Jay Francis Spearing (born 25 November 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool, where he is also a coach at their academy.

He made the move permanent the following summer and remained at the club until 2020, before joining Tranmere Rovers for two years before his semi-retirement and movement in to coaching.

[5] Spearing made his competitive first-team debut on 9 December 2008, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 UEFA Champions League win against PSV.

On 31 March 2009, Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez announced that he would be offering Spearing a new contract, alongside fellow home-grown youngster Stephen Darby.

On 16 September, he again played the full 90 minutes in the Reds' opening group game against Steaua București, his first-ever start at Anfield, setting up David Ngog for the fourth and final goal as Liverpool won 4–1.

Spearing was an unused substitute in Liverpool's 1–0 Premier League win against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on 31 October.

He came on in the 90th minute of Liverpool's 2–0 victory over Chelsea on 7 November 2010, instantly making an impact by playing a through ball to assist a Maxi Rodríguez effort.

In the post-match interview, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish praised the young midfielder and joked that Steven Gerrard may never get into the first team again.

Against Arsenal on 17 April, Spearing gave away a 98th-minute penalty, which Robin van Persie converted to make the game 1–0.

Despite this, Spearing won the man-of-the-match award from Sky Sports and was praised after the game for his determination, work-rate and battling performance.

In May 2011, the club announced that he had extended his contract,[11] and he was included in England under-21s provisional 40-man squad for the 2011 Summer U21 European Championship, with fellow Liverpool player Andy Carroll.

[15] New Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers described Spearing as a "very good player with great qualities" who has "the soul of the club in his heart".

[16] He started the first competitive game of the season in the UEFA Europa League qualifier against Belarusian club Gomel, playing the full 90 minutes, and made a substitute appearance in the return leg at Anfield.

His final appearance of the season for Liverpool came as a start in the 1–0 victory against Hearts in a Europa League qualifier on 23 August 2012.

[21] Although he did not feature in any of the club's remaining fixtures, he was present in the guard of honour for the retiring Jamie Carragher in the last game of the 2012–13 Premier League against Queens Park Rangers.

It was confirmed on 9 August that Spearing had agreed a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee[31][32][33] and he made his debut the following day in the 1–1 home draw against Reading.