Neil Taylor (footballer)

For other people with the same name, see Neil Taylor (disambiguation).

Neil Taylor

200px Taylor playing for Swansea City in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Neil John Taylor
Date of birth	(1989-02-07) 7 February 1989
Place of birth	Ruthin, Wales
Height
Position(s)	Left back
Team information
Current team	Swansea City
Number	3
Youth career
1998–2005	Manchester City
2005–2007	Wrexham
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2010	Wrexham	75	(3)
2010–	Swansea City	149	(0)
International career‡
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	27	(0)
2012	Great Britain	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:00, 1 May 2016 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 01:10, 28 March 2016 (UTC)

Neil John Taylor (born 7 February 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Swansea City and the Welsh national team.

A former Manchester City trainee, he began his career with Wrexham in 2007 and moved to Swansea for an initial £150,000 in 2010.

Taylor made his full international debut for Wales in 2010, and has since earned over 25 caps. He also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics on home soil.

Club career

Wrexham

Taylor began his career at Manchester City, but left the club at the age of 15. He instead moved to Wrexham at the age of 16, progressing through the youth system at the club, signing a professional contract in July 2007. 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. 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. He finished the 2007–08 season when he made 27 league and cup appearances. He signed an extension to his contract on 13 March 2008, keeping him at Wrexham until 2010. 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, and followed it up with another in a 5–0 rout of Eastbourne Borough on 20 December. 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.

Swansea City

At the end of the 2009–10 season, Taylor joined Football League Championship side Swansea City on a free transfer. 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. 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 games, 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.

His impressive form then sparked a £1m-plus bid from Newcastle United that summer, but he committed himself to the Swans instead with a contract extension. 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.

File:Robin Van Persie Nathan Dyer & Neil Taylor 2011.jpg

Taylor and Nathan Dyer attempt a tackle on Arsenal's Robin van Persie in 2011

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

In late February, Taylor returned to full training after six months out with injury. Shortly before his return, Swansea City won the League Cup Final following a 5–0 win over League Two side Bradford City. In late April, he played 80 minutes for Swansea City U21s as part of his rehabilitation. 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. After the match, he expressed relief at his return to the first team.

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”. 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.

International career

Wales

File:Neil Taylor Wales.jpg

Taylor lining up for Wales in 2011

Initially eligible for either Wales or India, Taylor made his debut for Wales on 23 May 2010 against Croatia at the Stadion Gradski vrt. He played four times in Euro 2012 qualifying.

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 Cristian Martínez, but the Welsh fought back for a 2–1 victory.

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. He played his first game for Great Britain in a friendly against Brazil at the Riverside Stadium. He then went on to appear in all of the team's group stage fixtures helping to secure progression into the knockout stages of the Olympic Football tournament.

Personal life

Born in Ruthin, Denbighshire, Taylor is of mixed Welsh-Indian descent. His mother is from Kolkata in India.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 February 2016.

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	League Two	26	0	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	27	0
	2008–09	Conference Premier	26	2	2	0	—		—		6	0	34	2
	2009–10	Conference Premier	23	1	2	0	—		—		1	0	26	1
	Total		75	3	4	0	1	0	—		7	0	87	3
Swansea City	2010–11	Championship	29	0	0	0	2	0	—		1	0	32	0
	2011–12	Premier League	36	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		38	0
	2012–13	Premier League	6	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		6	0
	2013–14	Premier League	10	0	3	0	1	0	6	0	—		20	0
	2014–15	Premier League	34	0	0	0	2	0	—		—		36	0
	2015–16	Premier League	24	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		24	0
	Total		139	0	4	0	6	0	6	0	1	0	156	0
Total			214	3	8	0	7	0	6	0	8	0	243	3

International

As of match played 13 November 2015.

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
Total		26	0

External links

• Neil Taylor profile at Swansea City A.F.C.
• Neil Taylor career statistics at Soccerbase