Ritchie De Laet at Carrington, 2010 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ritchie Ria Alfons De Laet[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 November 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Antwerp, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Norwich City (on loan from Manchester United) |
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| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1998 | KSK Hoboken | ||
| 1998–1999 | Mechelen | ||
| 1999–2004 | KSK Hoboken | ||
| 2004–2005 | KFCO Wilrijk | ||
| 2005–2006 | Royal Antwerp | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2007 | Royal Antwerp | 4 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Stoke City | 0 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Wrexham (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2009– | Manchester United | 3 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Preston North End (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2011– | → Norwich City (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009– | Belgium | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:00, 27 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ritchie Ria Alfons De Laet (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɪtʃi də ˈlaːt], born 28 November 1988) is a Belgian footballer who currently plays as a defender for English side Norwich City on loan from Manchester United.
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De Laet began his career at Belgian club Royal Antwerp. On 17 August 2007, he signed a three-year deal with Stoke City for an initial £100,000 fee.[3]
In July 2008, De Laet joined Bournemouth on trial, and played his first game in a friendly against Portsmouth, a 4–1 defeat. However, he later returned to Stoke. In October 2008, he joined Wrexham on a one-month loan deal, making his debut in a 2–0 victory over Lewes in the Conference National. He made a total of three appearances during his time at the club before his loan spell was terminated in order for him to undergo a hernia operation.[4]
On 8 January 2009, De Laet was signed by Manchester United on a three-year contract. The fee to be paid by Manchester United will depend on De Laet's performances for the club.[5] After joining United, De Laet played exclusively for the club's reserve team. In March 2009, De Laet was named as one of five over-age players in the Manchester United under-18 squad for the Torneo Calcio Memorial Claudio Sassi-Sassuolo; he played in three of the five matches, and scored a penalty in the 5–3 semi-final shootout win over Modena to take the Red Devils into the final, in which they beat Ajax 1–0.[6] De Laet made his first appearance for the Manchester United first team on 24 May 2009, when he was named at left back for the last game of the 2008–09 Premier League season against Hull City.[7] In the 2009–10 season, De Laet featured in the League Cup, coming on as a substitute against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Barnsley in the Third and Fourth Rounds and starting against Tottenham Hotspur in the Fifth. Despite a defensive injury crisis in November 2009, Alex Ferguson preferred to bring midfielder Michael Carrick on for Gary Neville ahead of De Laet, after the United captain suffered a groin strain in the next league match away to West Ham on 5 December. He then played his first league game of the 2009–10 season on 15 December against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He played his second league game against Fulham on 19 December which ended in a 3–0 defeat. On 4 May 2010, he was voted as the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year, beating Oliver Gill and Magnus Eikrem to the award.[8]
In September 2010, De Laet joined Sheffield United on a 30-day emergency loan deal after the Blades suffered a defensive injury crisis, with both Chris Morgan and Robert Kozluk ruled out for several weeks.[9] De Laet returned to Old Trafford at the end of his month having made six appearances for the Blades.[10]
On 17 November 2010, De Laet joined Preston North End on a 28-day loan after an injury to first-team defender Callum Davidson.[11]
On 14 January 2011, De Laet joined Portsmouth on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season.[12]
On 17 June 2011, De Laet joined Norwich City on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season.[13] He made his debut in the 1–1 draw at Wigan Athletic, conceding the penalty for the Wigan goal. However, he redeemed himself with a number of excellent blocks to retain the scoreline. On 21 August, he scored his first goal for Norwich City against former club Stoke City in a 1–1 draw. De Laet was sidelined with a back injury whilst at Norwich. He made his return from injury on 27 December against Tottenham Hotspur in a 2–0 loss.
A few days after his Manchester United debut, De Laet was called up for Belgium's Kirin Cup matches against Chile and Japan.[14] He made his debut in the match against Chile on 29 May 2009.[15] He is a regular for the under-21s in the 2011 European Championship qualifying.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[nb 1] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Royal Antwerp | 2006–07 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| Stoke City | 2007–08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Wrexham (loan) | 2008–09 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||
| Manchester United | 2008–09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Sheffield United (loan) | 2010–11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Preston North End (loan) | 2010–11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||
| Portsmouth (loan) | 2010–11 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 0 | ||
| Norwich City (loan) | 2011–12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 57 | 1 | |
Statistics accurate as of match played 27 December 2011[16]
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