Every Premier League Club’s Current Longest-Serving Player
Oct 31, 2016 at 5:31 PM
In the increasingly short-term approach of top level football, having a player at a club who has been around for a number of years is as rare as it is important.
It’s something for fans to latch on to, and adds some continuity and identity to any given team; such qualities are not so easy to come across in the modern game.
Here’s a look at the current longest-serving player at every Premier League club.
*Longest-serving is defined here by when a player made their competitive debut for the club
1. Arsenal – Theo Walcott
Debut: August 2006
A teen prodigy at Southampton, Theo Walcott was surprisingly called into England’s 2006 World Cup squad before he’d even played a first-team match for Arsenal after making the move to north London earlier that year.
He made his Gunners debut on the opening day of the 2006/07 season from the bench and has since played more than 350 games in the decade since. It might have been many more but for a number of long-term injury layoffs.
2. Bournemouth – Marc Pugh/Harry Arter
Debuts: August 2010
Signed within days of each other, Bournemouth pair Marc Pugh (pictured) and Harry Arter made their debut in the same game as the Cherries kicked off their League One campaign against Charlton Athletic on the opening day of the 2010/11 season.
Pugh immediately starred, while Arter, fresh from non-league football, took a little longer to adapt. Both were ultimately vital in securing promotion to the Championship and then to the Premier League, before also contributing to the club then survived in the top flight.
3. Burnley – Dean Marney
Debut: August 2010
After failing to make the grade at Tottenham, Dean Marney was part of the team that propelled Hull into the Premier League for the first time in 2008. He then joined Burnley in 2010 and has enjoyed the same success at Turf Moor.
Injury has cruelly hampered the midfielder in recent years. He only managed 20 top flight appearances in 2014/15 and made even fewer in the 2015/16 promotion campaign.
He has, however, returned to the side this season, starting every league game.
4. Chelsea – John Terry
Debut: October 1998
The longest serving player anywhere in the Premier League, John Terry played his first game for Chelsea before the likes of 17-year-old West Ham defender Reece Oxford and 17-year-old West Brom winger Jonathan Leko were even born.
Terry made his Chelsea bow in a League Cup tie against Aston Villa in 1998 and played seven times before the end of the season. He became a regular in 2000/01 after a loan spell at Nottingham Forest and later inherited the captaincy from Marcel Desailly at the age of 23.
5. Crystal Palace – Julian Speroni
Debut: August 2004
Julian Speroni is the only surviving Crystal Palace player from the club’s last spell in the Premier League back in 2004/05, The Argentine stopper was newly signed from Dundee at the time and was actually relegated to a backup role after a tough start to the campaign.
It was in 2007/08 in the Championship when Speroni regained the number one spot. He barely missed a league game for eight years as Palace ultimately earned promotion back to the top flight, and only last season did the veteran become a back-up once more.
6. Everton – Phil Jagielka
Debut: August 2007
Despite Sheffield United’s relegation at the end of the 2006/07 season, Everton saw fit to take a chance on Phil Jagielka. The defender is still at Goodison Park nine years later having progressed to the role of club captain and also earning 39 England senior caps.
Leighton Baines is almost as equally long-serving, making his Toffees debut just 11 days later after joining from Wigan that same summer.
7. Hull City – Alex Bruce
Debut: August 2012
Moving to Hull marked the second time in his career that Alex Bruce had played under the management of father Steve after unsuccessfully joining his dad at Birmingham City in 2005.
Injury has unfortunately hampered him since promotion in 2013.
Bruce made his bow in a Tigers shirt as a second-half substitute on the opening day of the 2012/13 Championship season, only two weeks before Ahmed Elmohamady made his.
8. Leicester City – Andy King
Debut: October 2007
Andy King’s role in helping Leicester earn promotion from League One in 2008/09 was well publicized last season when he laid his hands on the Premier League trophy in May after the Foxes’ incredible fairytale journey.
Home-grown hero, King was still a few weeks shy of his 21st birthday when he made his first-team debut back in 2007. He’s played less regularly in the top flight but remains an important squad player for the club.
9. Liverpool – Lucas Leiva
Debut: August 2007
Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva is currently in his 10th season with Liverpool after initially joining the club way back in 2007 when Rafa Benitez was in charge – he’s now worked under five different managers at Anfield including Jurgen Klopp.
It was apparently Klopp who stopped Lucas leaving the club this summer when a move to Galatasaray was ready to be completed, with the versatile 29-year-old seemingly still holding plenty of importance to the Reds boss as a squad rotation player.
