Ethan Brierley admits he “can’t wait to walk out” at Accu Stadium
Huddersfield Town signing Ethan Brierley admits he “can’t wait to walk out” at Accu Stadium this season after sealing his move to the Terriers.
The 22-year-old joined Town from Brentford last week for an undisclosed fee, with the recruit penning a three-year deal with his new side.
The midfielder started for Exeter City in their 2-2 draw at Town in January during his loan stint with the Grecians, and Brierley told HTTV: “I think when we played here this season for Exeter, it was great. Just walking out, the stadium’s huge, there’s loads of fans, good fans as well, so I can’t wait to walk out here.”
Brierley made 47 appearances for Exeter last term, and reflecting on his loan spell, the 22-year-old said: “Gary Caldwell brought me in, and I didn’t expect to play as much as I did at first, but to play all those games was brilliant for me.
“I know the season didn’t finish how we wanted it to with relegation, but I learned a lot of things. I played a bit for Rochdale, but that was probably my first proper season where I’ve managed to get a lot of games under my belt, and played alright as well, so it was good for me down there.”
Brierley started his career at Rochdale, where he made 45 first-team appearances, while the midfielder made his professional debut at Town’s stadium in a 1-0 victory for the visitors in a Carabao Cup tie in September 2020.
“I grew up a Rochdale fan, my grandad started taking me when I was only very young, so I’ve been a fan of Rochdale all my life, and then to play with them as well was brilliant,” Brierley said.
“I think I made quite a few appearances, and then went to Brentford. I made my debut here, it wasn’t quite the same because it was in Covid, but it was still a brilliant day for me.
“I think they were buzzing (his family), I think they watched it on TV, and my dad text me straight after the game, so did my mum, they were just buzzing, about as buzzing as I was really.”
Brierley went on to sign for Brentford in 2023, and although he featured just once for the first team in his three-year spell with the Bees, the 22-year-old said: “Thomas Frank (then manager), he had me training with the first team quite a lot, so he gave me a lot of brilliant experiences.
“I think I went to America with them two weeks after joining the team with the first team, so that was brilliant. I loved my time down there, and I’ve got to thank Brentford a lot for it really.
“I think I only did one season with Rochdale after finishing school, which was full-time, so obviously there were a lot of changes when I went down south. I had to live on my own for the first time and things like that, but so many different things really.
“I think it was very professional at Brentford, which you expect it to be. They were much longer days, and much longer time spent in the gym et cetera, so really enjoyed my time there.”
The new recruit joined Town ahead of their pre-season training camp in Portugal, with the first team based in the Algarve this week, and Brierley said: “I think that was really important. I think as soon as I met the manager last month, I was sort of saying to my agent ‘can we try and get this done ASAP?’, just so I could do things like go on the pre-season tour and that, because I think that’d be good for me. Getting to know the lads a bit more, and being involved against Birmingham, and training and things like that.”
