Sonny Perkins
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 Perkins warming up for West Ham United | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sonny Tufail Perkins[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 February 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Waltham Forest, England[2] | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Leyton Orient | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2019 | Leyton Orient | ||
| 2019–2021 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2022 | West Ham United | 1 | (0) |
| 2022–2025 | Leeds United | 1 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Oxford United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Leyton Orient (loan) | 18 | (2) |
| 2025– | Leyton Orient | 26 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | England U15 | 1 | (0) |
| 2020 | England U16 | 3 | (3) |
| 2021–2022 | England U18 | 10 | (4) |
| 2022–2023 | England U19 | 6 | (5) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:11, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:34, 26 March 2023 (UTC) | |||
Sonny Tufail Perkins (born 10 February 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Leyton Orient.
West Ham United
In 2019, Perkins joined West Ham United from Leyton Orient at under-15 level.[3] On 25 November 2021, Perkins was involved in a West Ham senior matchday squad for the first time, being named on the bench for a UEFA Europa League group game against Rapid Wien, coming on as a 78th minute substitute.[4] In July 2022, Perkins rejected West Ham's offer of a professional contract and left the club with immediate effect.[5] He made three appearances for the club, one in the Premier League and two in the Europa League.[6]
Leeds United
On 19 July 2022, he joined Leeds United signing a three-year contract.[7] He made his debut for Leeds on 9 November 2022 in the starting line-up for the 1–0 EFL Cup third round defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.[8] Perkins scored his first professional goal against Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium in the FA Cup third round tie on 8 January 2023 when he came on as a second-half substitute, scoring the equaliser in stoppage time to earn a 2–2 draw for Leeds, forcing a replay.[9]
Oxford United loan
On 25 August 2023, Perkins joined League One team Oxford United on loan for the remainder of the 2023–24 season.[10] He made his first Oxford appearance as a late substitute in a 1–2 home league defeat to Port Vale on 2 September and his full debut in an EFL Trophy home defeat to Milton Keynes Dons on 19 September.[11] He scored once, in a 5–0 victory over Chelsea U21 in the EFL Trophy group stage on 7 November 2023.[11] On 4 January 2024, Leeds recalled Perkins from his loan because of his limited playing time at Oxford.[12]
Leyton Orient loan
In June 2024, Perkins signed on loan for Leyton Orient for the 2024–25 season.[13]
International career
In July 2018, whilst still at Leyton Orient, Perkins was called up to England's under-15 side.[14] In February 2020, Perkins scored a hat-trick for England U16 against the United States.[3] On 18 October 2021, a month after his debut for the side, Perkins scored his first goal for England U18's in a 3–0 win against Russia.[15]
On 21 September 2022, Perkins made his England U19 debut and scored during a 2–0 2023 U19 EURO qualifying win over Montenegro in Denmark.[16]
Perkins is eligible to represent Pakistan as he is of Pakistani descent through his maternal grandfather.[17]
Style of play
Perkins' captain at West Ham, Mark Noble, praised Perkins' hold-up play, as well as his versatility, saying "he started in the No10 role and he's moved up to the centre-forward role for the U23s, and scored a lot of goals".[18]
Personal life
Perkins' father, Declan, is a former Irish youth international footballer.[19] His aunt is the actress Louise Lombard.[20]