Early career Hector was born in
East Ham, London. He began his career at
Millwall before moving on to
Thurrock where he played in the youth team. He was spotted by
Reading after playing against them in a friendly for Barking Abbey and joined on scholarship terms at the start of the 2009–10 season.
Loan spells Non-League In October 2009, Hector joined
Bracknell Town on
loan, spending a month there before moving to
Didcot Town in November. He went out on loan one further time that season, joining
Conference South side
Havant & Waterlooville in January 2010 though he made just one appearance as a substitute against
Bromley. After playing in the reserves and gaining experience out on loan, Hector was rewarded with his first professional contract at Reading in May 2010. The 2010–11 season again saw Hector go out on several loan spells. He joined
Oxford City in August 2010 along with fellow Reading defender
Jack Mills and made seven appearances during a one-month stay. Hector then moved to
Horsham in November on an initial one-month loan and scored his first career goal on debut against
Billericay Town. In December his loan was extended for a second month after which he returned to Reading having made 12 appearances, scoring once. His spell at Horsham was marred by three red cards, including two dismissals in successive games prompting manager John Maggs to accuse referees of "destroying" the young defender.
Dundalk On 1 February 2011, days after returning from Horsham, Hector joined
League of Ireland Premier Division side
Dundalk on loan until 30 June. The red cards received during his time at Horsham meant Hector was unable to officially sign for Dundalk until 16 February though he played in four pre-season friendlies in the meantime. His competitive debut came on 4 March as a substitute in the opening day league fixture against
Shamrock Rovers and he made a further 14 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice. Although Dundalk had initially hoped to extend Hector's loan for the rest of the season, he suffered a knee injury in May and he returned to Reading the following month.
The Football League Hector spent the next five months working his way back to full fitness and on 3 November he joined
League Two side
Barnet on an initial one-month youth loan. After an impressive start to his spell his loan was extended for a further month, and, on 23 December, was renewed until the end of the season. He became a regular in the first team and at the end of the season he was voted Barnet's Young Player of the Season. With Hector's contract up at the end of the 2011–12 season, his performances at Barnet attracted the attention of other clubs with
Norwich City and
West Ham United reportedly interested in signing him. No move materialised though and Hector signed a new contract at Reading in summer 2012. On 24 July he joined
League One side
Shrewsbury Town on a six-month loan but after falling out of contention, he returned to Reading on 7 November to train and play reserve games. He remained eligible to play for Shrewsbury until his loan ended although on 22 November Hector was recalled early and immediately sent out to
Aldershot Town until 1 January. He made his Aldershot debut in central midfield in the
FA Cup second round tie against
Fleetwood Town on 1 December. After a successful start at Aldershot Hector had expressed an interest in extending his stay with the club and on 2 January it was confirmed that his loan had been renewed. Hector's stay at Aldershot finished on 29 January 2013 with manager
Dean Holdsworth revealing he had hoped to extend his deal and was disappointed to lose him, adding that Hector had wanted to go to a "bigger club". The day after his loan at Aldershot finished Hector made his third move of the 2012–13 season, this time on an initial one-month loan to
Cheltenham Town. He made his debut in a 2–1 win over
Torquay United on 2 February and earned praise from manager
Mark Yates for his performance. On 28 February his loan was extended for another month and at the end of March it was renewed again, this time for the rest of the season. He scored his first Cheltenham goal with the winner against
Gillingham on 13 April, securing a play-off spot for the club in the process. He played in both legs of the play-off semi-final against
Northampton Town but could not prevent Cheltenham losing 2–0 on aggregate.
Aberdeen On 26 July 2013, Hector joined
Aberdeen on loan for six months. Upon his arrival Aberdeen manager
Derek McInnes described him as "a big strong lad who comes with a good pedigree". In November, he scored his only goal for the Dons with a 20-yard strike in a 4–0 win against
Partick Thistle. It was confirmed the following month that Hector's spell would not be extended due to an injury crisis at his parent club, though McInnes was hopeful that he could re-sign him at the end of the transfer window providing Reading's situation improved. Hector became a fans' favourite and despite not re-signing for the Dons, travelled to Glasgow to watch Aberdeen win the
2014 Scottish League Cup Final.
Reading Hector made his debut as a late substitute in Reading's 7–1 win over
Bolton Wanderers in January 2014. He made two more appearances off the bench before starting for the first time in place of
Kaspars Gorkšs away at
Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that finished 1–1. He went on to make nine appearances in total, including four starts, and at the end of the season was offered a new contract, which he signed in May, keeping him with the club until 2016 with the option of a further year. The following summer Hector signed a new three-year contract with Reading until the summer of 2018.
Chelsea In a deadline day deal, Hector signed for Premier League club
Chelsea on 1 September 2015. As part of the deal, he was sent back on loan to
Reading for the 2015–16 season. Hector returned to Chelsea on 28 April 2016, a week before his loan deal was due to expire. After the arrival of
Antonio Conte, Hector trained with the first-team and was included in the squad of the Austrian tour and U.S. tour during
pre-season.
Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) in 2017 On 14 August 2016, Hector joined German side
Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan, making this his 13th loan in his career. On 21 August 2016, Hector made his debut against
1. FC Magdeburg in the first round of the
DFB-Pokal. He was sent-off after receiving a second-yellow in 100th minute; Eintracht Frankfurt went on to advance to the second round after winning 4–3 in the penalty shootout. He scored his first Eintracht Frankfurt goal, a stoppage time equaliser against Hertha BSC on 24 September.
Hull City (loan) On 27 July 2017, Hector signed a season-long loan deal with
Hull City. He made his debut on the opening day of the season, 5 August 2017, away at
Aston Villa, in a 1–1 draw. Hector scored his first goal for Hull City on 28 October 2017, with the final goal in a 2–3 defeat at home to
Nottingham Forest.
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) On 31 August 2018, Hector joined
Sheffield Wednesday on a season-long loan deal. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against
Preston on 22 December 2018. He made 39 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday in all competitions, scoring two goals. At the end of the season, he was voted as the club's
Player of the Year.
Fulham On 5 September 2019, it was announced that Hector would join
Fulham, for an undisclosed fee, in the upcoming January transfer window. In an unusual move, he trained with the Fulham team until then. This move, combined with the suspension of the season due to the COVID pandemic, resulted in the headline that he effectively played "three pre-seasons" during the 2019–20 season. He made his debut in a 2–1 win against
Aston Villa in the
FA Cup third round on 4 January 2020. On 4 August 2020, he started the
2020 EFL Championship play-off final which promoted Fulham back to the Premier League. On 12 September 2020, Hector made his Premier League debut in a 3–0 defeat against
Arsenal in the opening match of the 2020–21 campaign.
Charlton Athletic On 31 January 2023, Hector signed for
League One club
Charlton Athletic on a short-term deal until the end of the season. On 29 June 2023, Hector signed a new contract with the club ahead of the
2023–24 season. On 3 May 2024, it was confirmed that Hector would leave Charlton Athletic when his contract expired.
Dagenham & Redbridge On 8 March 2025, Hector joined
Dagenham & Redbridge on a deal until the end of the season. == International career ==