 Cooper withCSKA Sofia in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Liam David Ian Cooper[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1991-08-30)30 August 1991 (age 34)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Kingston upon Hull, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2008 | Hull City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2013 | Hull City | 11 | (0) |
| 2011 | →Carlisle United (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2011 | →Huddersfield Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | →Chesterfield (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | Chesterfield | 61 | (4) |
| 2014–2024 | Leeds United | 262 | (11) |
| 2024–2025 | CSKA Sofia | 23 | (1) |
| 2025– | Sheffield Wednesday | 13 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2008 | Scotland U17 | 5 | (0) |
| 2009 | Scotland U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2024 | Scotland | 19 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:02, 14 February 2026 (UTC) | |||
Liam David Ian Cooper (born 30 August 1991) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forEFL Championship clubSheffield Wednesday. Born in England, he played for theScotland national team.
Cooper came through the youth academy atHull City before making his debut with the first team at the age of 16. He spent time on loan atCarlisle United andHuddersfield Town, before moving toChesterfield in 2012. He won promotion toLeague One with the Spireites in 2014 before joiningLeeds United later that year. He played over 200 games for the Yorkshire club, captaining them to promotion to thePremier League in 2020.
Cooper made his senior debut for the Scotland national team in 2019, having previously played for theunder-17s andunder-19s during his time atHull City. He represented the side atUEFA Euro 2020 andUEFA Euro 2024.
Cooper was born inKingston upon Hull and attendedMalet Lambert school.[4][5] His paternal grandfather John hailed fromBo'ness, Scotland. His father David and brother Joe work on thePilot boats on theHumber Estuary.[6]
Growing up, his father was aWest Ham United fan and would take him to games, while the rest of his family wereHull City supporters. Liam, however, supportedLeeds United.[7]
In March 2020, Cooper opened his own Football Academy for youngsters aged 4–14.[8]
Cooper joined his hometown clubHull City in 2002 at under-12 level.[5] He was in the youth team that won theFootball League Youth Alliance Cup Final againstColchester 3–0, scoring the opening goal but later being sent off for a deliberate handball.[9]
During the2007–08 season, he was given the number 37 shirt but failed to make any appearances as the Tigers went on to win promotion to thePremier League for the first time in their history. He made his debut as 16-year-old for the club againstSwansea City in theLeague Cup on 26 August 2008 and featured as an unused substitute in theirPremier League defeat toWigan Athletic four days later after signing his first professional contract.[10] A year later, he would make his first Premier League start on 26 September 2009 atAnfield in a 6–1 defeat toLiverpool.[11]
Over the following three years, Cooper would find his opportunities limited at Hull and spent brief periods out on loan atCarlisle United andHuddersfield Town in 2011.[12][13] He briefly returned to the first team underNick Barmby to form a solid partnership withJames Chester in March 2012 for the rest of the season following an injury toJack Hobbs. When Barmby departed forSteve Bruce in the summer of 2012, he was replaced by the new manager's sonAlex.[14]
Cooper joinedLeague Two sideChesterfield in November 2012. He made his debut in a 6–1 win overHartlepool United in theFA Cup,[15] and scored on his league debut two weeks later in a 2–1 victory overOxford United.[16] The2012–13 season was Cooper's first year of playing regular professional football, making 31 appearances in all competitions as the Spireites narrowly missed out on a play–off spot.
The2013–14 would prove to be a memorable campaign for both Cooper and Chesterfield under managerPaul Cook. The club reached the2014 Football League Trophy Final and played atWembley Stadium, but ultimately lost 3–1 toPeterborough United in front of more than 35,000 fans.[17] In the league, Cooper formed a formidable partnership withIan Evatt as the team won the division and were promoted toLeague One. At the end of the season, Cooper was named in thePFA Team of the Year along with three other Chesterfield players.[18]
Cooper came to the attention ofLeeds United after impressingsporting directorNicola Salerno in a 2–2 preseason draw at theb2net Stadium in the summer of 2014. After weeks of negotiations, Leeds agreed a deal for £600,000 plus add-ons relating to appearances, a future sale and promotion; with Cooper joining the club on 13 August.[19] (After winning promotion to thePremier League in 2020, the Spireites received an additional £150,000 from the sale.)[20]
He made his debut three days later at home toMiddlesbrough in a 1–0 win, before being madeclub captain byNeil Redfearn midway through his first season. He would struggle for consistency under a succession of managers, losing his starting place toSol Bamba and later toPontus Jansson, but would still go on to make over 100 appearances during his first four seasons with the club. During a period of 30 games between 2017 and 2018, Cooper was sent off three times and received another six game ban for a stamp onReading defenderReece Oxford.[21] His propensity to be a liability in games earned him the disparaging nickname 'League One Liam' among Leeds fans at the time, but Cooper remained a highly respected captain amongst his teammates.[22] He kept hold of the captaincy duringThomas Christiansen andPaul Heckingbottom's time as manager in the2017–18 campaign, who would be his 7th and 8th manager respectively at the club in less than four years.
