Liam Cooper

Hull City

Cooper joined his hometown club Hull City in 2002 at under-12 level. He was in the youth team that won the Football League Youth Alliance Cup Final against Colchester 3–0, scoring the opening goal but later being sent off for a deliberate handball. During the 2007–08 season, he was given the number 37 shirt but failed to make any appearances as the Tigers went on to win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history. He made his debut as 16-year-old for the club against Swansea City in the League Cup on 26 August 2008 and featured as an unused substitute in their Premier League defeat to Wigan Athletic four days later after signing his first professional contract. A year later, he would make his first Premier League start on 26 September 2009 at Anfield in a 6–1 defeat to Liverpool. Over the following three years, Cooper would find his opportunities limited at Hull and spent brief periods out on loan at Carlisle United and Huddersfield Town in 2011. He briefly returned to the first team under Nick Barmby to form a solid partnership with James Chester in March 2012 for the rest of the season following an injury to Jack Hobbs. When Barmby departed for Steve Bruce in the summer of 2012, he was replaced by the new manager's son Alex.

Chesterfield

Cooper joined League Two side Chesterfield in November 2012. He made his debut in a 6–1 win over Hartlepool United in the FA Cup, and scored on his league debut two weeks later in a 2–1…

Club

As of 10 October 2026

International

As of match played 3 June 2024

Cooper was eligible to represent England, having been born in Kingston upon Hull, and Scotland through his paternal grandfather who was born in Bo'ness, West Lothian. During his time in the youth team at Hull City, he chose to represent Scotland and made his debut at under-17 level in March 2008, before going on to play for the under-19s in 2009. Cooper received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad on 10 March 2016 for a friendly against Denmark, and made his debut for the squad in a 2–1 defeat to Russia on 6 September 2019. He began to feature frequently for Scotland in 2020 and played 120 minutes against Israel in the UEFA Euro 2020 play-off semi final, which Scotland won 5–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw. A muscle injury meant that he would miss the final against Serbia, which Scotland again won on penalties to qualify for Euro 2020 – their first major tournament since France 98. Cooper started the first game of the tournament against the Czech Republic at Hampden Park, a 2–0 defeat for Scotland. Cooper was included in the 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024 hosted in Germany.

Cooper was born in Kingston upon Hull and attended Malet Lambert school. His paternal grandfather John hailed from Bo'ness, Scotland. His father David and brother Joe work on the Pilot boats on the Humber Estuary. Growing up, his father was a West Ham United fan and would take him to games, while the rest of his family were Hull City supporters. Liam, however, supported Leeds United. In March 2020, Cooper opened his own Football Academy for youngsters aged 4–14.