Tom Ince

Tom Ince

Ince playing for Hull City in 2014
Personal information
Full name Thomas Christopher Ince[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-30) 30 January 1992
Place of birth Stockport, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Playing position Attacking midfielder / Winger / Forward
Club information
Current team
 Derby County
Number 23
Youth career
2008–2010 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2010–2011 Liverpool 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Notts County (loan) 6 (2)
2011–2014 Blackpool 100 (31)
2014 → Crystal Palace (loan) 8 (1)
2014–2015 Hull City 7 (0)
2014 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 6 (0)
2015 → Derby County (loan) 18 (11)
2015– Derby County 26 (8)
National team
2009 England U17 4 (0)
2011 England U19 4 (0)
2012–2014 England U21 18 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:52, 5 February 2016 (UTC).

† Appearances (goals)

Thomas Christopher "Tom" Ince (born 30 January 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Championship club Derby County.

The son of former England captain Paul Ince, Tom Ince began his career with Liverpool, for whom he made his professional début in the 2010–11 season, coming on as a substitute in the Football League Cup. He later spent time that season on loan at Football League One club Notts County, scoring twice in eight appearances. At the end of the season, Ince turned down a new contract and moved to Blackpool, who had just been relegated from the Premier League. In two-and-a-half seasons at Blackpool, Ince played 113 games in all competitions and scored 33 goals. He also won the 2013 Football League Young Player of the Year Award and was named in the 2012–13 PFA Team of the Year.

In January 2014, he signed on loan for Premier League club Crystal Palace, for whom he scored his first Premier League goal, and returned to the division permanently at the end of the season, joining Hull City on a free transfer. Ince did not feature regularly for Hull in the 2014–15 season, spending time on loan at the end of 2014 with Nottingham Forest before returning briefly to Hull. A loan spell at the end of the season with Derby County was a success, with Ince scoring 11 goals in 18 appearances. At the end of the season, he joined Derby for a fee of £4.75 million, briefly becoming the club's most-expensive signing.

Ince has been capped internationally for England at U17, U19 and U21 levels.

Club career

Liverpool

Ince signed for Liverpool as a youth player in 2008 and was handed a first-team squad number (number 45) at the start of the 2010–11 season. On 29 July 2010, he was an unused substitute for the first time in Liverpool's UEFA Europa League qualifier against FK Rabotnički. He made his début for Liverpool on 22 September 2010 as a 106th-minute substitute for Dani Pacheco in the club's third round League Cup defeat to Northampton Town at Anfield.[3]

Notts County (loan)

On 1 November 2010, Ince linked up with his father Paul Ince, who was the manager of Football League One club Notts County, signing a short-term loan deal from Liverpool until January 2011.[4][5] He signed on loan alongside 22 year-old right back Stephen Darby. Ince made his County début on 6 November in the 2–0 FA Cup first round victory against Gateshead.[6] On 13 November, he made his league début in the 3–1 away loss to Exeter City. On 11 December, Ince scored his first career goal, in County's 2–0 league win against Milton Keynes Dons.[7]

At the end of December 2010, Ince said that joining his father at Notts County had benefited him as he had "got a bit lost" at Liverpool, who had tried to change his style of play. He found that his father "wanted me to be the player that I was" and that the move had "given me a fresher life".[8] Ince scored for County for a second time on 3 January 2011 in a 3–0 win against Hartlepool United before his loan expired on 10 January and he returned to Liverpool.

Return to Liverpool

Despite his father's repeated attempts to re-sign his son on loan,[9][10] Liverpool refused. Ince's contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season and they would not let Ince go back out on loan unless he signed a new long-term contract.[10] Ince's father described the contract offer as "derisory" and called Liverpool "silly" for refusing to let Ince re-join his club on loan.[10] Ultimately, Ince declined to sign a new contract with Liverpool and so he left the club on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Blackpool

Ince warming up for Blackpool in 2011

On 3 August 2011, Ince signed a two-year contract with Blackpool, with an option for a third.[11] As Ince was under 24 years of age and had been offered a new contract by his previous club, a compensation deal had to be agreed.[11] Liverpool and Blackpool agreed an undisclosed fee and a sell-on clause which entitled Liverpool to 35% of any fee that Blackpool later received for selling Ince.[11][12] As Blackpool had been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2010–11 season, Ince thus dropped down to the Championship to join the club.

