Drey Wright

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Drey Wright
Personal information
Full name Drey Jermaine Wright[1]
Date of birth (1995-04-30) 30 April 1995 (age 29)[2][3]
Place of birth Greenwich, London, England
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Colchester United
Number 7
Youth career
0000–2012 Colchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012– Colchester United 49 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:59, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Drey Jermaine Wright (born 30 April 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Colchester United. The son of former Ipswich Town and Southampton midfielder Jermaine Wright, Wright has progressed through the Colchester United Academy, where he made his first-team debut in 2012.

Career

Born in Greenwich, London,[4] Wright is the son of former Ipswich Town and Southampton midfielder Jermaine Wright.[5] A rapid winger who progressed through the Academy at Colchester United,[6] Wright featured for the Colchester first-team in the 2011–12 pre-season campaign, scoring in a 6–2 friendly win over Whitton United on 27 July 2011 for a youthful U's side.[7] Through the season, he mostly featured for the youth and reserve sides, alongside appearances in the Essex Senior Cup. He netted in their 4–0 semi-final win against Concord Rangers on 23 February 2012 to book their place in the final.[8] He featured in the final held against Canvey Island on 17 April, a game in which Colchester were defeated 1–0.[9] He then scored in the reserve sides penultimate game of the campaign on 24 April in a 2–1 win against Oxford United,[10] and despite a defeat to Luton Town in the final game, he helped the side claim the last-ever Football Combination North Division title on 1 May.[11]

2012–13 season

In May 2012, after just one year of his apprenticeship and on the back of his success with the club's reserve side, Wright signed a two-year professional development contract with Colchester alongside fellow academy products Bradley Hamilton, Ryan Melaugh, Tosin Olufemi and Shaun Phillips.[12] Wright then featured in the first-teams preparations for the 2012–13 season, appearing in Colchester's 2–1 friendly defeat to Premier League West Ham United at the Colchester Community Stadium on 21 July, scraping the post with a shot late in the game.[13] After the highs of facing West Ham, he then featured for an inexperienced U's team in a 4–1 friendly thrashing by Isthmian League Division One North side Witham Town three days later.[14] He scored his first goal in pre-season on 27 July at Maldon & Tiptree, grabbing Colchester's second after Freddie Sears had opened the scoring in a 2–1 victory.[15] He scored his second in the closing pre-season game against Bishop's Stortford on 11 August with a fine individual goal in the 18th minute in the 1–0 win.[16]

File:John Ward 1.jpg
John Ward handed Wright his professional debut for Colchester United in the League Cup in August 2012.

Colchester manager John Ward said that "it doesn't really surprise me" that both Wright and teammate Alex Gilbey has made such huge strides towards first-team football.[17] Ward then handed Wright his professional debut in the League Cup tie against Yeovil Town on 14 August, the opening game of the season. Wright started the match, and played for 58 minutes before being replaced by Karl Duguid in the 3–0 defeat at Huish Park.[18] He was drafted into the squad at the last minute following Freddie Sears withdrawal, but earned praise from his manager despite being forced into playing first-team football prematurely.[19] His father, Jermaine, said he was "proud to see my son out there playing" and that "he plays with a smile on his face and he loves playing with the first team".[20] He then made his first League One appearance for the club, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute for Clinton Morrison in Colchester's 2–2 home draw with Portsmouth on 21 August.[21]

On 28 August, Wright's cross for Freddie Ladapo's goal in their Professional Development League Two match against Swansea City was enough to hand Colchester their first-ever win in the newly established under-21 league format.[22] He scored for Colchester in their 8–0 Essex Senior Cup win against Brentwood Town on 19 December,[23] and he followed this up with his first professional goal in his first league start on Boxing Day in a 3–1 home defeat to Brentford, a game in which he played the full 90 minutes.[24] Manager Joe Dunne enthused that "Drey Wright was outstanding" and that he "had an exceptional full debut and really showed his strength".[25]

