Former Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Huddersfield Town man joins eighth-tier side aged 35

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The former Leeds United midfielder has dropped down the leagues since leaving Elland Road more than a decade ago.

Former Leeds United midfielder Adam Clayton is still going strong aged 35 after dropping into the eighth tier of English football this week.

Clayton was announced as a new signing for Liversedge FC, having made a surprise appearance in their first league game of the season on Saturday, a 3-0 defeat at Garforth Town. The combative midfielder will spend the upcoming season playing football in the Northern Premier League Division One East, English football’s eighth tier and four tiers below League Two.

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Liversedge becomes Clayton’s 12 club of a 16-year career which has seen him span the English football pyramid from Premier League to non-league. The former Whites man was playing top-flight football with Middlesbrough as recently as 2017 and remained in the EFL right up until last summer, having spent the 2022/23 campaign at League Two Bradford City.

Clayton’s first drop into non-league came with Rochdale last season and after being released upon the expiration of his one-year contract, he has now dropped even further down the footballing ladder, joining the team who signed former Elland Road teammate Ross McCormack 12 months ago - he is now at Doncaster City. Clayton is expected to make a home debut when Liversedge host Dunston this evening.

Clayton enjoyed a successful two-year spell in West Yorkshire, initially joining Leeds on a one-month loan from Manchester City - who he failed to make a competitive appearance for - in the summer of 2010, following their return to the Championship from League One. He impressed enough to earn a permanent move, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal.

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But after two years and 50 appearances across all competitions, he followed former boss Simon Grayson to Huddersfield Town. The Manchester City academy graduate would go on to play for Middlesbrough, Birmingham City, Doncaster Rovers, Bradford and Rochdale before his most recent move.

Clayton’s longest period at a single club came with Middlesbrough, where he played almost 250 times across a six-year spell which included one single campaign in the Premier League. Apart from that, the midfielder’s career has been spent largely within the EFL, with most of his football coming in the Championship but campaigns also spent in League One and League Two.

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