Martin Ronald Kelly (born 27 April 1990) is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.
Kelly began his career at hometown club Liverpool, making 62 appearances across all competitions from his debut in 2008, and winning the League Cup in 2012. In 2014, he transferred to Crystal Palace for a fee of £2 million. In 2022, he signed for West Brom on a free transfer.
He played two minutes for England in a friendly against Norway on 26 May 2012, making him the England player with the shortest international career. He was an unused member of their squad for UEFA Euro 2012.
Club career
Liverpool
Kelly was born in Whiston, Merseyside and raised in Newton-le-Willows by his parents where he attended St Mary's Primary and then St Aelred's Catholic Technology College. He joined Liverpool at the age of seven and came through Academy ranks.
Kelly was promoted to Melwood from the club's academy in the summer of 2007. In an interview for Liverpool's official website he spoke about his delight at making the step up despite missing roughly two years of football for the youth team due to back problems. Kelly broke into Gary Ablett's title winning reserves team during 2007–08. He scored the second goal in Liverpool's 3–0 win over Tigres UANL in the 2008 Dallas Cup final on 23 March 2008.
Ahead of the 2008–09 season he received a first-team squad number. He earned his first call up to the senior team in November 2008 when he was an unused substitute in Liverpool's UEFA Champions League group stage match against Marseille. Not long after, he debuted as a substitute for Jamie Carragher in the same competition against PSV Eindhoven on 9 December 2008.
On 26 March 2009, as the loan transfer window closed, Kelly joined League One club Huddersfield Town on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the Terriers as a left-back in the 2–1 win over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium on 31 March 2009, and received praise for his composed performance. On 18 April, he scored his first goal in professional football, scoring the winner in Huddersfield's 3–2 win over Walsall at the Bescot Stadium.
Rafael Benítez suggested that the departure of Sami Hyypiä from Liverpool could open a window for Kelly into the first team, with his progress expected to be monitored closely in pre-season. Kelly made his first competitive start for Liverpool as a right back against Lyon in the UEFA Champions League on 20 October 2009, in which he walked off injured in the 74th minute. He was named man of the match by Liverpool's official website. He made his return from a groin injury on 25 February 2010, coming on as a substitute against FC Unirea Urziceni in the UEFA Europa League. He then made his Premier League debut replacing Glen Johnson in the 4–1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield.
Kelly made his first Premier League start of the season as an emergency replacement for Sotirios Kyrgiakos on 7 November 2010 against Chelsea in a match which Liverpool won 2–0. He subsequently started in the Merseyside derby on 16 January 2011, forcing Liverpool's first choice Glen Johnson to play left back. He won the Liverpoolfc.tv journalist's Man of the Match Award for his performance against Everton. Jamie Carragher complemented his talents by saying "I was in the stand against Everton and when he made that run past Leighton Baines, I thought it was Thierry Henry against me all those years ago. It was turbo charged."
On 20 August 2011, Kelly played for the whole match away to Arsenal and helped Liverpool keep a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory. He nearly scored in the second half, as his shot from 15 yards hit the outside of the post. England manager, Fabio Capello, was present at the match and applauded his performance. On 29 November 2011, he scored a header against Chelsea as Liverpool won 2–0 at Stamford Bridge, sending them through to the semi-finals of the League Cup.
On 23 September 2012, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester United and was ruled out of action for approximately six months. A year and three days later, he made his first competitive appearance since the injury, against the same opponents in the third round of the League Cup, replacing Lucas Leiva midway through the second half in a 1–0 win for the hosts. Brendan Rodgers insisted that the latter would get his chance fully as current first-choice right-back, as Glen Johnson was out for a month.