A balanced and skilful midfielder, Ethan Brierley made the move to Brentford in the summer of 2023.
Signing as a 19-year-old, Brierley brought with him first team experience, having played 25 league games for Rochdale in Sky Bet League Two across the 2022/23 season.
Having risen through the Rochdale youth set-up, Brierley made his senior debut in the 2020/21 season, as the Dale faced Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup.
Brierley wasted little time having an impact in west London after signing with the club, becoming an important member of Brentford B’s outfit.
He was rewarded with a first debut in the 2023/24 Carabao Cup, as Brentford beat Newport County on penalties away from home. Brierley replaced Yehor Yarmoliuk on 78 minutes with the game stuck at 0-0, before Mathias Jensen found the back of the net nine minutes later.
Kiban Rai headed home a leveller in added time, the game going to spot kicks and seeing Brierley win on debut and added to the Robert Rowan First Team Debut Board.
Brierley’s second season in west London saw his game go to another level, the midfielder playing 53 games across the pre-season, Professional Development League (PDL), Premier League Cup (PL Cup), tour games and friendlies.
The 2024/25 campaign saw Brierley record his best scoring season for Brentford, recording 12 goals and nine assists.
The highlight came in the young Bees’ 4-1 PL Cup win over Derby County, Brierley scoring a hat-trick in tough conditions away from home.
He scored four goals across his next five games, including a brace in a 3-2 win over Charlton Athletic at Wheatsheaf Park.
While his scoring slowed down across the second half of the season, Brierley’s playmaking was on full show in the biggest games of the young Bees’ season. Handed the captain’s armband for the majority of the season, Brierley saved his best for last, four assists across the PDL play-off semi-final, PL Cup final and PDL national final.
The midfielder found Benjamin Fredrick from a free-kick in Brentford’s 2-1 PDL play-off semi-final win over Sheffield United, the defender heading it home to help steer the side to the national final.
He followed it up with another superb delivery in the PL Cup final loss to QPR, this time to Benjamin Arthur who headed it home.
After going into half-time in the PDL national final down 1-0, Brierley got Brentford back on track with a well-placed ball to Morgan who scored, the young Bees going onto beat Bournemouth 3-2.
Ahead of the 2025/26 season, Brierley joined Sky Bet League One side Exeter City on a season-long loan.