He made his Blackpool début in the League Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on 11 August 2011.[13] He scored his first goals for Blackpool with both in a 2–1 win over Doncaster Rovers on 18 October 2011.[14] On 25 February 2012 he scored another brace in a 3–1 away win against Bristol City.[15] In the Championship play-off final at Wembley on 19 May 2012, he scored an equaliser against West Ham United but Blackpool lost the match 2–1.[16]

The first League game of Blackpool's 2012–13 season, on 18 August 2012, saw Ince score the only goals of the game in a 2–0 win at Millwall. Following the game, manager Ian Holloway revealed that Blackpool had received an offer from an unknown club, but that Ince had committed his future to the Seasiders after talking to his father. Holloway stated, "There was interest in Tom last week. No one has heard about it but I'll share it with you. His dad wants him to stay with us."[17]

On 7 August, he scored twice in a 6–0 win against Ipswich Town.[18] In September, he scored in back-to-back games against Barnsley and Middlesbrough.[19][20] He scored his tenth goal of the season in November, completing a run of scoring in four successive games.[21][22][23][24] In December 2012, it was reported that Ince's form was attracting the attention of his former club Liverpool, who were preparing a bid of £4 million in the January transfer window.[25] In January, Liverpool entered into negotiations with Blackpool, but The Seasiders' asking price of £8.5 million proved too much for Liverpool after they had already signed Daniel Sturridge and paid off Joe Cole's contract so they withdrew from talks.[26]

In April 2013, after Wilfried Zaha had moved from Crystal Palace to Manchester United for £15 million, and with Ince the fifth-top scorer in the Championship on 18 goals, Ince's father commented that Tom should be valued at £25 million.[27] On 30 June 2013, Blackpool accepted what was believed to be an £8 million offer from Cardiff City. It was reported that Swansea City were also interested in signing Ince, but were put off by the asking price.[28] Despite agreeing personal terms and passing a medical with Cardiff City, Ince turned down the move on 12 July to stay in Blackpool with his newborn child.[29]

During his time at Blackpool, Ince made 113 appearances, scoring 33 goals and received the Football League Young Player of the Year award in 2013.[30]

Crystal Palace (loan)

In the January transfer window, numerous clubs expressed interest in signing Ince, including Stoke City, Swansea City and his former club Liverpool again. However, Ince once again spurned their advances, not believing that he was ready to move to a club of Liverpool's size.[31] On 31 January 2014, Ince signed for Crystal Palace on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season for a loan fee of £1 million.[32] Ince made his début on 8 February 2014, playing 90 minutes and scoring the first of three goals for Crystal Palace on the day, in a 3–1 win against West Bromwich Albion.

Ince started the next two matches, a 2–0 defeat to Manchester United on 22 February and a 0–0 draw with Swansea City on 2 March, then came off the bench in a 1–0 defeat to Southampton on 8 March. He started against Sunderland on 15 March, a match that also ended 0–0, and then didn't make another appearance for over a month. He was an unused substitute for the next 6 Premier League matches, as manager Tony Pulis preferred to play Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon on the wings. He came off the bench in a 2–0 defeat to Manchester City on 27 April and in a 3–3 draw against Liverpool on 5 May before starting the final game of the season, a 2–2 draw with Fulham on 11 May.