In March 2013, Wright was shortlisted for the League Football Education ' League One Apprentice of the Year' award, nominated alongside Sheffield United's George Willis and eventual winner Luke James of Hartlepool United.[26] He then scored his second professional goal for Colchester on 1 April, claiming the opener in a 1–1 draw with Oldham Athletic following an error from Latics goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis.[27] He also netted in the following game, grabbing the U's second goal in a vital 2–1 win in the battle against relegation over Leyton Orient on 6 April.[28] Wright ended his first professional season with 23 first-team appearances, having scored three goals,[29] and was rewarded at the club's annual end of season awards evening on his 18th birthday, earning the Colchester United 'Young Player of the Year' accolade ahead of Sam Walker and Gavin Massey.[3]

2013–14 season

Wright was selected for Colchester's opening 2013–14 pre-season game against Heybridge Swifts on 10 July 2013. He set up John-Joe O'Toole for the U's opening goal, before scoring himself from a David Wright pass.[30] With one-year remaining on his contract, Wright signed a two-year extension on 26 July to keep him with the club until summer 2016.[31] He was brought on as a substitute in the opening game of the season on 3 August in a 1–0 win at Gillingham, setting up Andrew Bond to score the 88th-minute winner.[32] Wright grabbed a goal on 13 August when the U's took on an Arsenal Academy XI at the Community Stadium, scoring the third goal before half-time in the 5–1 victory.[33] He then scored another goal in another friendly fixture two weeks later on 28 August, with his tap-in proving to be the only goal of the game against Dagenham & Redbridge.[34]

A calf strain left Wright out of action in early September,[35] but he recovered in time to make his first start of the season in their 2–0 away defeat to Coventry City on 8 September.[36] Having undergone a knee operation in October 2013, Wright returned to light training with the squad in February 2014 having not featured since 14 September 2013 in the U's 2–2 draw with Bradford City.[37] He continued his comeback from injury on 6 March when he played for 60 minutes in Colchester's Essex Senior Cup semi-final defeat to Concord Rangers,[38] Manager Joe Dunne then announced that he was looking to loan Wright out to another club in order to find first-team action elsewhere to aid his recovery process.[39] However, Wright then made his first appearance for the first-team in almost seven months as a substitute for David Wright in the U's 2–0 away defeat to Peterborough United on 2 April.[40] Wright finished his injury-struck campaign with just 13 appearances to his name.[41]

2014–15 season

With his injury woes of the previous season now behind him, Wright was again featuring regularly for the U's in the 2014–15 pre-season campaign, scoring the second goal in Colchester's 4–1 win at A.F.C. Sudbury on 17 July 2014,[42] and then again in their 8–1 thrashing of Leiston on 19 July.[43] After starting Colchester's first game of the season at home to Oldham Athletic on 9 August, Wright suffered a recurrence of his knee injury which forced him out of much of last season. He was withdrawn after 64 minutes and replaced by Dominic Vose in the 2–2 draw.[44][45] He marked his comeback with two goals in the U's 3–2 2014–15 Professional U21 Development League win over Brentford at Florence Park on 16 September,[46] He returned to first-team action for the first time in six weeks, and for the first time under new manager Tony Humes on 20 September as an 84th-minute substitute for Gavin Massey in a 0–0 home tie with Bradford City.[47]

Wright announced his return to full fitness in late September following his return to the first-team,[48] aiding his cause with his first goal of the season, and his first for the club in 18-months, with the opener in Colchester's 3–3 Football League Trophy draw with Gillingham on 7 October.[49] Wright then limped out of the under-21 Development Squad 5–0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday on 14 October with another recurrence of his knee injury.[50] As a result of the injury, Wright was ruled out for the rest of the season with cruciate ligament damage.[51]

2015–16 season

Wright returned to first-team action on 11 August 2015 as a second-half substitute during Colchester's 1–0 League Cup defeat to Reading.[52] He celebrated his 50th career appearance for Colchester during the season,[53] ending the campaign with 13 appearances.[54] He was offered a new deal at the end of the season following Colchester's relegation to League Two.[55][56] He signed a new one-year contract extension on 25 May 2016.[57]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 April 2016.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Colchester United 2012–13[29] League One 21 3 0 0 1 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 23 3
2013–14[41] League One 12 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 0
2014–15[58] League One 5 0 0 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 1 6 1
2015–16[54] League One 11 0 0 0 1 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 13 0
Career total 49 3 0 0 3 0 3 1 55 4
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Appearance in Football League Trophy

Honours

Individual
  • 2012–13 Colchester United Young Player of the Year[3]

References

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  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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