Connor Taylor (footballer, born 2001)

Connor Taylor

Taylor with Bristol Rovers in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Connor Taylor [1]
Date of birth	(2001-10-25) 25 October 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England [3]
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [4]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Bristol Rovers
Number	17
Youth career
	Port Vale
2017–2019	Stafford Rangers
2019–2021	Stoke City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–2023	Stoke City	15	(0)
2020	→ Ashton United (loan)	1	(0)
2020–2021	→ Chester (loan)	3	(0)
2021–2022	→ Bristol Rovers (loan)	42	(3)
2023–	Bristol Rovers	33	(0)
International career
2018–2019	England Schoolboys
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:39, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

Connor Taylor (born 25 October 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Bristol Rovers.

Taylor spent his youth at Port Vale's academy and Stafford Rangers before signing a one-year scholarship with Stoke City in September 2019. He went on to spend brief spells on loan at non-League clubs Ashton United and Chester. He spent the 2021–22 season on loan at Bristol Rovers and won the club's Young Player of the Year award after helping Rovers to win promotion out of League Two. Bristol Rovers signed him for an undisclosed fee in August 2023.

Early life

Connor Taylor was born on 25 October 2001 and grew up in the Eaton Park area of Stoke-on-Trent. ^{[3] [5]}

Career

Stoke City

Taylor started his career at Port Vale's academy before going on to join Stafford Rangers. ^[6] He made some substitute appearances for Stafford in the 2018–19 season and represented England Schoolboys. ^[7] In September 2019 Taylor signed a one-year scholarship with Stoke City and joined their U23 squad. ^[8] In October 2020, Taylor spent time at Ashton United on work experience, playing in an FA Trophy game against Clitheroe and a Northern Premier League Premier Division match with Whitby Town. ^{[9] [10] [11]} Taylor joined National League North side Chester on a one-month loan deal on 18 December 2020. ^[12] Anthony Johnson, joint-manager of the "Blues", said that "he has looked like a 30-year-old centre back who has been playing for 12 years not someone that has just been dropped in for their debut". ^[13] The loan was extended until the end of January 2021. ^[14] Taylor signed a new 18-month contract with Stoke in February 2021. ^[15] Taylor made his senior debut for the "Potters" on 21 April 2021, coming on as a 17th-minute substitute for James Chester in a 3–2 defeat to Coventry City at the Bet365 Stadium. ^[16]

On 17 June 2021, Taylor joined Bristol Rovers on loan for the 2021–22 season. ^{[17] [18] [19]} Taylor contracted COVID-19 and the "Pirates" got off to a poor start to the campaign, but manager Joey Barton described Taylor as a "colossus" after Rovers picked up their first League Two win of the season in a 1–0 win over Crawley Town at the Memorial Stadium on 4 September. ^{[20] [21]} On 25 September 2021, Taylor scored a first career goal as he equalised with ten minutes to go as Rovers got a last-minute comeback victory at Walsall, the club's first away win in nine months. ^[22] Taylor's impressive early-season form continued and on 12 November, he was awarded the EFL Young Player of the Month Award. This came after two clean sheets in six matches and an impressive man of the match performance as Rovers defeated high-flying Harrogate Town, Taylor winning thirteen aerial duels. ^{[23] [24]} In February 2022, it was revealed by Barton that Taylor would undergo heart surgery at the end of the season after feeling unwell in a warm-up against Oldham. ^[25] In April 2022, Taylor was nominated for the League Two Young Player of the Season Award, facing competition from Leyton Orient's Shadrach Ogie and Newport County's Finn Azaz, missing out on the award to the latter. ^[26] On 7 May 2022, Taylor scored the second goal in a final day 7–0 thrashing of Scunthorpe United that saw Rovers overtake Northampton Town into the final automatic promotion place on goals scored. ^[27] The following day at the end of season awards, Taylor was named as the Bristol Rovers Young Player of the Season. ^[28]

On 14 July 2022, Taylor signed a new three-year contract with Stoke. ^{[29] [30]} He made eighteen appearances in the 2022–23 campaign, including eleven starts in the Championship. ^[31] Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton had attempted to sign him in the January transfer window after Taylor had been dropped since Alex Neil replaced Michael O'Neill as Stoke manager; however, the bids were rejected. ^[32] Taylor had started six times under O'Neill, but was absent from the first-team between September and January. ^[33]

Bristol Rovers

On 3 August 2023, Taylor returned to Bristol Rovers – now a League One side – on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, ^{[34] [35]} widely reported to be in the region of £300,000. ^[36] He spent the second half of the 2023–24 season plagued by a knee injury sustained in January, undergoing surgery in April 2024 to hopefully fix the problem for the start of the following season. ^[37]

On 29 October 2024, Taylor scored his first goal since his permanent return to the club, netting in a 3–2 EFL Trophy defeat to Exeter City. ^[38]

