Reece Randall Grego-Cox is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Crawley Town. He joined Queens Park Rangers in 2010 after a prolific season for Bedfont Eagles under-14. He was first selected for a matchday squad in January 2015, and made his debut in the Premier League in March. In late 2016, he had a short loan at Newport County in League Two. He was released by QPR in January 2018 and joined Woking of the National League. He went onto feature eighteen times, scoring four goals before leaving for Crawley Town in July. Born in England, Grego-Cox chose to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level. He has featured for them up to under-21 level.
Club career
Queens Park Rangers
Born in Hammersmith, London, Grego-Cox joined the club at the age of 13 in 2010, after scoring nearly 60 goals in a season for Bedfont Eagles under-14. In the 2014–15 season, while a part of the Queens Park Rangers Under-18 team, he was also a regular with the Under-21s under Steve Gallen, scoring 4 goals in 7 starts. In August 2014, with the Under-18 team, he scored from 50 yards in a 3–2 win over Manchester City, which the Daily Mirror compared to a goal by David Beckham in 1996. He signed his first professional contract with the club on 22 December 2014, a two-and-a-half-year deal lasting until 2017. He said "It's really weird actually. Growing up watching QPR and then being in the position you wish you were, playing for QPR. It's a great feeling." He took part in a friendly on the same day with the first team against Southend United, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Niko Kranjčar and scoring with his first touch in a 3–2 victory. Grego-Cox was included in a matchday squad for the first time on 4 January 2015, remaining an unused substitute as they lost 0–3 to League One side Sheffield United at Loftus Road in the third round of the FA Cup. He made his professional debut on 7 March, replacing Karl Henry for the last two minutes of a 1–2 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. After two more substitute appearances, he was given his first start on 24 May, playing the full 90 minutes as relegated QPR ended the season with a 5–1 defeat away to Leicester City. On 31 August 2016, Grego-Cox joined League Two club Newport County on loan until 31 January 2017. He made his debut on 3 September by starting at home to Barnet but the match was abandoned at half time due to a waterlogged pitch. He returned to QPR on 7 December after his loan was cut short due to injury. On 12 January 2018, Grego-Cox left Queens Park Rangers by mutual consent, alongside teammate Michael Petrasso.
Woking
Following his release from QPR, Grego-Cox joined National League side Woking on a deal until the end of the season. A day later, he made his debut in a 1–0 home defeat against Tranmere Rovers, replacing Declan Appau in the 54th minute. On 23 January, Grego-Cox scored his first career goal to open a 1–1 draw at Gateshead. Grego-Cox went onto score three more times for the Cards before leaving the club following their relegation to the National League South.
Crawley Town
On 16 July 2018, Grego-Cox made the move to League Two side Crawley Town on a two-year deal, following a successful trial period. He signed a new contract, running until 2022, in July 2019.
In May 2014, The Irish Post named Grego-Cox as one of 10 young British-based prospects for the Republic of Ireland. They noted how his "pace and aggressive style of play" had proven successful with the international under-17 team, but acknowledged concerns over his temperament, despite concluding that "a competitive edge didn't do Roy Keane much harm". Queens Park Rangers under-18 manager Steve Gallen compared Grego-Cox to first-team player Charlie Austin in August 2014, saying "They are tenacious, they cause problems for defenders and they can score goals. They won't give you a moments rest. Like Charlie has done at times for the first team, Reece creates a goal out of nothing".
