Daniel Peter "Danny" Simpson (born 4 January 1987 in Salford, Greater Manchester) is an English football player who plays right back for Blackburn Rovers, on loan from Manchester United. A product of the Manchester United academy, Simpson has also played for Sunderland and Ipswich Town in England and Royal Antwerp in Belgium.

Manchester United

Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Simpson played for Parkwyddn A.F.C. in Eccles as a youth before being picked up by Manchester United. He is a product of the Manchester United youth system, having come up through the ranks into the reserve squad in 2005.

Simpson made his debut against South African team Kaizer Chiefs on 18 July 2006, which the Reds won 1–0.[1] Manager Alex Ferguson claimed that Simpson looked "anything but a player making his first start for Manchester United". Simpson spent the first half of the 2006–07 season back on loan at Royal Antwerp and returned to Manchester United in January 2007.[2]

Simpson signed a new contract with Manchester United in September 2007 that would keep him at the club until 2010.[3] He made his first competitive appearance for United on 26 September 2007 in the 2–0 Carling Cup loss to Coventry City,[4] and soon after made his Premier League debut on 6 October 2007 against Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford, coming on as a 30th-minute substitute for the injured John O`Shea. He set up the fourth goal with a well flighted cross for Wayne Rooney. The match ended with a 4–0 win to United.[5] His European debut came on 23 October 2007, when he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Ryan Giggs against Dynamo Kyiv.[6] His first European start was in the reverse fixture against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007; United won the game 4–0.[7]

[edit] Royal Antwerp loan

In early January 2006, he was sent on loan, along with three other United youths, to the Belgian second division club Royal Antwerp for the remainder of the season, to gain match experience.[8]

[edit] Sunderland loan

In 2007, he joined his team mate, Jonny Evans, on loan at Sunderland.[9]

[edit] Ipswich Town loan

On 21 March 2008, Simpson signed a loan deal with Ipswich Town. With Gary Neville on the verge of returning to the Manchester United first team, United manager Alex Ferguson decided it was best for Simpson to get as much first team football as possible, something that would be quite hard to come by at Old Trafford with both Gary Neville and Wes Brown ahead of Simpson in the pecking order.[10]

[edit] Blackburn Rovers loan

On 4 August 2008, Simpson signed for Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan deal.[11][12] Simpson made his Blackburn debut on 27 August 2008, playing in Rovers` 4–1 win over Grimsby Town in the Carling Cup Second Round.[13] His Premier League debut for Blackburn Rovers came almost three weeks later, on 13 September 2008, in a 4–0 defeat at home to Arsenal.[14]

With the exception of Blackburn`s League Cup Fifth

Round defeat by Manchester United, which he was forced to miss because of a clause in his loan agreement, Simpson was ever-present for Blackburn during their League Cup and FA Cup campaigns. He also played in 11 out of the 14 league matches for which he was eligible prior to Christmas 2008, although he was named on the bench for the other three. However, since then, Simpson has only played in one league match, another 4–0 defeat to Arsenal.[15]