Style of play

Taylor is a big, quick centre-back who is comfortable on the ball. ^[39]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 November 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	2020–21 [40]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2021–22 [41]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2022–23 [42]	Championship	14	0	3	0	1	0	—		18	0
	Stoke City total		15	0	3	0	1	0	—		19	0
Ashton United (loan)	2020–21 [43]	Northern Premier League Premier Division	1	0	0	0	—		1 [a]	0	2	0
Chester (loan)	2020–21 [3]	National League North	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
Bristol Rovers (loan)	2021–22 [41]	League Two	42	3	3	0	1	0	1 [b]	0	47	3
Bristol Rovers	2023–24 [44]	League One	33	0	4	0	1	0	3 [b]	0	41	0
	2024–25 [45]	League One	10	0	1	1	1	0	3 [b]	1	15	2
	Bristol Rovers total		85	3	8	1	3	0	7	1	103	5
Career total			104	3	11	1	4	0	8	1	127	5

1. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Bristol Rovers

• EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2021–22 ^[27]

Individual

• EFL Young Player of the Month: October 2021 ^[23]
• Bristol Rovers Young Player of the Year: 2021–22 ^[28]

References

1. "Club List Of Registered Players" (PDF). English Football League . Retrieved 23 September 2022.
2. "Connor Taylor - Defender - First Team - Bristol Rovers". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
3. Connor Taylor at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
4. "Connor Taylor". Stoke City F.C. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
5. Smith, Peter (9 January 2023). "Fan-turned-first teamer Connor Taylor makes vow after Stoke transfer decision". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
6. Smith, Peter (25 February 2021). "New Stoke deals for Forrester and Taylor as they catch O'Neill's eye". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
7. Wilson, Matt (13 December 2018). "Three lions! Schoolboy trio get England call". Express and Star. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
8. "Good luck Connor Taylor". Stafford Rangers. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
9. "Ashton Utd 1 Clitheroe FC 0 Buildbase FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round 31.10.20". Ashton United. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
10. Gordon, James (31 October 2020). "Saturday's transfer list - October 31st - The Pitching In Northern Premier League". www.thenpl.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
11. "Northern Premier League - Premier Division – Whitby Town 2 - 0 Ashton United – 2020-2021". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
12. "Chester Football Club – Official Website » BREAKING | Blues agree loan deal for Stoke defender Connor Taylor". chesterfc.com. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
13. Baggaley, Michael (9 January 2021). "'Stoke City have a real prospect' - Chester FC boss on young defender". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
14. "Chester Football Club – Official Website » BREAKING | Connor Taylor loan extended until end of January". chesterfc.com. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
15. Cope, Niall (25 February 2021). "Talented teens secure new contracts". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
16. "Coventry almost safe after win at Stoke". BBC Sport. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
17. "Connor Taylor Joins Rovers on Loan!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
18. Nicholson, Fraser (17 June 2021). "Connor is a Rover". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
19. "Pirates sign Stoke's Taylor on loan". BBC Sport. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
20. Reis, Bruna (6 September 2021). "Stoke defender Taylor making his mark after 'difficult' start". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
21. Pawley, Luke (6 September 2021). "Stoke City defender Taylor branded a "colossus" by Joey Barton". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
22. "Walsall 1–2 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
23. "Connor Taylor named the EFL's Young Player of the Month for October". www.efl.com. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
24. Frost, Sam (13 November 2021). "Stoke City's Bristol Rovers star lands award once won by Zaha, Maguire, Bellingham and Watkins". Bristol Post.
25. "Joey Barton confirms Stoke City player set for heart surgery". Stoke Sentinel. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
26. "Connor Taylor Shortlisted For League Two Young Player of the Season". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
27. "Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
28. @Official_BRFC (8 May 2022). "🧱 A rock at the back all season. 🏆 Introducing your 2021/22 Bristol Rovers Young Player of the Year, @ConnorTaylor___! #BristolRovers" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 May 2022– via Twitter.
29. "New contract for Connor". www.stokecityfc.com. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
30. "Connor Taylor: Stoke City defender signs three-year deal for Potters". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
31. Connor Taylor at Soccerway
32. Jones, Jordan (3 February 2023). "Joey Barton details Bristol Rovers transfer attempt to re-sign Stoke City centre-back". BristolWorld. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
33. Piercy, James (10 January 2023). "Rovers target Taylor delighted to be back in Neil's plans at Stoke". BristolLive. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
34. "Connor Taylor signs for Bristol Rovers". www.stokecityfc.com. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
35. "Connor Taylor is Back!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
36. Hargraves, Daniel (1 August 2023). "Exclusive: Bristol Rovers have bid accepted for promotion hero Connor Taylor". Bristol Post. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
37. Hargraves, Daniel (25 April 2024). "Bristol Rovers injury news ahead of Wigan as Connor Taylor has surgery to fix ongoing knee issue". Bristol Post. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
38. Hargraves, Daniel (30 October 2024). "Bristol Rovers verdict: The return of Chris, Gas still leaky and a miserable EFL Trophy campaign". Bristol Post. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
39. Piercy, James (16 June 2021). "Connor Taylor's strengths, weaknesses and the expert view of Rovers loan target". BristolLive. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
40. "Games played by Connor Taylor in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
41. "Games played by Connor Taylor in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
42. "Games played by Connor Taylor in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
43. "Ashton United – Appearances – Connor Taylor". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
44. "Games played by Connor Taylor in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
45. "Games played by Connor Taylor in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2021.