4][5] he joined Liverpool as a child, having previously been atManchester City andManchester United's academies.[6]
Despite a rough start for the under-18 side because of injury, at the start of the 2012–13 season[6] he became a regular for the under-21s and scored three goals in the U21 Premier League campaign in 2013–14. During this period Brannagan was reportedly extensively scouted byBarcelona.[4][5] His impressive performances for the under-21s caught the eye of first-team managerBrendan Rodgers, who named Brannagan among the substitutes for Liverpool'sFA Cup third-round tie againstOldham Athletic on 5 January 2014. He was handed number 50, but did not get onto the pitch as the Reds won 2–0.[7]
Over the next two seasons, Brannagan continued to feature for Liverpool's reserves in the under-21 Premier League.[8] In theUEFA Youth League, he scored twice in five appearances againstReal Madrid.[9] In the last 16 of the UEFA Youth League againstBenfica, Brannagan captained the reserve side for the first time, as they lost 2–1.[10] He then appeared as an unused substitute in the last 32 of theUEFA Europa League againstBeşiktaş, as Liverpool lost in a penalty shootout on 26 February 2015.[11] Towards the end of the 2014–15 season, Brannagan appeared four more times as an unused substitute for the first team.[12]
In the 2015–16 season, Brannagan featured in the reserve side for most of the season.[13] While still playing for the reserve side, on 17 September 2015, he made his senior Reds debut in their openingUEFA Europa League group stage fixture againstBordeaux, replacing fellow youngsterJordan Rossiter after 76 minutes.[14][15] On 26 October, Brannagan signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2018.[16][17] The following day new Liverpool managerJürgen Klopp described Brannagan as a real talent who has "everything you need" from a midfield player.[18] On 28 October 2015, Brannagan made his first start for Liverpool in a 1–0 win overBournemouth in the fourth round of theLeague Cup.[19] At the beginning of 2016, Brannagan featured in two further FA Cup ties, againstExeter City andWest Ham United.[20] Towards the end of the 2015–16 season, Brannagan made hisPremier League debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 loss againstSwansea City on 1 May 2016.[21] Two weeks later, on 15 May 2016, he made his first Premier League start, in the last game of the season, a 1–1 draw againstWest Bromwich Albion.[22] By the end of the 2015–16 season, Brannagan had made a total of nine first-team appearances in all competitions.[23]
Ahead of the2016–17 Premier League season, Brannagan's number changed from number 32 to 25. Although he took part in the club's pre-season tour, he made no appearances in Liverpool's first team throughout the season.[24] While fighting for first-team opportunities, he continued to play for the reserve side before his departure in January,[25][26] scoring twice in a 6–2 win overTottenham Hotspur Reserves.
In May 2016, it was reported that Brannagan was in a contract negotiations with Liverpool over a new deal.[27] However, the contract negotiations resulted in a disagreement between the parties over his pathway to the first team over the summer of 2017 and he was dropped from the club's pre-season tour as a result.[28] Brannagan spent the first half of the season in the reserve team, despite suffering a broken hand.[29] In the last two remaining matches for the club's reserves, Brannagan scored two goals in two matches, againstSunderland U23 andSwansea City U23.[30]
On 5 July 2016, Liverpool rejected an offer in excess of £1,000,000 for Brannagan from newly promotedChampionship sideWigan Athletic.[31] After this, Brannagan expected to leave Liverpool on loan to gain first-team experience, as Wigan Athletic, having had their transfer bid rejected, tried to sign him on loan instead, but it fell through.[32] On 27 January 2017, after injuries starved Brannagan of first-team action at Liverpool, he was loaned out toLeague One sideFleetwood Town for the remainder of the season.[33]
Brannagan made his Fleetwood Town debut, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–1 draw againstCharlton Athletic on 4 February 2017.[34] He was praised after his debut for his "creativity and quality" by managerUwe Rösler.[35] Manager Rösler placed him "in a number 10 role up front withDevante Cole", though he appeared on the substitute bench.[36] He played a role in a 1–0 win overWalsall on 14 March 2017 when he set upCian Bolger to score the only goal of the game.[37] Brannagan also appeared once in theplay-offs, in a 0–0 draw againstBradford City, a game that saw Fleetwood Town eliminated on aggregate after defeat in the first leg.[38]
At the end of the 2016–17 season, having made 14 appearances in all competitions, he returned to his parent club.[39]
Brannagan signed forLeague One sideOxford United on a 31⁄2-year deal for an undisclosed fee on 11 January 2018,[40] the move ending his 16-year association with Liverpool.[41] However, his Oxford United career suffered an early setback when he injured his ankle.[42] He made his debut in a 2–1 league defeat away atAFC Wimbledon on 10 March 2018.[43] The following season, on 29 September 2018 and against the same opponents, Brannagan scored his first goal for Oxford, though the result was another 2–1 victory for Wimbledon.[44] He won the Players' Player of the Year Award for the2018–19 season.[45]
On 29 January 2022, Brannagan scored a first career hat-trick in a 7–2 away defeat ofGillingham, scoring all four of his goals from the penalty spot,[46][47] becoming the first player in the league's 138-year history to score four penalties in a match. At the end of the2021–22 season he won both the supporters' and players' Player of the Year awards.[48]
On the morning of 28 July 2022, it was reported thatBlackpool had triggered Brannagan's release clause and that he was travelling up to the North-West to sign for the Championship club.[49] Despite seemingly being set to sign, Brannagan signed a new three-year contract with Oxford that evening.[50]
Brannagan has represented England atunder-18 level.[51] He earned two caps for the U18s in March 2014, both againstCroatia.[52]
A year later in August 2015, Brannagan was called up to theEngland U20 squad.[53] He earned two caps for the U20s in September 2014, both againstCzech Republic U20.[54]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2015–16[55] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2016–17[56] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[57] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2016–17[56] | League One | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Oxford United | 2017–18[57] | League One | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2018–19[58] | League One | 41 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6[c] | 2 | 53 | 6 | |
| 2019–20[59] | League One | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5[d] | 1 | 39 | 7 | |
| 2020–21[60] | League One | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7[e] | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| 2021–22[61] | League One | 41 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 44 | 14 | |
| 2022–23[62] | League One | 44 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2[f] | 1 | 51 | 12 | |
| 2023–24[63] | League One | 43 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[g] | 1 | 51 | 13 | |
| 2024–25[64] | Championship | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |
| 2025–26[65] | Championship | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | |
| Total | 288 | 51 | 11 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 25 | 5 | 340 | 61 | ||
| Career total | 304 | 51 | 14 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 28 | 5 | 363 | 61 | ||
Oxford United
Individual
