Neil Taylor (footballer)

Neil John Taylor (born 7 February 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a left back for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Wales national team. A former Manchester City trainee, he began his career with Wrexham in 2007 and moved to Swansea City for an initial £150,000 in 2010, going on to make 179 appearances for the Swans. He joined Aston Villa in January 2017 as part of a swap for Jordan Ayew.

Neil Taylor

Taylor with Wales in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Neil John Taylor[1]
Date of birth	7 February 1989[2]
Place of birth	St Asaph, Wales
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.76 m)[3]
Position(s)	Left back[4]
Club information
Current team	Aston Villa
Number	3
Youth career
1998–2005	Manchester City
2005–2007	Wrexham
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2010	Wrexham	75	(3)
2010–2017	Swansea City	160	(0)
2017–	Aston Villa	88	(0)
National team^‡
2005–2006	Wales U17	10	(0)
2006–2007	Wales U19	5	(0)
2007–2010	Wales U21	13	(0)
2009	Wales Semi-Pro	1	(0)
2010–	Wales	43	(1)
2012	Great Britain	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:40, 12 July 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:17, 6 September 2019 (UTC)

Taylor made his full international debut for Wales in 2010, and has since earned over 40 caps. He was part of their squad which reached the semi-finals at UEFA Euro 2016, and also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics on home soil. Born to a Bengali mother from India, he is one of a relatively small number of British Asians in professional football.[5]

Club career

Wrexham

Taylor began his career at Manchester City, but left the club at the age of 15.[6] He instead moved to Wrexham at the age of 16, progressing through the youth system at the club,[7] signing a professional contract in July 2007.[8] He made his professional debut on 28 August 2007 in the second round of the League Cup, as a 79th-minute substitute for Eifion Williams in a 0–5 home loss to Aston Villa at the Racecourse Ground.[9] On 22 September, he made his league debut, starting in a 2–1 League Two loss at Stockport County, crossing for the opening goal by Marc Williams.[10] He finished the 2007–08 season when he made 27 league and cup appearances.[11] He signed an extension to his contract on 13 March 2008, keeping him at Wrexham until 2010.[12] Wrexham finished the season with relegation out of The Football League.

On 7 October 2008, Taylor scored his first career goal, in a 3–1 home win over York City in the Conference Premier, a match in which he was captain,[13] and followed it up with another in a 5–0 rout of Eastbourne Borough on 20 December.[14] His only other Wrexham goal came in his last appearance on 10 April 2010, volleying to conclude a 2–0 win at relegated Grays Athletic.[15]

Swansea City

Taylor playing for Swansea City in 2011

At the end of the 2009–10 season, Taylor joined Football League Championship side Swansea City on a free transfer.[6] A fee of £150,000 plus 10% of any future profit was agreed between the two clubs just before entering a professional footballers compensation committee tribunal on 30 September 2010.[16][17] He made his Swans debut on 21 August, as a half-time substitute for Albert Serrán in a 2–0 defeat at Norwich City. He had played 15 league matches, due to injuries and suspensions, before spraining his ankle against Reading on 1 January 2011. He made his return on 19 February against Doncaster Rovers, the same week where both he and captain Garry Monk became fathers. On 12 May, in the Championship play-off semi-final first leg against Nottingham Forest, Taylor was sent off after 53 seconds for a high challenge on Lewis McGugan, with the match ending in a goalless draw.[18]

His impressive form then sparked a £1 million plus bid from Newcastle United that summer, but he committed himself to the Swans instead with a contract extension.[19] That paid off for both player and club as Taylor again enjoyed a successful season in helping the Swans to 11th spot in their first Premier League campaign.

Taylor suffered a broken ankle in the match against Sunderland on 1 September 2012 after falling awkwardly during a challenge on Craig Gardner in the early stages of the match and was ruled out until the end of the season.[20] On 14 December 2012, Taylor signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Swansea, lasting until 2016.[21]

In late February, Taylor returned to full training after six months out with injury.[22] Shortly before his return, Swansea City won the League Cup Final following a 5–0 win over League Two side Bradford City.[23] In late April, he played 80 minutes for Swansea City U21s as part of his rehabilitation.[24] Taylor made his first senior appearance since his injury as a substitute for Ben Davies in a 2–0 loss against Chelsea on 28 April 2013.[25] After the match, he expressed relief at his return to the first team.[26]

After Taylor's return, Swansea manager Michael Laudrup described the battle for the left-back slot between Taylor and Davies as "a beautiful problem for a manager to have".[27] Following the transfer of Davies to Tottenham Hotspur in 2014, Taylor reestablished himself as first-choice left back for Swansea. Taylor signed a new four-year contract in June 2015, tying him to the club until 2019.[28]

