Nathan Delfouneso

Nathan Abayomi Delfouneso (born 2 February 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Hednesford Town.

Born in Tyseley, Birmingham, Delfouneso, a product of the Aston Villa Academy, became a regular for both the club's reserve and academy teams in the 2006–07 season.

He made his debut for the reserve team in March 2007, just a month after turning 16.

His late goal gave Villa a 2–1 win against Portsmouth.

In October, he scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw with Reading.

By the end of the 2007–08 season, Delfouneso had made 41 appearances for the Academy team, scoring 22 goals in the process.

Delfouneso made his competitive first-team début as a substitute in the away leg of the UEFA Cup second round match against Icelandic team FH Hafnarfjörður.

This made Delfouneso the youngest player to represent Villa in European competition, at the age of 17 years and 195 days.

He also came on in the second leg at Villa Park.

He made his first competitive start in a UEFA Cup tie against MŠK Žilina, scoring with a left-footed volley after just half an hour.

He scored again in his second start on 17 December, netting a consolation goal away at Hamburger SV.

Having graduated from Aston Villa's academy Delfouneso broke into their first team in 2008, mainly being an impact substitute over the next few years, he scored 9 goals in 52 appearances, including two goals in the club's 2008-09 UEFA Cup campaign.

Delfouneso had a series of loan moves to Football League Championship sides while at Aston Villa, followed by permanent spells at Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Swindon Town.

In February 2008, Delfouneso signed his first professional contract with Aston Villa, a few days after he was given the number 14 shirt for the first team - it was later reported in French magazine Onze Mondial that the number was chosen due to Delfouneso's admiration of striker Thierry Henry.

He travelled with the squad for the game at Fulham, but missed out on the final 16.

Delfouneso made his first domestic senior appearance on 4 January 2009, in an FA Cup tie against Gillingham at Priestfield Stadium, which Villa won 2–1.

He scored his first domestic senior goal a month later, on 4 February in an FA Cup fourth round replay against Doncaster Rovers at Villa Park, which Villa won 3–1.

His performance was rewarded with high praise from boss Martin O'Neill.

On 16 February, it was reported that Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock was interested in taking Delfouneso to Selhurst Park on loan.

O'Neill refused, declaring that Warnock's chances of acquiring the striker were "not a prayer".

Delfouneso made his league debut against Tottenham Hotspur as a second-half substitute for Gabriel Agbonlahor, on 15 March.

He was given a second run-out during Villa's 3–3 draw with Everton, creating two good chances for himself, but failed to score.

On 13 May, Delfouneso ended the season by picking up both Villa's Players' Young Player of the Year and Supporters' Young Player of the Year.

Eight days later, Delfouneso scored the opening goal in a 3–1 victory over Sunderland in the Premier Reserve League final.

On 6 November 2009, Delfouneso signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract with Aston Villa, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2011–12 season.

In January 2010, O'Neill said that Delfouneso, along with fellow youngsters Marc Albrighton and Ciaran Clark, were the subject of many loan offers from various other clubs.

However, he went on to emphasise his confidence that the trio were good enough to remain as vital squad members on the fringes of Aston Villa's first team.

He scored his first league goal on 18 April, after coming off the bench against Portsmouth in a 2–1 victory at Fratton Park.

On 6 November 2010, Delfouneso started his first Premier League game against Fulham due to Emile Heskey, John Carew and Agbonlahor being injured.

He completed 88 minutes of the match, which ended as a 1–1 draw.

On 10 November, Delfouneso scored his second Premier League goal in a 3–2 win against Blackpool at Villa Park.

By the end of this campaign for Villa, he made 16 appearances and scored two goals in all competitions.

On 8 March 2011, Delfouneso signed for Burnley of the Football League Championship until the end of the season.

He made his debut the same day, playing at Hull City's KC Stadium.

Delfouneso scored past on-loan Aston Villa teammate Brad Guzan just five minutes into his first start for The Clarets.

On 23 January 2012, Delfouneso signed a one-month loan deal with Leicester City.

He made five appearances for the Foxes, all as a substitute, but did not manage to score a goal.

On 20 May 2014, Aston Villa announced via their Twitter page that Delfouneso, along with Marc Albrighton, had been released from his contract and would be a free agent for the start of the 2014–15 season.

He signed for Blackpool for a fourth time in 2017.

Delfouneso was a regular England youth international, playing a total of 54 matches and scoring 19 goals at U16, U17, U19 and U21 levels.