Hull City

With his contract expiring at Blackpool and Ince unwilling to take up the option of a third year, clubs began to show an interest in signing him. Crystal Palace, Hull City, Newcastle United, Stoke City, Sunderland and Swansea City from the Premier League and European clubs Monaco and Inter Milan all expressed a desire to sign him.[33] Inter Milan, a club Ince's father had played for from 1995 to 1997, confirmed in May 2014 that they had offered Ince a contract,[34][35] but Ince turned it down.[33] He said that "after lengthy discussions with my family I have decided that my immediate future in the game lies in the Premier League" although he "still ha[d] ambitions to one day play in Europe".[33]

After his contract expired at Blackpool, Ince transferred to Hull City on a free transfer in July 2014 and signed a two-year contract, with an agreement over compensation not initially made.[36][37] After much negotiation, and with a decision by an independent tribunal looming, Hull and Blackpool settled in January 2015 on a figure of £1.6 million, rising to £2.3 million, dependant on appearances and if Hull avoided relegation.[12][38] Due to the earlier sell-on clause Liverpool had negotiated with Blackpool, Liverpool received £560,000.[12]

Ince came on as a substitute in both legs of Hull's Europa League third qualifying round tie against Slovakian club AS Trenčín before making his league début for the club on 16 August, playing 82 minutes of a 1–0 win away at Queens Park Rangers. He also came off the bench in both legs of the Europa League play-off round against Belgian side Sporting Lokeren; sandwiched between those matches, he started in a 1–1 draw against Stoke City on 24 August. He started again for the club in a 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa on 31 August, though he was withdrawn after 57 minutes. He went a month before appearing again for the club, playing 90 minutes and scoring in a 3–2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on 24 September.

Nottingham Forest (loan)

On 30 October 2014, having played in only three of Hull's nine league matches of the season thus far, Ince signed on loan with Championship side Nottingham Forest until 28 December.[39] He made his début the following day, playing the full 90 minutes as Notts Forest lost 3–0 to Huddersfield Town. Of the next seven matches, Ince made three starts and two substitute appearances before being recalled early by his parent club.

Return to Hull

Ince was recalled to Hull on 22 December 2014, along with Maynor Figueroa from Wigan Athletic.[40] He went straight back into the team, coming on as a late substitute in Hull's 3–1 win at Sunderland on Boxing Day. He came off the bench two days later in a 1–0 defeat to Leicester and then started against Arsenal in the FA Cup on 4 January, a match Hull lost 2–0. He came on in the 39th minute of Hull's 1–0 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion on 10 January and then went three weeks before playing again, coming off the bench in a 3–0 defeat to Newcastle on 31 January. That was to be his final appearance for The Tigers.

Derby County (loan)

Ince joined Championship side Derby County on 2 February 2015.[41] Five days later, he scored twice on his début for Derby in a 4–1 win against Bolton Wanderers.[42] He scored three more goals in his next two games: Derby's first in a 2–2 draw against Bournemouth on 10 February and another brace, in a 3–3 draw away to Rotherham United. He went four games without a goal before putting Derby 2–0 up against Birmingham City on 7 March, though two late goals for The Blues saw them rescue a point. He only scored once in his next six games, this in a 2–2 draw at home to Watford on 3 April, before scoring four goals in his next three. The first was the second goal in a 4–0 rout of Blackpool on 14 April, a brace followed in a 4–4 draw against Huddersfield Town on 18 April and the last came in a 3–3 draw against Millwall on 25 April. He thus finished his spell at Derby with 11 goals in 18 matches. Of the 8 matches in which he scored, 6 of them finished in draws.

