At just 17 years old, Adam Henley stood on the pitch at Anfield, squaring off with Liverpool at the club’s historic stadium in his first professional start. The Blackburn Rovers defender would help his side to a point in a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day in 2011, then followed that up with a 3-2 road win over Manchester United on New Year’s Eve at Old Trafford. Looking back on it now, the day he officially joined Real Salt Lake after six seasons with Blackburn, that trial by fire was the perfect start to what has been a whirlwind career with just one club until his move stateside.
“When I look back, I couldn’t have asked for a better start for my career,” Henley said upon arriving in Utah this week. “For someone so young to go into that, it really helps mature you quickly. I’m only 23 now, but I feel like I’ve played for an age after the roller coaster I’ve been on. It’s great to be able to look back on that and use that experience.”
Henley, now still just 23 and making his first career move in joining Real Salt Lake for the 2018 season, gained plenty of experience with Blackburn in his six seasons with the first team and 10 that preceded that at the youth levels. Since he was just seven years old, Blackburn Rovers was the only club he suited up for. In that time, he played in the Premier League and Championship fighting for promotion and to avoid relegation with the same vigor.
After so many years at the same club, though, he saw the move to MLS as an opportunity to start a new chapter in his story. Even if it means putting on a new kit for the first time.
“It’s going to be really strange, but it’s something I’ve looked forward to. When you play for one club all of your life, you get into a routine and rhythm,” he said. “It comes to that point where for me it’s time to have a fresh start and a new slate to build on in my career and make steps forward. I’m excited for that opportunity.”
Right back has long been a steady position at Real Salt Lake though. Since he was drafted in 2008, Tony Beltran has played 245 matches, only twice playing fewer than 20 matches in a season (in 2008 and 2010). However a late-season ACL injury in his right knee will have him on the shelf well into the 2018 season.
So RSL General Manager Craig Waibel entered the off-season in search of a suitable replacement.
Upon seeing film of Henley, he saw many of the characteristics the club sought in its wide defenders, creating a good transition for both the club and Henley.
“With the way he plays the game – with his athleticism and pace, he can run all day long – we kind of had that in the right back position with Tony for a long time. So we don’t feel like it’s going to be a massive change in the way we play,” Waibel said. “We feel like he fits in really well and the guys around him will be pretty apt to combine and play with him.”
A player who prides himself in his defensive workrate, Henley joins an RSL back line that features veteran Marcelo Silva returning for his first season and the newly called-up tandem of Justen Glad and Danilo Acosta, along with veterans Demar Phillips and David Horst, former Real Monarchs standout Taylor Peay and RSL Academy and U.S. U-20 alum Aaron Herrera.
His combination of youthful hunger and veteran savvy make Henley a prime addition for the Claret-and-Cobalt in 2018 and the club’s style and approach were equally appealing to Henley.
“I saw it as a massive opportunity for myself. The MLS and Real Salt Lake as a club are both constantly moving forward and it’s something I wanted to be a part of,” he said. “It was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.”
