Adam Henley

Early life

Henley was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to a Welsh mother and an American father and moved with his family to Chorley in England when he was two years old and grew up there. He attended Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School, and St Michael's High School. Before joining the Blackburn Rovers Academy, Henley spent some time in the youth system of Manchester United. He was also at Chorley Harriers' juniors. During his progress to the Blackburn Rovers Academy, he was coached by Manager Gary Bowyer from the U12 side to the U18 side.

Blackburn Rovers

A speedy full back who can play either on the right or the left, Henley quickly progressed from the Blackburn Rovers Academy to become a regular member of the reserve squad. Henley made his first appearance for the senior squad on 16 July 2011, coming on as a late substitute in their pre-season match against Accrington Stanley. He was also a part of the first team squad that traveled to Hong Kong to play in the 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy. Ahead of the 2011–12 season, he was given a number 39 shirt. In the 2011–12 season, on 19 November 2011, Henley made his professional – and Premier League – debut, replacing Míchel Salgado and playing the entire second half in a 3–3 draw against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium. On 26 December 2011, Henley earned his first start and played the full 90 minutes against Liverpool at Anfield, which finished in a 1–1 draw. Four days later, Henley signed a new…

Henley was qualified to play for Wales, England or the United States internationally. Henley was previously capped by Wales from the U19 level up to U21 level.

Senior career

In May 2012, Henley was called up to the senior squad for the first time against Mexico. However, he appeared as an unused substitute, as Mexico beat Wales 2–0. After being named in the Wales squad, including for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Cyprus and Israel to be played on 3 and 6 September 2015, Henley finally made his debut on 13 November 2015 in a friendly against the Netherlands at Cardiff City Stadium, replacing Chris Gunter, in a 3–2 loss. His second appearance then came on 28 March 2016, where he came on as a substitute for Neil Taylor, in a 1–0 loss against Ukraine. In May 2016, Henley was called up by the senior team for the 29-man training squad ahead of the UEFA Euro 2016. Because he suffered an injury in the squad training camp, Henley failed to make the final cut in Wales' 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016.

Club

As of match played 4 May 2025

International

As of match played 28 March 2016

Despite previously having links at Manchester United's youth system, Henley grew up supporting rivals, Liverpool. Growing up, Henley described himself as a quite a steady child and a quite active child. Despite living in England for the most of his life, Henley reflected about his family, quoting: "My biological father and his side of the family still live in Tennessee so this gives me a chance to spend more time with them which is great. I am also lucky to have dual citizenship." He revealed that he took a paper round job when he was 12, which he said it was an opportunity to make money for himself.