10. Manchester City – Joe Hart
Debut: October 2006
He’s currently out on loan, but no player registered to Manchester City made their debut earlier than Joe Hart. Then still a fresh-faced teenager, the young stopper was called into action in the autumn of 2006 after injuries to Andreas Isaksson and Nicky Weaver.
Of the players actually in Manchester, Vincent Kompany, and Pablo Zabaleta both joined in the summer of 2008 – just days before Sheikh Mansour completed his high-profile takeover.
11. Manchester United – Wayne Rooney
Debut: September 2004
Manchester United signed Wayne Rooney off the back of his incredible performances for England at Euro 2004, making the Everton youngster the most expensive teenager in the world in the process.
After a hat-trick on his debut, it’s 12 years later and Rooney is still at Old Trafford, having won five Premier League titles and multiple other trophies. He’s only three goals shy of equalling the club’s all-time goal record and has also progressed to the role of captain.
12. Middlesbrough – Ben Gibson
Debut: April 2011
Ben Gibson is still only 23 years of age but is Middlesbrough’s longest serving current player after making his debut as a teenager towards the end of the 2010/11 Championship season.
The home-grown centre-back has been a regular in the team since 2013 after loan spells at Plymouth, York, and Tranmere (twice). He was actually an FA Trophy winner with non-league York during his short time there in 2012.
13. Southampton – Jose Fonte
Debut: January 2010
Jose Fonte’s journey as a late bloomer has been nothing short of incredible. He joined Southampton in the depths of League One back in 2010, debuting against Millwall, and was a part of the side that earned back to back promotions to return to the Premier League.
The Saints captain has since become one of the best centre-backs in the top flight and even began an international career for Portugal which gave him Euro 2016 glory this summer.
14. Stoke City – Ryan Shawcross
Debut: August 2007
Ryan Shawcross arrived at Stoke on loan from Manchester United in the summer of 2007, but he never returned to Old Trafford and made the switch permanent for £1m during the season as the Potters secured promotion to the Premier League.
Current vice-captain Glenn Whelan is the only other member of Stoke’s Championship squad still at the club having joined from Sheffield Wednesday halfway through that triumphant 2007/08 campaign.
15. Sunderland – Lee Cattermole
Debut: August 2009
Having moved on from Middlesbrough and Wigan very quickly earlier in his career, Lee Cattermole joined Sunderland in 2009 and remains at the Stadium of Light seven years later with nearly 200 appearances to his name.
Part of the reason for leaving Wigan after just one season was then Black Cats manager Steve Bruce, who had coached the midfielder when in charge of the Latics.
16. Swansea City – Angel Rangel
Debut: August 2007
But for half a season spent at Sheffield United after leaving Swansea in 2010, Leon Britton would be the Welsh club’s longest serving player by some distance after first arriving, initially on loan, in the basement division of the Football League back in 2002.
As it is, however, the player in the Swansea squad with the longest unbroken run of being registered to the club is left-back Angel Rangel after he joined from Terrassa in 2007.
17. Tottenham Hotspur – Danny Rose
Debut: January 2010
After joining Spurs from Leeds as a £1m 17-year-old in 2007, Danny Rose made his debut for the north London club two and a half years later against his former team in the third round of the FA Cup.
He later scored in a derby match against Arsenal on his Premier League debut and finally established himself as a regular in 2013 after various loan spells.
Kyle Walker made his Spurs debut just two months after Rose, arriving from Sheffield United.
18. Watford – Troy Deeney
Debut: August 2010
Such has been the large-scale turnover at Watford since earning promotion in 2015, only a handful of players who were with the club in the Championship two years ago actually still remain. Current captain Troy Deeney is one of them and has spent more than six years at Vicarage Road.
The Birmingham-born forward actually spent three months behind bars in the summer of 2012 and that experience seemed to help mature him after 81 goals in all competitions and impressive team-oriented displays in the four complete seasons since.
19. West Bromwich Albion – Chris Brunt
Debut: September 2007
Chris Brunt made the move to West Brom in 2007 after impressing with Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. He helped the Baggies earn promotion in his first season and then netted nine times in his maiden top-flight campaign as well.
Brunt stayed at West Brom despite relegation and has been an important player for the club in what is now a run of seven consecutive seasons in the Premier League.
20. West Ham United – Mark Noble
Debut: August 2004
Despite a brief youth team affiliation with Arsenal, Mark Noble is West Ham through and through. He was born and raised in east London, knows the local area inside out and made his first-team debut for the club at the age of just 17.
After spending some time on loan in the Championship, Noble has been a regular presence in the Hammers midfield since 2007 and has now played close to 400 games for the club while still only 29 years of age.