In 2012, 16-year-old Jerome Sinclair made his professional debut for Liverpool, just six days after his 16th birthday. This was the start of a new era at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers. Eleven games into the 2012/13 season, Liverpool faced West Brom in the League Cup and Sinclair was named on the bench. At the 80-minute mark, he was beckoned to get ready and he made his debut, beating Jack Robinson’s record of 16 years, eight months and eight days. Sinclair recalled his debut to FOOTY 258, saying “I’ll never forget that moment when the gaffer said, ‘You’re coming on’. At 16, I had no fear.”
Between his debut and second Liverpool appearance 956 days later, Sinclair battled injury, played for the club’s academy, and made one appearance for Wigan in the Championship. He was also involved in Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher’s all-star charity match, playing alongside Thierry Henry and Ryan Babel. He made three more appearances for Liverpool before Jurgen Klopp arrived and gave him his first and only start against Exeter in the FA Cup in January 2016, where he scored his first and only goal. Ten days later he confirmed his departure from Liverpool.
Sinclair signed with Watford in the summer of 2016 and paid a £4 million compensation fee for his signature, but he never got the chance to flourish at Vicarage Road. He played 14 games for the Hornets, and as a loanee played five times for Birmingham, 19 for Sunderland, 16 for Oxford United, 24 for VVV-Venlo, and 27 for CSKA Sofia – scoring a total of 13 goals. After his contract at Watford expired in 2021, he went on a brief trial at Oxford but no permanent deal was forthcoming.
Now 26, Sinclair is back in Birmingham and has “a number of business interests,” including the ownership of a branch of Morley’s, a fried-chicken takeaway. His place in Liverpool’s history books remains as the club’s youngest-ever player and he looks back on his time there fondly, telling FOOTY 258: “I did it with a heavy heart but at that moment I think it was right to make the decision I did. I don’t have a bad word to say about Liverpool.” His story serves as a cautionary tale for young players entering the cutthroat world of senior football, as it is important to have the right advisors and managers as well as the right opportunity.