Aston Villa

After his position as Swansea's left back was challenged by Stephen Kingsley and Martin Olsson, on 31 January 2017 Taylor joined Championship side Aston Villa along with an estimated £5 million in exchange for Jordan Ayew.[29] He made his debut eleven days later in a 1–0 home loss to Ipswich Town, starting and playing 77 minutes while wearing a protective mask over his fractured cheekbone. Manager Steve Bruce said he did well given his injury and lack of match practice.[30]

On 30 September 2017, Taylor was sent off at the end of a 1–0 home win over Bolton Wanderers for a foul on Adam le Fondre.[31]

International career

Wales

Taylor lining up for Wales in 2011

Taylor was also eligible for India through his mother.[5] He made his debut for Wales on 23 May 2010 in a friendly against Croatia at the Stadion Gradski vrt, replacing Andy Dorman for the final 23 minutes of the 2–0 loss; he and Mark Bradley had been promoted from the under-21 team in an emergency.[32] In May 2011, he played two matches at the Nations Cup in Dublin.[33]

On 9 September 2014, in Wales' first match of UEFA Euro 2016 qualification, he gave away a penalty to Andorra in the fifth minute, converted by Ildefons Lima, but the Welsh fought back for a 2–1 victory.[34] At the final tournament in France, he played every minute as Wales reached a tournament semi-final for the first time. He scored his first international goal in a 3–0 group win over Russia; it was his first senior goal since one for Wrexham at Grays Athletic in April 2010.[35]

Taylor was sent off on 24 March 2017 in a goalless World Cup qualifier away to the Republic of Ireland, for a foul that resulted in Séamus Coleman breaking his leg.[36] Coleman needed surgery on a broken tibia and fibula after being injured in the match and Taylor was given a two-match international ban by FIFA.[37]

He withdrew from the Welsh squad in November 2019 due to personal reasons.[38]

Great Britain

Stuart Pearce named Taylor in his 18-man squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as one of three Swansea City players.[39] He played his first match for Great Britain in a friendly against Brazil at the Riverside Stadium on 20 July.[40] He then went on to appear in all of the team's group stage fixtures, helping to secure progression into the knockout stages.

Personal life

Taylor was born in St Asaph, Denbighshire, and brought up in nearby Ruthin,[41] where he attended Ysgol Brynhyfryd.[42] He is of mixed Welsh-Indian descent; his mother, Shibani Chakraborty, is a Bengali from Kolkata in India,[43][44] while his father, John Taylor, is British. He lives with his wife Genna and their two children in Killay, Swansea. In a 2016 spring clean, they donated furniture worth thousands of pounds to be sold by the British Heart Foundation.[45] Taylor travels to India to promote football, and has said that due to his name, the population are surprised to learn of his ancestry.[5]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 July 2020

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Wrexham	2007–08[46]	League Two	26	0	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	27	0
	2008–09[47]	Conference Premier	26	2	2	0	—		—		6[lower-alpha 1]	0	34	2
	2009–10[48]		23	1	2	0	—		—		1[lower-alpha 2]	0	26	1
	Wrexham Total		75	3	4	0	1	0	—		7	0	87	3
Swansea City	2010–11[49]	Championship	29	0	0	0	2	0	—		1[lower-alpha 3]	0	32	0
	2011–12[50]	Premier League	36	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		38	0
	2012–13[51]		6	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		6	0
	2013–14[52]		10	0	3	0	1	0	6[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		20	0
	2014–15[53]		34	0	0	0	2	0	—		—		36	0
	2015–16[54]		34	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		34	0
	2016–17[55]		11	0	0	0	2	0	—		—		13	0
	Swansea City Total		160	0	4	0	8	0	6	0	1	0	179	0
Aston Villa	2016–17[55]	Championship	14	0	—		—		—		—		14	0
	2017–18[56]		29	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		30	0
	2018–19[57]		31	0	1	0	2	0	—		3[lower-alpha 3]	0	37	0
	2019–20[58]	Premier League	13	0	1	0	3	0	—		—		17	0
	Aston Villa Total		87	0	3	0	5	0	0	0	3	0	98	0
Total			319	3	11	0	14	0	6	0	11	0	364	3

1. Two appearances in Conference League Cup, four in FA Trophy
2. Appearance in FA Trophy
3. Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 6 September 2019[59]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Wales	2010	1	0
	2011	7	0
	2012	2	0
	2013	4	0
	2014	6	0
	2015	6	0
	2016	12	1
	2017	3	0
	2018	0	0
	2019	2	0
Total		43	1

International goals

As of match played 20 June 2016. Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each Taylor goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	20 June 2016	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France	31	Russia	2–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2016

