Clayton: Adam

2010-2012 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Midfielder

Born: Manchester: 14-01-1989

Debut v Derby County (h) (substitute): 07-08-2010

5’9” 11st 11lb (2010)

Clayton joined Manchester City at the age of seven and progressed through the clubs Junior and Academy teams. He signed professional forms with City in July 2008 and had a taste of the first team atmosphere when he was on the bench at the Hawthorns on 21st December 2008, in a 2-1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion, and then again in the F.A. Cup home debacle against Nottingham Forest on 3rd January 2009, which saw City humbled 0-3. He did play regularly for the City Reserves and was rewarded with a contract extension on 1st May 2009, when he signed a further two year contract. On 1st August 2009 he was loaned to League One side Carlisle United until the start of the new year to gain first team experience. It was not until 7th November 2009 that he made his debut at Brunton Park, when he came on as a seventy-six minute substitute for former Leeds United Junior Tommy Taiwo in a 2-2 home draw in the First Round of the F.A. Cup with Morecambe. He scored his first goal for the club three days later in his full debut in a Johnstone's Paint Trophy 3-1 win at Chesterfield. He made six League starts, two starts and one game from the bench in the F.A. Cup and scored once in two starts in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, before returning to City at the end of his loan period in 3rd January 2010, after playing an outstanding role in a 1-3 defeat at Goodison Park the previous day in the F.A. Cup. He had made an impression at Carlisle and the club negotiated a further loan from 19th January until the end of the season. In that time he was a regular in the Cumbrians' line up and made twenty-two more League starts, scoring once at home to Yeovil Town on 16th March 2010, and also made three starts in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. He was a pivotal part of the team that reached the final of the Trophy, only to be beaten 1-4 by Southampton in the final. In the Northern Area Final of the Trophy Carlisle beat the much fancied Leeds United on penalties to progress to the Wembley Final. It was Clayton who gave Carlisle an early lead in the second leg at Brunton Park, and was also one of the successful Carlisle penalty-takers in the shoot-out. He had also fought his way into the England Under-Twenty team, making his debut as a sixty-seventh minute substitute against Italy on 31st March 2009 and went on to win four caps. He came on at the start of the second half against Montenegro on 11th August 2009 and was given the number four shirt in the 2009 World Cup squad, making his full debut on 26th September against Uraguay and starting against Uzbeckistan on 2nd October 2009, but was substituted after sixty-seven minutes. Carlisle tried to sign Clayton on a permanent basis in July 2010, but after agreeing terms with City, Clayton turned down the chance to return, and decided to stay and fight for a place in the City first team. He did not want to play in the lower Leagues and he saw himself as being good enough in the EPL or CCCL. On 6th August 2010 Leeds United gave him the chance to play at Championship level and he signed a one month loan contract. Leeds had run into midfield problems with Max Gradel suspended for three games and Robert Snodgrass out for a month with an injury. The one month loan gave him the chance to prove himself and after making his Leeds debut on the opening day of the season as a seventy-seventh minute subsitute in the home game with Derby County and following this up with one minute of the next fixture at Nottingham Forest, he signed on a permanent basis on 31st August 2010. He then ran into injury and suspension problems and while sometimes being unused on the bench he could only manage seventeen minutes in a 4-6 home defeat by Preston North End on 28th September 2010 and nine minutes in another home defeat, this time by 0-4 to Cardiff City on 25th October 2010. Manager Simon Grayson did not seem to have Clayton in mind as a first team regular and let him go out on loan to gain first team experience. On 19th November he went on loan to Peterborough United and created a favourable impression as he made six starts and one game from the bench in League One games and also played one F. A. Cup tie, without scoring, before he returned to Elland Road on 23rd March 2011. United had already bolstered their squad with Barry Bannan and Jake Livermore and so Clayton was loaned out once more on 24th March 2011 for the rest of the season to MK Dons. Once more he created a favouable impression and helped the club reach the League One play-offs, where ironically they were eliminated by Peterborough. He scored once, against his former club Carlisle in a 3-2 win on 9th April 2011, in one start and five games from the bench in League One games and two starts in the play-offs. MK Dons Manager Karl Robinson would have liked to have made the move permanent, but after the loanees of the previous season had returned to their clubs and Leeds had allowed Neil Kilkenny and Bradley Johnson to move, Clayton now found that Simon Grayson had him firmly in mind as a regular for Leeds. He was installed in the Leeds midfield and had played all their pre-season friendlies before he made his run-on debut for Leeds at Southampton on 6th August 2011. He scored his first goal for Leeds on 21st August 2011 in a 2-2 draw with West Ham United at Upton Park and was an ever-present in the first month of the 2011-12 season. He missed just one League game through injury, at home to Crystal Palace on 10th September 2011 and two from suspension at Reading and at home to Derby County in April 2012 after he had accumulated ten yellow cards. He won the Leeds United goal of the season for his strike at Leicester City on 6th November 2011. Although he still had one year left on his at the end of the season, he was one of several players placed on the open to transfer list, when negotions for a new contract could not end conclusively. On 6th July 2012 he joined former boss Simon Grayson at Huddersfield Town for an undisclosed fee on a three year contract.