Freya Gregory

Freya Gregory
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-01-12) 12 January 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Forward (club and country)
Defender (country)
Team information
Current team
 Southampton
(on loan from Aston Villa)
Number 7
Youth career
–2018 Aston Villa
2018–2020 Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Birmingham City 3 (0)
2020– Aston Villa 22 (1)
2022 → Leicester City (loan) 11 (1)
2023–2024 → Reading (loan) 3 (2)
2024– → Southampton (loan) 5 (1)
International career‡
2019 England U17 6 (0)
2021–2022 England U19 10 (3)
2022– England U23 8 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 February 2024

Freya Gregory (born 12 January 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Championship club Southampton, on loan from Women's Super League club Aston Villa, and as a defender for the England Under-23 youth team.

Club career

Birmingham City

Gregory was part of the Birmingham City academy for two seasons and broke into the first team in the 2019–20 season.[1] On 17 November 2019, Gregory made her senior debut for Birmingham City against Brighton & Hove Albion in a 3–0 FA WSL defeat.[2] She left Birmingham in June 2020.[3]

Aston Villa

On 4 July 2020, Gregory announced she was returning to Aston Villa, where she had previously been as a youth, ahead of the team's first season in the FA WSL.[4] She scored her first WSL goal in late April 2021, in a 1–1 draw against her former club Birmingham.[5] On 7 January 2022, Gregory joined Leicester City on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[6]

Reading (loan)

On 14 September 2023, Reading announced the season-long loan signing of Gregory from Aston Villa.[7] Gregory returned to Aston Villa on 4 January 2024, ending her loan at Reading early.[8]

Southampton (loan)

On 5 July 2024, Gregory joined Women's Championship side Southampton on a season-long loan.[9]

International career

In October 2019, Gregory was called to up to the England U17 team to play in the 2020 U17 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification games and played against Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Belgium.[10]

On 23 October 2021, after being named in the under-19 for 2022 U19 Championship qualification,[11] Gregory scored a penalty against Northern Ireland in an 8–1 win in Round 1.[12][13] On 17 February 2022, she scored in the Marbella International Tournament against Finland in a 4–0 victory with the U19 team.[14] On 9 April, in Round 2 of U19 Championship qualification, Gregory scored the second goal in England's 2–0 victory against Iceland.[15][16] In June 2022, with England qualifying for the tournament, she was named in the team for the 2022 U19 Championship.[17]

In February 2022, Gregory was named as part of the under-23 squad as a forward.[18] On 10 October, she scored against Sweden in a 1–1 draw.[19] On November 10, after being named as part of the U23 team as a defender,[20] she scored both goals against the Netherlands in the team's 2–0 win.[21] During 2023, Gregory returned to the squad as a forward,[22][23] playing in matches against Portugal,[24] Belgium,[25] and Norway.[26] In February 2024, Gregory was again announced as a defender for the under-23 squad,[27] featuring as the number 3 against Spain in a 3–1 defeat.[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 May 2024[29]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Birmingham City 2019–20 Women's Super League 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Aston Villa 2020–21 Women's Super League 9 1 0 0 0 0 9 1
2021–22 3 0 0 0 3 0 6 0
2022–23 7 0 2 0 3 0 12 0
2023–24 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 22 1 2 0 6 0 30 1
Leicester City (loan) 2021–22 Women's Super League 11 1 2 0 0 0 13 1
Reading (loan) 2023–24 Women's Championship 8 2 1 0 2 0 11 2
Career total 44 4 5 0 9 0 58 4

References

  1. ^ "Freya reflects on her Blues Women debut". Birmingham City Football Club. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Brighton 3-0 Birmingham". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  3. ^ "Gregory leaves City". www.newschain.uk. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Freya Gregory joins Aston Villa". Freya Gregory. 4 July 2020. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. ^ Wrack, Suzanne (28 April 2021). "Birmingham's Sarri grabs vital draw with last-minute goal against Aston Villa". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "Leicester City sign Aston Villa's Freya Gregory & Missy Goodwin". BBC Sport. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  7. ^ "FREYA GREGORY JOINS READING FC WOMEN ON SEASON-LONG LOAN". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 14 September 2023. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Freya Gregory Returns to Villa". AVFC.co.uk. Aston Villa F.C. 4 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Freya Gregory joins Women on loan". Southampton FC. 5 July 2024. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Freya Gregory (Birmingham) - FlashScore.com". www.flashscore.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  11. ^ Davies, Callum (15 October 2021). "England WU19s squad named for start of Euro qualifying campaign". England Football. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  12. ^ "England-Northern Ireland | Women's Under-19 2022". UEFA. 23 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  13. ^ Smith, Frank (23 October 2021). "England WU19s 8-1 Northern Ireland". England Football. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  14. ^ Smith, Frank (17 February 2022). "Goals from Grace Clinton, Elysia Boddy and Freya Gregory help England women's under-19s to victory". England Football. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  15. ^ "England-Iceland | Women's Under-19 2022". UEFA. 9 April 2022. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  16. ^ Smith, Frank (9 April 2022). "England WU19s take a step closer to EURO qualification with victory over Iceland". England Football. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  17. ^ Davies, Callum (24 June 2022). "WU19s squad named for EUROs". England Football. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  18. ^ Davies, Callum (9 February 2022). "Young Lionesses set for action". England Football. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  19. ^ Veevers, Nicholas (10 October 2022). "Report: Sweden 1-1 England WU23s". England Football. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  20. ^ Davies, Callum (2 November 2022). "England WU23s squad named for Netherlands test". England Football. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  21. ^ Smith, Frank (10 November 2022). "England WU23s impress in Walsall against the Netherlands". England Football. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  22. ^ Demetriou, Greg (29 March 2023). "England WU23s squad named". England Football. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  23. ^ McHugh, Beth (14 September 2023). "England WU23s squad named for September double-header". England Football. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  24. ^ Smith, Frank (6 April 2023). "Report: Portugal 2-3 England WU23". England Football. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  25. ^ Veevers, Nicholas (10 April 2023). "Report: Belgium 0-0 England WU23s (4-5 on pens)". England Football. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  26. ^ McHugh, Beth (21 September 2023). "Report: Norway 1-1 England WU23s". England Football. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  27. ^ McHugh, Beth (14 February 2024). "England WU23s squad announcement for Spain camp". England Football. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  28. ^ Smith, Frank (22 February 2024). "Report: Spain 3-1 England WU23s". England Football. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  29. ^ Freya Gregory at Soccerway