Jonathan Walters

Jonathan Ronald Walters (born 20 September 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward.

He is currently interim technical director of Stoke City.

Walters started his senior career at Blackburn Rovers but failed to break into the first team and joined Bolton Wanderers.

He then went out on loan to Hull City, Crewe Alexandra and Barnsley before joining Hull permanently.

He then went on to play for Wrexham and Chester City before finally finding regular football at Championship side Ipswich Town.

He played for Blackburn's youth and reserve teams where he scored prolifically, helping the club reach the FA Youth Cup final in 2001, losing 6–3 on aggregate to Arsenal.

However his promising career with Rovers was ended due to a 'serious breach of club discipline' which was described as 'totally out of character' and saw him suspended by the club.

He then joined Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £50,000 following interest from numerous clubs.

He played in four Premier League games for Bolton making his professional debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic, before signing for Hull City on loan in 2003.

On his debut for Hull Walters scored twice in a 5–1 win over Carlisle United.

Following his loan spell at Hull, Walters returned to Bolton, where he again went out on loan, this time to Crewe Alexandra however he failed to make an appearance for Crewe due to a tooth infection.

In the 2003–04 season he joined Barnsley on loan and played eight league games for the "Tykes".

Walters signed for Hull City for a second time in 2004, this time on a permanent transfer.

In February 2005, he joined Scunthorpe United on a one-month loan deal and made three appearances for the "Iron".

After scoring only three goals for Hull in two seasons, Walters was sold to League Two side Wrexham.

Upon signing for the club, Walters believed that he made the right choice moving closer to his Merseyside home.

He played in 41 matches in the 2005–06 season, scoring against Cheltenham Town, Stockport County, Torquay United (twice) and Mansfield Town.

He spent the 2005–06 season at Wrexham before he joined their rivals Chester City in 2006.

Walters thrived under the management of Mark Wright and scored ten goals in 33 matches.

He impressed in an FA Cup tie against Ipswich Town, prompting Ipswich manager Jim Magilton to make a £100,000 bid for Walters, which was accepted.

Walters ended the 2006–07 season with goals against Barnsley and a brace on the final day of the season against Cardiff City.

Walters agreed terms with Ipswich on a deal worth £100,000 plus add-ons in mid-January 2007, having impressed in FA Cup ties between the clubs earlier in the month.

He made his debut for Ipswich on 30 January 2007 in a 0–0 draw at Stoke City.

Walters scored his first goal for Ipswich in their 2–1 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Portman Road on 3 March 2007.

He scored his first ever senior hat-trick in the 6–0 win over Bristol City in November 2007 at Portman Road, in the same week he received a call-up to the Republic of Ireland B squad.

Walters played 41 times for Ipswich scoring 13 goals in 2007–08 as the Tractor Boys missed out on a play-off place by just one point.

His performances during the season earned him the Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards.

On 12 January 2008, he extended his contract with Ipswich until 2011.

He had surgery on a niggling knee problem on 19 March 2008 and returned to action against Norwich City on 13 April in half the expected time.

The 2008–09 season saw Walters again play 41 matches, scoring seven goals as Ipswich failed to build on last season and finished in 9th position.

The 2009–10 season under the management of Roy Keane saw Ipswich struggle to score goals with Walters top-scoring with only eight and Ipswich finished the season in a poor 15th position.

Walters spent three years at Portman Road before joining Stoke City for £2.75 million in August 2010.

In August 2010, Walters expressed to Roy Keane his desire to leave Portman Road after Stoke City made an offer for him.

On 18 August 2010, Walters joined Premier League side Stoke City for an initial £2.75 million fee on a four-year contract.

He scored twice in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final against Bolton Wanderers to bring the final score to 5-0, with Stoke reaching the 2011 FA Cup Final.

Walters played 54 matches during the 2011–12 season and then played in UEFA Euro 2012 with the Republic of Ireland.

Walters scored five times for the Republic of Ireland in 2015 during their successful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, and was acknowledged with that year's FAI Senior International Player of the Year award.

Walters was born in Moreton, Merseyside and started his career at Blackburn Rovers having been spotted by playing for Shaftesbury under 16s in the Eastham & District Junior League by Rovers' scout for Wirral and Wales, Mike O'Brien who moved quickly to sign him.

"'He was at Shaftesbury under-16s when I first decided he had something. I had been watching him for the previous two years but his physique wasn't what it should be. But once he got to 16 you could see him developing. He was always quick. He played against Tranmere Rovers and scored three for Merseyside Schools, so I made the decision to bring him in and he scored two against Manchester United on the Saturday and we signed him on the Monday. If a player is a bit special you need to make a quick decision. And it paid off because the gaffer (Graeme Souness) thinks a lot of him. But I'll never predict what he can do or if he is close to making the first team. All I will say is the lad is scoring goals for the reserves and if he continues to do that he's got a chance.'"

Walters remained a regular at Stoke under managers Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes, scoring 62 goals in 271 appearances, before joining Burnley in July 2017.