Bobby De Cordova-Reid

📖 About

Bobby Armani De Cordova-Reid (né Reid; born 2 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for club Leicester City. Born in England, he represents Jamaica at international level.

Early and personal life

De Cordova-Reid was born in Bristol, England, and is of Jamaican descent. He grew up in the inner-city neighbourhood of Easton. De Cordova-Reid is a cousin to Anthony McNamee, a fellow footballer whose clubs include Watford and Norwich City. In October 2018 he changed his name from Bobby Reid to Bobby De Cordova-Reid. 'De Cordova' is his mother's name and Reid added it because he "wanted to represent her after the hard work she's done for me". His elder sister is Labour Member of Parliament Marsha de Cordova.

Club career

Bristol City

After playing for their youth team, De Cordova-Reid was offered a professional contract by Bristol City on 4 April 2011, and was called up to the first team for the last game of the 2010–11 season, where he made his senior debut. In November 2011, De Cordova-Reid signed on loan for Cheltenham Town until the end of the year. On 25 March 2013, De Cordova-Reid signed on loan for Oldham Athletic until the end of the 2012–13 season. He signed a one-month loan deal with Plymouth Argyle in September 2014. The loan deal was then extended for a second month, before he was recalled early following injury problems back at Bristol City. After making one appearance for his parent club, he returned on loan to Plymouth later that month. He returned to Plymouth for a third loan spell in January 2015. De Cordova-Reid played 27 times in the Football League Championship the following season, scoring two goals as City finished 18th, avoiding relegation straight back to League One. De Cordova-Reid featured as Bristol City reached the semi-finals of the 2017–18 EFL Cup with wins over Premier League opponents Watford, Stoke City, Crystal Palace and Manchester United. De Cordova-Reid scored in the semi-final defeat against Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Cardiff City

thumb|left|200px|De Cordova-Reid with [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City in 2018]] On 28 June 2018, De Cordova-Reid signed for Premier League newcomers, Cardiff City, on a four-year deal for a reported fee of £10 million. He described the 2017–18 season as "crazy". He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2018–19 season during a 2–0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth. De Cordova-Reid scored his first goal in a Cardiff shirt in a 4–2 win over Fulham on 20 October. On 2 February 2019, on his 26th birthday and also the first home game since the disappearance of new signing Emiliano Sala, Decordova-Reid scored both goals of a win over AFC Bournemouth.

Fulham

In August 2019, De Cordova-Reid moved to Fulham on loan. De Cordova-Reid made his debut in a 2–0 win against Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Championship on 10 August 2019. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win against Derby County on 26 November 2019. The deal became permanent on 24 January 2020, with De Cordova-Reid signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. De Cordova-Reid finished the 2020–21 season as Fulham's top scorer but the club were relegated from the Premier League after a single season in the top-flight. On 14 August 2021, he provided three assists in a 5–1 away win over Huddersfield Town. De Cordova-Reid and Fulham entered into discussions for a new contract at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Leicester City

On 6 July 2024, De Cordova-Reid signed for newly-promoted Premier League club Leicester City on a three-year contract. On 19 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the league. His first goal came on 8 December, where he scored a stoppage time equaliser to draw 2–2 against Brighton.

International career

In June 2019, De Cordova-Reid received an invitation to play for the Jamaica national side for the CONCACAF Gold Cup the following month. That August, he was officially called up for CONCACAF Nations League matches against Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana. He made his debut against the former on 6 September and scored in a 6–0 victory.

Honours

Fulham • EFL Championship: 2021–22; play-offs: 2020 Individual • Bristol City Player of the Year: 2017–18 • EFL Team of the Season: 2017–18 • PFA Team of the Year: 2017–18 Championship • CONCACAF Gold Cup Goal of the Tournament: 2021