Aston Villa Davis, who was born in
Ballymena, County Antrim, started his career at St Andrews Boys Club in the
DAWFL, before transferring to
Aston Villa in 2002. He was a member of the
2002 FA Youth Cup winning team that beat
Everton 4–2 in the final. His first professional appearance was on 18 September 2004, he was a 57th-minute replacement for
Nolberto Solano in a goalless
Premier League match against
Norwich City at
Carrow Road. Davis made 28 league appearances across the
season, scoring the winner in a 3–2 comeback victory at
Southampton on 16 April 2005. On 13 August 2005, in Villa's first game of the new campaign, Davis volleyed past
Jussi Jääskeläinen to secure a 2–2 home draw against
Bolton Wanderers, albeit after nine minutes. He scored twice on 20 September in the third round of the
Football League Cup, as Villa won 8–3 at
Wycombe Wanderers. By October 2005, he was a regular for the club and missed only one game for Villa in the
2005–06 season. His form prompted the Northern Ireland manager
Lawrie Sanchez, to state that Davis could be "another
Frank Lampard". Davis made 102 appearances for Villa and scored nine times. On 2 January 2006, he headed the first goal of a 2–1 win at rivals
West Bromwich Albion.
Fulham In the summer of 2007, Davis followed teammate
Aaron Hughes to
Fulham on 5 July 2007 to team up with international manager Sanchez, for a fee of around £4 million. He made his Fulham debut against
Arsenal on 12 August 2007 and made 22 appearances for Fulham before moving to Rangers.
Rangers On 31 January 2008, Davis was signed on a six-month loan by
Rangers, the club he supported as a boy. He scored his first goal, again in European competition, against German team
Werder Bremen. Davis scored in the penalty shootout against
Dundee United that won Rangers the
League Cup. He also helped the team reach the
2008 UEFA Cup Final, and won the
Scottish Cup in May. Davis made his move from Fulham permanent on 21 August 2008 in a transfer worth £3 million, signing a four-year contract. He made his first appearance of the season a day later against
Aberdeen, a 1–1 draw. He scored his first goal since his move became permanent against
Motherwell. He scored the only goal in the final
Old Firm derby of the season on 9 May 2009 to take Rangers to the top of the SPL by two points. Davis won the SPL title and
Scottish Cup with Rangers in the 2008–09 season. Davis scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season against St. Mirren on 27 January. He continued his goalscoring form against Falkirk in the next game, curling a free kick into
Bobby Olejnik's top right hand corner. Davis's performances in January 2010 earned him the SPL Player of the Month award. Davis scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season against Motherwell at
Ibrox in October 2010, when he collected the ball 30 yards from goal before striking it into the top corner; the goal drew comparisons to former Rangers favourite
Ian Durrant. In the
2011 Scottish League Cup Final against
Celtic, Davis opened the scoring in a match which Rangers won 2–1 after extra time. This was the third time he had won the Scottish League Cup. and Hearts, before playing his 54th and final game of the season in a 5–1 win over Kilmarnock, as Rangers won their 3rd consecutive SPL championship. On 19 July 2011, Davis signed a new five-year contract with Rangers. He was made temporary captain, with the absence of formal club captain
David Weir for the first part of the 2011–12 season. Davis scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in a 2–0 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox in August. In the first Old Firm match of the 2011–12 season, he provided two assists as Rangers beat Celtic 4–2. After Rangers beat Dunfermline 4–0 at East End Park, Rangers manager
Ally McCoist praised Davis's performance by saying "It was a captain's performance from the best player on the park." For his performances during September 2011, he received the SPL Player of the Month award. Following
the insolvency of Rangers in 2012, Davis exercised his rights under
TUPE regulations to rescind his contract and become a free agent.
PFA Scotland had previously commented that players were entitled to become
free agents if they objected to the transfer to the new company formed by
Charles Green.
Southampton in 2016 Davis rejected the chance to stay with Rangers and instead signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Southampton on 6 July 2012. The deal was subsequently extended to 2016 as part of the agreement with Rangers to complete the transfer without the need for the international transfer clearance to be agreed by FIFA, with the two clubs agreeing a fee. After joining Southampton, Davis pleaded the Rangers fans to agree with his decision to leave but accepted that a minority of fans would take a different view and explained that he left Rangers in order to revive his football career. He made his debut on 19 August 2012, and scored to put the team ahead at holders
Manchester City only three minutes after coming on as a substitute, but Southampton eventually lost 3–2. His only other goal of the season came against the same opposition, in a 3–1 home win on 13 February 2013. His first two goals of the 2013–14 season came in a 5–1 victory at
Barnsley in the League Cup second round on 27 August, the latter being a penalty. On 17 October 2014, Davis signed a new contract to keep him at Southampton until 2018. On 8 May 2016, Davis scored his first ever league brace for Southampton in a 2–1 win over
Tottenham Hotspur at
White Hart Lane. He followed this up with a goal in a 4–1 victory over
Crystal Palace on the final day of the season. On 18 June 2016, he signed a new three-year contract, extending his stay with the club until 2019. He made his 200th Southampton appearance on 16 September 2017 against Crystal Palace, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory.
Return to Rangers On 6 January 2019, Davis returned to
Rangers on a six-month loan. On 2 May, Davis agreed to join Rangers permanently once the loan deal had finished, signing a 12-month contract. Davis helped Rangers win the
2020–21 Scottish Premiership, their first
Scottish league championship since
2011, and he won the
SFWA Footballer of the Year award. Davis tore his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022, an injury which required surgery and a long rehabilitation process. On 25 January 2024, Davis (aged 39) announced his retirement from football as a result of the injury. ==International career==