Derby County

On 3 July 2015, Derby County signed Ince on a four-year contract for £4.75 million,[43] with Ince briefly becoming the club's most-expensive signing. His record was surpassed less than one month later as the club bought midfielder Bradley Johnson from Norwich City for £6 million.[44] The sale of Ince was reported to have left Hull manager Steve Bruce livid, with Bruce saying that he "wouldn't have sold Tom and I did all I could to keep him... we shouldn't be selling our top young players when trying to put together a team to challenge for an immediate return to the Premier League. I saw Tom as an integral part of my plans. But Derby met the buy-out clause and then it was the choice of others [at Hull] to let him leave."[45]

Ince started all of Derby's first eight league matches, also coming on as a substitute in the club's 2–1 League Cup defeat to Portsmouth on 12 August. His first goal arrived on 15 September, the only goal against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. He missed the next match, a 0–0 draw at home to Burnley on 21 September, with a minor training ground injury.[46] On his return to the starting XI away to newly promoted MK Dons on 26 September, Ince provided a 90th minute assist for Darren Bent and scored in the 96th minute to seal a 3–1 win for The Rams.[47] Ince made it three goals in three games on 3 October, grabbing the second in a 2–0 win against Brentford. He started the next three League matches, against Wolves on 18 October, Blackburn Rovers on 21 October and against Huddersfield Town on 24 October but was taken off in the 26th minute of the latter match. He had injured his ankle but it was not as bad as first feared[48] and although he missed the next two League matches against Rotherham United and QPR, he may return to the team for the East Midlands derby against his former club Notts Forest on 6 November.[49] On the 15 December, he scored his first professional hat-trick against Bristol City with two solo goals and a goal assisted by Darren Bent.

International career

Ince playing for England under-21 team in 2012

Ince made four appearances for England Under-17s in 2009 and another four for the Under 19s in 2011. On 29 August 2012 he was called up to the Under 21 squad by manager Stuart Pearce for the European Championship qualifying games against Azerbaijan on 1 September and Norway four days later.[50] He made his under-21 debut in the 2–0 win over Azerbaijan at Dalga Arena, Baku.[51] On 5 February 2013, he scored his first goals for the under-21 side, scoring twice in a 4–0 win against Sweden in Walsall.[52] In March 2015, he ruled himself out of selection for future under-21 squads.[53]

Style of play

Ince is left-footed and began his career as a left winger.[11] However, when he joined Blackpool, he was often deployed on the right, either as a winger or an inside forward, cutting in on his favoured left foot. He has also played more centrally as an attacking midfielder or forward.[25] Ince's main attributes are his pace, acceleration and skill on the ball, as well as his intelligence and composure when through on goal.[25]