Honours

Aston Villa

• EFL Championship play-offs: 2019[60]
• EFL Cup runner-up: 2019–20[61]

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Aston Villa" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
2. "Neil Taylor". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
3. "Neil Taylor: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
4. Orme, Daniel (14 August 2018). "'Let's hope he can gain some confidence' The story of Neil Taylor's Aston Villa career so far". Birmingham Live. Reach. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
5. Din, Tusdiq (13 November 2015). "Why is Swansea's Neil Taylor the only British Asian in the Premier League?". Daily Mirror.
6. "Swans agree terms with Neil Taylor". Swansea City A.F.C. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
7. "Neil Taylor". Wrexham F.C. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
8. "Neil Taylor". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
9. "Wrexham 0–5 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
10. "Stockport 2–1 Wrexham". BBC Sport. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
11. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
12. "Wrexham rookies sign new deals". BBC Sport. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
13. "Wrexham 3–1 York". 7 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
14. "Wrexham 5–0 Eastbourne". BBC Sport. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
15. "Grays 0–2 Wrexham". BBC Sport. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
16. "Wrexham FC want compensation tribunal after Neil Taylor signs for Swansea City". Daily Post. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
17. "Swansea agree Neil Taylor compensation". BBC Sport. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
18. Shuttleworth, Peter (12 May 2011). "Nott'm Forest 0–0 Swansea". Retrieved 26 May 2018.
19. "Swansea City turn down £1 million Newcastle bid for Neil Taylor – Football News – Football". WalesOnline. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
20. "Swansea defender Taylor out for rest of the season with broken ankle". Goal.com/en. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
21. "Neil Taylor signs fresh Swansea deal". BBC Sport. 14 December 2012.
22. "Manager Michael Laudrup sets Swansea Premier League target". BBC Sport. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
23. "Bradford City 0–5 Swansea City". BBC Sport. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
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25. "Chelsea 2–0 Swansea". BBC Sport. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
26. "Swansea City star Neil Taylor relieved to finally end eight-month injury nightmare". Wales Online. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
27. "Swansea City rivalry between Neil Taylor and Ben Davies 'a beautiful problem'". Wales Online. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
28. "Neil Taylor signs new contract with Swansea City". BBC Sport. 1 June 2015.
29. "Jordan Ayew: Swansea sign Aston Villa forward in Neil Taylor swap deal". 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
30. Kendrick, Mat (11 February 2017). "Aston Villa's Neil Taylor: Steve Bruce gives his verdict on the debutant". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
31. Maher, Matt (30 September 2017). "Aston Villa 1 Bolton 0". Express & Star. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
32. "Croatia 2–0 Wales". BBC Sport. 23 May 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
33. "Wales 2–0 N Ireland". BBC Sport. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
34. "Gareth Bale double rescues feeble Wales from embarrassment in Andorra". The Guardian. Press Association. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
35. Lowe, Sid (22 June 2016). "Neil Taylor's goal completes journey from Portakabin to Paris". Retrieved 8 July 2016.
36. "Republic of Ireland 0–0 Wales". 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
37. "Wales' Neil Taylor gets two-game ban for tackle that broke Séamus Coleman's leg". The Guardian. Press Association. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
38. "Neil Taylor: Aston Villa defender withdraws from Wales squad". 12 November 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
39. "London 2012 Olympics: Stuart Pearce names Team GB football squad". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
40. Fletcher, Paul (20 July 2012). "Team GB suffer defeat by Brazil". BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
41. Williams, Aled (9 June 2016). "Euro 2016: Wales players in the eyes of their families". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 21 June 2016.
42. "Euro 2016: Wales defender Neil Taylor's wife predicts winners with sticker book". BBC Sport. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
43. "Football in India is growing – Swansea City's Neil Taylor". Goal.com. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
44. "Wales defender with Kolkata roots stamps his class on Euro". The Times of India. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
45. "Welsh football star Neil Taylor donates thousands of pounds worth of plush furniture to charity". Wales Online. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
46. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
47. Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2009). Non-League Club Directory 2010. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-1-869833-66-4.
48. Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2010). Non-League Club Directory 2011. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 154–155. ISBN 978-1-869833-68-8.
49. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
50. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
51. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
52. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
53. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
54. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
55. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
56. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
57. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
58. "Games played by Neil Taylor in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
59. "Taylor, Neil". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
60. Woodcock, Ian (27 May 2019). "Aston Villa 2–1 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
61. McNulty, Phil (1 March 2020). "Aston Villa 1–2 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 March 2020.

External links

• Neil Taylor – FIFA competition record
• Neil Taylor – UEFA competition record 
• Neil Taylor profile at Aston Villa F.C.
• Neil Taylor at Soccerbase