Jesse Debrah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Jesse Debrah
File:Jesse Debrah.jpg
Debrah with Port Vale in 2023
Personal information
Full name Jesse John Kodjo Debrah[1]
Date of birth (2000-05-01) 1 May 2000 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Croydon, England[2]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Port Vale
Number 22
Youth career
2010–2011 Charlton Athletic
2011–2019 Millwall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Millwall 0 (0)
2019 → Billericay Town (loan) 2 (0)
2019 → Eastbourne Borough (loan) 5 (0)
2020 → Dulwich Hamlet (loan) 11 (0)
2020–2021 Dulwich Hamlet 10 (0)
2021–2023 FC Halifax Town 57 (3)
2023– Port Vale 82 (2)
International career
2018 Barawa 1 (0)
2023 England C 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:11, 20 December 2025 (UTC)

Jesse John Kodjo Debrah (born 1 May 2000) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Port Vale.

Debrah joined Millwall at the age of ten, though he would leave the club without playing a first-team game following loan spells with Billericay Town, Eastbourne Borough and Dulwich Hamlet. He spent the first half of the 2020–21 season with Dulwich Hamlet before he joined FC Halifax Town in August 2021 and helped the club to win the FA Trophy in 2023. He signed with Port Vale in September 2023. He was promoted out of League Two with the club at the end of the 2024–25 season.

Early life

[edit | edit source]

Jesse Debrah was born in Croydon on 1 May 2000.[2] He grew up supporting Crystal Palace, though his parents, brother and two sisters all support different clubs.[3]

Club career

[edit | edit source]

Early career

[edit | edit source]

Debrah started his career with a one-season trial at Charlton Athletic before joining Millwall at the age of ten after he had scored two goals against the club playing as a right-back.[4][3] He went on to captain the under-23 team.[3] On 13 September 2019, he joined National League South side Billericay Town on a 28-day youth loan.[5] He was named as captain of the under-23 team by coach Kevin Nugent.[6] Manager Neil Harris named him on the first-team substitute bench on the last home game of the 2018–19 season, a 2–1 defeat to Bristol City at The Den on 30 April.[7]

On 13 September 2019, Debrah joined Eastbourne Borough on a 28-day youth loan after manager Lee Bradbury found himself short of defensive options.[8] On 1 January 2020, Debrah joined Dulwich Hamlet on an initial one-month loan, which was later extended until the end of the 2019–20 season.[9][10] On 29 June 2020, Millwall announced that Debrah had not been offered a new contract by manager Gary Rowett and would therefore leave the club the following day upon the expiry of his contract.[11]

On 23 August 2020, he rejoined Dulwich Hamlet permanently.[12] He featured in 14 games in the first half of the 2020–21 campaign.[13] Debrah had a trial at Motherwell and played a pre-season game against Celtic, though was not offered a contract by manager Graham Alexander.[3] He then trained with Bromely due to his friendship with manager Andy Woodman.[3]

FC Halifax Town

[edit | edit source]

On 19 August 2021, Debrah joined National League club FC Halifax Town on a short-term deal after impressing on trial.[14] He scored on his club debut on 28 August, hitting the net from 25 yards (23 m) yards in a 3–2 win at Woking; after the game, he credited coach Chris Millington and manager Pete Wild for their faith in him, as well as his faith in God.[4] However, he found himself mainly on the substitute bench as Tom Bradbury and Niall Maher maintained a strong centre-back partnership throughout most of the 2021–22 campaign.[15] He managed to break into the first XI as Halifax reached the play-offs on the back of a strong defence.[16] They were, however, beaten by Chesterfield in the play-off quarter-finals.[17] He was linked with a move to Huddersfield Town in June 2022.[18]

He established himself as a key member of the defence in the 2022–23 season, playing 33 league games, occasionally as captain.[19] Halifax reached the 2023 FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium, and won the competition with a 1–0 victory over Gateshead, with Debrah playing the first 62 minutes.[20] After the season ended he suffered a grade three hamstring injury.[21] He rejected Halifax's offer of a new contract and was linked with a move to Barnsley, but the deal broke down.[22]

Port Vale

[edit | edit source]

On 18 September 2023, Debrah signed a two-year contract with EFL League One club Port Vale, with a compensation fee to Halifax due to be set by a tribunal after the two clubs failed to reach an agreement.[23] He had already spent some weeks rehabilitating his hamstring injury at the club.[3] Manager Andy Crosby said that "he will offer excellent competition in the back line", whilst both Crosby and director of football David Flitcroft praised Debrah's "infectious personality" and "drive and determination".[24] Debrah was sent off 38 minutes into his first league start following a second yellow card in a 3–0 defeat at Bristol Rovers on 3 October.[25] He scored his first goal for the club seven days later in a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United U21 in an EFL Trophy group stage game at Vale Park.[26] His form dipped as the club headed towards relegation at the end of the 2023–24 season.[27]

In August 2024, Debrah said that manager Darren Moore had helped him work on his game over the summer to get him into a better physical and mental place.[28] He started the 2024–25 campaign in good form, keeping experienced players Nathan Smith and Ben Heneghan out of the first XI.[29] He scored his first EFL goal on 1 October in a 1–1 draw with Colchester United.[30] He lost form in December, however, and was dropped from the team.[31] He made his first league appearance in six weeks on 13 February, when he earned praise for his performance in a 1–0 win over promotion-rivals Notts County.[32] The club opted to activate the optional extension in his contract after promotion was secured at the end of the 2024–25 season.[33]

Speaking in October 2025, Moore described Debrah as a "fantastic project" for the club owing to his rise from non-League football to consistent selection in League One.[34]

International career

[edit | edit source]

Debrah represented Barawa, a team representing the Somali diaspora in the United Kingdom, after being called up to the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup.[35][36][37] He is of Ghanaian descent.[38] He went on to be capped for the England C team.[39]

Style of play

[edit | edit source]

Debrah was a forward throughout his youth career before being converted to centre-back as he transitioned to senior football.[4] He was described on the Millwall website as "commanding, physical and composed".[8]

Career statistics

[edit | edit source]
As of match played 20 December 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Millwall 2018–19[40] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019–20[41] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Billericay Town (loan) 2018–19[13] National League South 2 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 3 0
Eastbourne Borough (loan) 2019–20[13] National League South 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Dulwich Hamlet (loan) 2019–20[2] National League South 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Dulwich Hamlet 2020–21[13] National League South 10 0 2 0 0 0 2[b] 0 14 0
Total 21 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 25 0
FC Halifax Town 2021–22[2] National League 24 1 2 0 0 0 2[c] 0 28 1
2022–23[2] National League 33 2 1 0 0 0 5[b] 0 39 2
Total 57 3 3 0 0 0 7 0 67 3
Port Vale 2023–24[42] League One 31 0 3 0 3 0 3[d] 1 40 1
2024–25[43] League Two 35 2 1 0 1 0 4[d] 0 41 2
2025–26[44] League One 16 0 1 0 3 0 4[d] 1 24 1
Total 82 2 5 0 7 0 11 2 105 4
Career total 167 5 12 0 7 0 21 2 207 7
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in the Essex Senior Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. ^ 1 appearance in the FA Trophy and 1 appearance in the play-offs
  4. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

[edit | edit source]

FC Halifax Town

Port Vale

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Jesse Debrah at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2023.Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  30. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  31. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  32. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  33. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  34. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  35. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  36. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  38. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  39. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  40. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  41. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  42. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  43. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  44. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  45. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
    Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Jesse_Debrah&oldid=15666615"