Neil Taylor

Neil John Taylor (born 7 February 1989) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a left-back, currently manager of Gulf United.

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 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.

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

Taylor made his full international debut for Wales in 2010, and earned 43 caps up to 2019.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Kolkata, he was one of a relatively small number of British Asians in professional football.

Taylor began his career at Manchester City, but left the club at the age of 15.

He joined Aston Villa in January 2017 as part of a swap for Jordan Ayew, and made 103 total appearances.

After being released, he signed for Middlesbrough in November 2021, where he played for the final season of his career.

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.

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.

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.

He was not included in the Villa team that lost the 2018 EFL Championship play-off final, but played as they won against Derby County in the next year's edition.

Injury limited Taylor to 14 Premier League games in 2019–20, as Villa avoided the drop on the final day.