Played for both: What could Fraizer Campbell have achieved if it wasn't for his injuries?
Fraizer Campbell will see two of his former sides in action midweek as Sunderland take on Huddersfield Town.
Campbell was born in Huddersfield on the 13th of September 1987, he had a brief spell in Huddersfield’s centre of excellence before joining the Manchester United academy at the age of 10 in 1997.
He had an impressive start to life in United’s Under-18s, scoring 14 goals in 22 appearances in the 2004-05 season. He signed his first professional deal in March 2006 and was named as a substitute in Roy Keane’s testimonial game in May the same year.
At the beginning of the 2006-07 season Campbell joined Manchester United’s partner club Royal Antwerp who played in the Belgian Second Division. Campbell scored 24 goals in 38 appearances as he helped Antwerp secure a play-off place.
Campbell made his senior debut for Manchester United in August 2007 coming off the bench to replace Michael Carrick in the Manchester Derby.
Shortly afterwards, he joined Championship side Hull City on loan for the 2007-08 season, scoring twice on his home debut in a 3-0 win over Yorkshire rivals Barnsley.
Campbell finished the season has Hull’s top goal scorer with 15 goals.
He also became a part of Hull history, as he was part of the team that took Hull City to the topflight of English Football for the first time in the club’s history.
Campbell provided the assist for Dean Windass’ wonder goal which gave Hull victory over Bristol City in the Championship play-off final.
The striker made just his second league appearance for United in their opening day draw with Newcastle. Despite Alex Ferguson stating that Campbell’s future was at United, that would be his final appearance for the club.
He joined Tottenham on loan for 2008-09 season as part of Dimitar Berbatov’s move to Old Trafford, but he never got much of a chance at White Hart Lane.
Campbell scored two of the goals in Tottenham’s emphatic 4-2 win over Liverpool in the League Cup and bagged his first Premier League goal in a 2-1 defeat to Fulham. That goal would prove to be the third and final of that loan spell.
Like in the previous summer, Hull reignited their interest in signing the young striker.
Despite it being reported that Campbell had chosen to join Hull over Sunderland, it was announced on the 11th of July 2009 that Campbell had signed a four-year deal on Wearside.
Campbell got his first goal for the Black Cats in the League Cup against Birmingham City and scored his second and third goals of that season in an FA Cup tie against non-league side Barrow.
The first Premier League goal of the season finally came in a 4-1 win against Bolton Wanderers in March 2010 where Campbell scored after just 41 seconds. He then went on to score against Aston Villa, Burnley and Birmingham City.
The next three seasons for Campbell were sadly plagued by injury.
He suffered an ACL injury in Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on the 29 August 2010, which would keep him out for six-months.
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce described the injury as a “tragedy,” but was adamant that Campbell would come back firing after his injury.
Campbell returned to training the following March, but suffered the same injury again, this time in training ahead of Sunderland’s game against Manchester City on the 3 April 2011.
After an operation on the 20 April, it was announced Campbell would be out for the next 12-months. Campbell made his return to action sooner than expected, though.
He came on as a half-time substitute for Connor Wickham and scored the equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough in the fourth round of the FA Cup. He also got a goal and an assist on his Premier League return in a 3-0 home win against Norwich.
Campbell spent the following few seasons at Cardiff and Crystal Palace before finally making his long-awaited return to Hull City on a two-year deal.
He scored 18 goals in 77 appearances before leaving the club on the expiry of his contract and he joined his hometown club Huddersfield. He was released by the club in the summer of 2022 and has since been a free agent.
Campbell also had played for England’s Under-16s, 17s, 18s and Under 21s, and even made one appearance for the senior team.
His one senior England cap came as a substitute in a 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands in 2012, as he replaced another former Sunderland man, Danny Welbeck, in the 80th minute.
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