Cooper retained the captaincy after the shock appointment of the world renownedMarcelo Bielsa as Head Coach in the summer of 2018. In Bielsa's first game, he scored the third goal in a comprehensive 3–1 victory over promotion favouritesStoke City, as Leeds ascended to the top of the Championship by Christmas.[23] Leeds would eventually lose out on automatic promotion toNorwich City andSheffield United as their form dipped in the second half of the 2018–2019 campaign, before losing 4–3 on aggregate toDerby County in the play-offs.[24] In spite of a disappointing end to a season that had long looked so promising, Cooper was widely perceived to be one of the most improved players in the team under the new head coach, and was included in theEFL Championship Team of the Season,EFL Team of the Season,[25] as well at thePFA's Championship Team of the Season with teammatesPontus Jansson andPablo Hernández.[26]
The2019–2020 marked Leeds' centenary year and Cooper's sixth season with the club. He would sign a new five-year deal with the club in September, and would be present atThe Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 to collect theFIFA Fair Play Award on behalf of Bielsa and the Leeds United team for allowingAston Villa to score an uncontested goal in the previous season.[27][28] On the pitch, the team's nine–point lead at Christmas in the automatic promotion zone was completely eroded by the beginning of February after a run of four defeats in five games.[29] With questions again being asked of Leeds' ability to maintain the form over the course of a full season, Cooper would score a crucial equaliser in a 1–1 draw in the following game against promotion rivalsBrentford.[30] It would later transpire that Cooper's son had been in hospital for three days prior to the game and there were doubts over whether he would play at all.[31] The result proved to be a catalyst for the Yorkshire club's season, as they went on to win their next five games with Cooper being part of a defence that would also keep five clean sheets, taking the team back to the summit of the table and reestablishing a seven–point lead in the automatic promotion places.[32] The momentum building around the club with only nine games remaining would be halted six days later when the season was suspended due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[33]
The season would resume behind closed doors three months later in June, with Leeds' five match winning run coming to an immediate end with a 2–0 defeat toCardiff City. Leeds would only drop two further points from the remaining eight games, as Leeds secured promotion to thePremier League on 17 July after West Yorkshire rivalsHuddersfield Town beatWest Bromwich Albion 2–1, and won the Championship title the following day after Brentford failed to beat Stoke City.[34] Cooper became the first Leeds United captain to win promotion sinceGordon Strachan in 1990 and lifted the Championship title on 22 July after a 4–0 win overCharlton Athletic on the final day of the season, immortalising himself in the club's history.[35] He would also retain his place in thePFA Team of the Year.[36]
Cooper missed Leeds' first Premier League game for 16 years in a 4–3 away defeat toLiverpool on the opening day of the season after picking up an injury. In the following match, he made his first Premier League start since September 2009 in a 4–3 win overFulham. The period between stands at 10 years, 359 days was a league record for the greatest length of time between starts.[37] The following game againstSheffield United also marked his 200th appearance with the club and the first player to reach that number of games sinceLuciano Becchio in 2012.[37] Cooper joins a select group of just 70 players[38] that have made over 200 appearances for the club, including teammateStuart Dallas who also hit the milestone later in that season.
On 6 August 2023, Cooper scored the team's first goal on the opening day ofLeeds' 2023–24Championship league campaign, a 2–2 home draw withCardiff City, injuring his knee in the process, which kept him out of the team until his 20 September return as a second-half substitute againstHull City.[39][40]
On 11 September 2024, Cooper left Leeds permanently, ending his 10-year stay with the club as captain.[41]
On the same day, Cooper moved to Bulgaria, signing forBulgarian First League clubCSKA Sofia.[42]
On 17 November 2025, Cooper returned to England, joining Championship sideSheffield Wednesday on a free transfer running until the end of theseason.[43][44] He made his debut the following weekend on 23 November in theSteel City derby against local rivalsSheffield United, where he came on as a first half substitute for teammateDominic Iorfa, which later saw the Owls lose 0–3 to the latter.[45] He scored his first goal for Wednesday on 21 December, rifling home a failed clearance from a free-kick againstIpswich Town.[46]
Cooper was eligible to representEngland, having been born inKingston upon Hull, and Scotland through his paternal grandfather who was born inBo'ness,West Lothian.[47] During his time in the youth team atHull City, he chose to represent Scotland and made his debut atunder-17 level in March 2008, before going on to play for theunder-19s in 2009.[48]
Cooper received his first call-up to the seniorScotland squad on 10 March 2016 for a friendly againstDenmark,[49] and made his debut for the squad in a 2–1 defeat toRussia on 6 September 2019.[50] He began to feature frequently for Scotland in 2020 and played 120 minutes againstIsrael in theUEFA Euro 2020 play-off semi final, which Scotland won 5–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw.[51] A muscle injury meant that he would miss the final againstSerbia, which Scotland again won on penalties to qualify for Euro 2020 – their first major tournament sinceFrance 98.[52] Cooper started the first game of the tournament against theCzech Republic atHampden Park, a 2–0 defeat for Scotland. Cooper was included in the 26-man squad forUEFA Euro 2024 hosted inGermany.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hull City | 2008–09 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Championship | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Carlisle United (loan) | 2010–11 | League One | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Huddersfield Town (loan) | 2011–12 | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Chesterfield | 2012–13 | League Two | 29 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | League Two | 41 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 48 | 3 | |
| 2014–15 | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 71 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 80 | 6 | ||
| Leeds United | 2014–15[54] | Championship | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |
| 2015–16[55] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17[56] | Championship | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18[57] | Championship | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19[58] | Championship | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 3 | |
| 2019–20[59] | Championship | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21[60] | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[61] | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[62] | Premier League | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24[63] | Championship | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| Total | 262 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 284 | 11 | ||
| CSKA Sofia | 2024–25 | Bulgarian First League | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | Bulgarian First League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2025–26[64] | Championship | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 388 | 17 | 17 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 433 | 18 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 19 | 0 | |
Chesterfield
Leeds United
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