Aaron Alex Pressley (born 7 November 2001) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Brentford. He is a product of the Aston Villa and Heart of Midlothian academies and was capped by Scotland at U16 and U17 level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aaron Alex Pressley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2001-11-07) 7 November 2001 (age 20) | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Brentford | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–2013 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| 2013–2020 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020– | Brentford | 2 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → AFC Wimbledon (loan) | 21 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| Scotland U16 | |||
| 2017–2018 | Scotland U17 | 7 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:52, 4 November 2022 (UTC) | |||
After beginning his career in the Heart of Midlothian and Aston Villa academies, Pressley transferred to the B team at Championship club Brentford on 29 January 2020.[3] During what remained of the COVID-19-affected 2019–20 season, he scored three goals in six appearances.[4] As a result of the EFL permitting 9 substitutes to be named in matchday squads partway through the 2020–21 season,[5] Pressley was promoted onto the first team substitutes' bench and was named in 15 matchday squads between November 2020 and February 2021.[6] He made three substitute appearances during the period, but was not involved in Brentford's promotion-winning playoff campaign at the end of the season.[6] Pressley scored 19 goals in 26 B team appearances during the 2020–21 season and was voted the team's Players' Player of the Year.[7] In May 2021, he signed a new two-year contract, with a one-year option.[8]
After Brentford's promotion to the Premier League,[9] Pressley joined League One club AFC Wimbledon on loan for the duration of the 2021–22 season.[10] Prior to being sidelined for 9 weeks with a hamstring injury suffered in a mid-December 2021 training match,[11] he had made 25 appearances and scored four goals.[12] As part of his return to fitness,[13] Pressley was named in Brentford B's 2022 Atlantic Cup squad and made one appearance at the tournament.[14] Following his return to the AFC Wimbledon squad in late February 2022, Pressley made two substitute appearances before suffering a reoccurrence of the injury, which ended his season and he returned to Brentford for rehabilitation.[11] In his absence, the Dons were relegated to League Two.[15]
Pressley was capped by Scotland at U16 and U17 level.[16][17][18] In November 2021, he won his maiden U21 call up for a pair of 2023 European U21 Championship qualifiers and remained an unused substitute in both matches.[19]
Pressley is the son of footballer and manager Steven Pressley and the older Pressley worked with his son in the role of Head of Individual Development at Brentford.[11] Pressley walked out with his father as a mascot at the 2006 Scottish Cup Final.[20] He attended Cramond Primary School and Princethorpe College.[21][22] As of February 2021, Pressley was living in Richmond.[20] When Pressley's former Aston Villa academy teammate Charlie Farr transferred to Brentford early in the 2022–23 season,[23] he roomed with Pressley.[24]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa U21 | 2019–20[25] | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Brentford | 2020–21[26] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| AFC Wimbledon (loan) | 2021–22[12] | League One | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 27 | 4 |
| Career total | 23 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 4 | ||
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