Personal life

Ince became a father for the first time on 11 July 2013.[54]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 February 2016[55]
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2010–11 Premier League 0000100010
Notts County (loan) 2010–11 League One 6220——82
Blackpool 2011–12 Championship 33641103[lower-alpha 1]1418
2012–13 Championship 44182010—4718
2013–14 Championship 2371010—257
Total 1003171303111333
Crystal Palace (loan) 2013–14 Premier League 81———81
Hull City 2014–15 Premier League 7010114[lower-alpha 2]0131
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2014–15 Championship 60———60
Derby County (loan) 2014–15 Championship 1811———1811
Derby County 2015–16 Championship 2680010—278
Career total 17153101617119456
  1. ↑ Appearances in the Championship play-offs
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2011 and 31/07/2011" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Player Profile – Thomas Ince". Premier League. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "Liverpool 2 – 2 Northampton". BBC Sport. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Notts Co bring Reds pair in". Yahoo! Eurosport UK. 1 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Duo complete loan move". Liverpool F.C. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Notts County 2 – 0 Gateshead". BBC Sport. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Fletcher, Paul (11 December 2010). "Notts County 2–0 MK Dons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Notts County loan benefits Thomas Ince". BBC Sport. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "County boss Ince wants return of Liverpool duo". Tribal Football. January 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 "Magpies boss accuses Liverpool of being 'silly' over his son's future". The Nottingham Post. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Blackpool sign Liverpool winger Tom Ince". BBC Sport. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 "Liverpool FC to bank £560,000 windfall from Tom Ince deal". The Liverpool Echo. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Sheffield Wednesday 0–0 Blackpool (4–2 penalties)". BBC Sport. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Blackpool 2–1 Doncaster". BBC Sport. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  15. ↑ "Bristol City 1–3 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  16. ↑ Gibbs, Thom (19 May 2012). "Blackpool v West Ham United: live". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Tom Ince advised to stay at Blackpool by father Paul, says Holloway". BBC Sport. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  18. ↑ "Blackpool 6–0 Ipswich". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  19. ↑ "Barnsley 1–1 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  20. ↑ "Blackpool 4–1 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  21. ↑ "Derby 4–1 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  22. ↑ "Sheffield Wed 0–8 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Cartwright, Phil (10 November 2012). "Blackpool 2–2 Bolton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  24. ↑ "Bristol City 1–1 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  25. 1 2 3 "Exclusive: Liverpool FC close in on £4m Tom Ince transfer". The Liverpool Echo. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "In the Red: Tom Ince's move to Liverpool falling apart after fee reaches £8.5m". The Daily Mirror. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Thomas Ince worth £25m - Blackpool boss & father Paul Ince". BBC Sport. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  28. ↑ "Cardiff boss Malky Mackay hopeful over Tom Ince signing". BBC Sport. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  29. ↑ "Thomas Ince: Cardiff City target to remain at Blackpool". BBC Sport. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  30. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28203490 BBC Sport [online], Date retrieved 10 March 2015. Date published 07 July 2014.
  31. ↑ "New Crystal Palace signing Tom Ince rejected January move to Liverpool says father Paul". The Daily Mirror. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  32. ↑ Hytner, David (31 January 2014). "Crystal Palace move to secure £1m loan deal for winger Tom Ince". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  33. 1 2 3 "Tom Ince rejects chance to join Internazionale on free transfer". The Guardian. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  34. ↑ "Inter Milan confirm contract offer to ex-Liverpool man Tom Ince". The Daily Star. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  35. ↑ "Tom Ince relishing prospect of following in father’s Inter footsteps". The Guardian. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  36. ↑ "Tom Ince signs two-year contract with Hull City". The Guardian. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  37. ↑ Hampson, Andy (7 July 2014). "Tom Ince to Hull City: Winger moves to Hull City after Inter Milan deal falls through". The Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  38. ↑ "Tom Ince: Blackpool could get £2.3m compensation from Hull". BBC Sport. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  39. ↑ "Tom Ince: Hull winger joins Nottingham Forest on loan". BBC Sport. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  40. ↑ "Hull City recall Tom Ince and Maynor Figueroa". BBC Sport. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  41. ↑ "Thomas Ince joins Derby from Hull City". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  42. ↑ "Tom Ince: Derby County sign Hull City winger for club record fee". BBC Football. 3 July 2015.
  43. ↑ "Thomas Ince joins Derby from Hull City". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  44. ↑ "Derby County: Rams sign Bradley Johnson from Norwich City in club record deal". The Derby Telegraph. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  45. ↑ "Tom Ince £4.75m sale to Derby County leaves Hull manager Steve Bruce livid". The Derby Mail. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  46. ↑ "Derby County wait on Tom Ince's fitness ahead of trip to MK Dons". The Derby Telegraph. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  47. ↑ "MK Dons 1 – 3 Derby". BBC Sport. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  48. ↑ "Derby County: Tom Ince a doubt for Saturday against Rotherham". The Derby Telegraph. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  49. ↑ "Derby County: Tom Ince out of QPR game but could be fit to face Nottingham Forest". The Derby Telegraph. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  50. ↑ Watt, William (29 August 2012). "Ince handed England call-up". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  51. ↑ "Azerbaijan 0–2 England". UEFA. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  52. ↑ "England 4–0 Sweden". TheFA.com. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  53. ↑ "Tom Ince: Gareth Southgate reveals winger's Under-21s snub". BBC Sport. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  54. ↑ "Tom Ince: ‘Dad says I must leave Blackpool to reach top’". The Independent. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  55. ↑ Tom Ince career statistics at Soccerbase

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tom Ince.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.