| Rico Richards | |
| Fullname: | Rico Dean Scott Richards[1] |
| Birth Date: | 27 September 2003 |
| Birth Place: | West Bromwich, England[2] |
| Height: | 1.82m (05.97feet)[3] |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Port Vale (on loan from Aston Villa) |
| Clubnumber: | 26 |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2020 |
| Youthclubs1: | West Bromwich Albion |
| Years1: | 2020–2023 |
| Clubs1: | West Bromwich Albion |
| Caps1: | 1 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2023– |
| Clubs2: | Aston Villa |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2024 |
| Clubs3: | → Stockport County (loan) |
| Caps3: | 11 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2024– |
| Clubs4: | → Port Vale (loan) |
| Caps4: | 11 |
| Goals4: | 2 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam1: | England U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam2: | England U17 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2020 |
| Nationalteam3: | England U18 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 00:15, 4 December 2024 (UTC) |
Rico Dean Scott Richards (born 27 September 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Port Vale, on loan from Premier League club Aston Villa. He has represented England up to under-18 level.
Richards is a product of the Academy at West Bromwich Albion, where he turned professional in August 2020. He played two matches for the club before he joined Aston Villa on a free transfer in July 2023. He spent the second half of the 2023–24 season on loan at Stockport County, who finished as champions of League Two. He returned to League Two on loan at Port Vale for the 2024–25 season.
Richards joined the youth academy of West Bromwich Albion as a seven-year-old and signed his first professional (three-year) contract with the club in August 2020.[4] Both Manchester United and local rivals Aston Villa had attempted to sign him to a professional contract before he opted to pledge his future to the Albion.[5] Academy manager Richard Stevens described him as an "elite talent, in the same bracket as Morgan Rogers, Izzy Brown and Tyler Roberts".[6] He was first named on the first-team bench by Slaven Bilić in January 2020.[6] He helped Albion to reach the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup in 2021.[7] He made his senior debut for West Brom on 25 August 2021, starting in a 6–0 EFL Cup second round defeat to Arsenal at The Hawthorns in a game where manager Valérien Ismaël blooded a lot of young talent against an experienced Gunners team.[6] [8] He helped the youth team to win the Premier League Cup at the end of the 2021–22 campaign, though in the final he missed his penalty in the shoot-out against Black Country rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.[6]
Richards made his Championship debut for the club on 3 March 2023, coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute in a 2–0 loss away at Hull City.[9] He said afterwards he was grateful to manager Carlos Corberán for the opportunity.[6] He ended the 2022–23 season with four goals and five assists from 20 games for the under-21 side.[10]
On 3 July 2023, Richards signed a two-year contract with Aston Villa after joining on a free transfer after the expiry of his West Bromwich Albion contract.[11] On 18 January 2024, he joined League Two leaders Stockport County on loan until the end of the 2023–24 season.[12] Fellow Villan Louie Barry was already on loan at Edgeley Park.[13] He initially made only cameo appearances, with manager Dave Challinor commenting on his initial shyness and apparent lack of confidence, though he found greater first-team opportunities following an injury to Barry.[14] On 29 March, Richards scored his first goal in senior football, in a 3–0 league victory at Forest Green Rovers.[15] He made three starts and eight substitute appearances, helping the Hatters to win promotion as champions of League Two.
On 30 August 2024, Richards returned to League Two on a season-long loan with Port Vale.[16]
Richards has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 international levels.[4] He also trained with the under-19 squad, though the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe limited the amount of fixtures available.[17]
Richards is a midfielder with a low centre of gravity and excellent dribbling ability.[6]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| West Bromwich Albion U21 | 2020–21 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| West Bromwich Albion | 2021–22 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Aston Villa U21 | 2023–24 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Stockport County (loan) | 2023–24 | League Two | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||||
| Port Vale (loan) | 2024–25 | League Two | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 5 | |||
West Bromwich Albion U23
Stockport County