Andrew Crofts

Andrew Crofts is a midfielder of Brighton & Hove Albion. He was born on 29 May 1984 in Chatham, England.

In 1994, Andrew joined the academy of Chelsea, where he spent six years. The competition for a place in the main team of ‘The Blues’ was very high, and the footballer decided to accept an offer of Gillingham youth system, where he stayed till penning his first senior contract in 2001.
At the beginning, the midfielder did not manage to clinch a place in the starting XI, but he worked hard to achieve that goal and drew the attention of the head coach, who began to let the player on the pitch more often. Andrew became the pivot of the team and amassed 17 goals in 174 matches for Gillingham during seven seasons.

In 2008, the footballer was sent on loan to Peterborough United, where he spent six months and made nine appearances. In January 2009, Crofts completed a half-a-year loan move to Wrexham and found the net one time in 16 games for the temporary club.

In the summer 2009, the midfielder sealed a deal with Brighton & Hove Albion and became the anchor player at once. Andrew took part in 44 fixtures and fired five goals for ‘The Seagulls’ during one season and transferred to Norwich City. The footballer featured in 68 matches and went on to net eight times for ‘The Canaries’ till 2012 and returned to Brighton & Hove Albion.

From 2002 till 2006, Crofts was capped 18 times and contributed one goal for the Wales national U-19 and U-21 squads. From 2005 till November 2012, the midfielder made 24 appearances for the senior national team.