Joe Taylor (footballer, born 2002)

Joe Taylor

Personal information
Full name	Joseph William John Taylor [1]
Date of birth	(2002-11-18) 18 November 2002 (age 22) [2]
Place of birth	Peterborough, England
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) [3]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Luton Town
Number	25
Youth career
	Norwich City
	Swaffham Town
	King's Lynn Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021	King's Lynn Town	1	(0)
2021	→ Wroxham (loan)	11	(20)
2021–2023	Peterborough United	12	(0)
2023–	Luton Town	14	(0)
2023–2024	→ Colchester United (loan)	25	(11)
2024	→ Lincoln City (loan)	19	(10)
International career‡
2021–	Wales U21	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:30, 2 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:22, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

Joseph William John Taylor (born 18 November 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Luton Town and is a Wales under-21 international.

Club career

King's Lynn Town

Taylor began his career in the academy at Norwich City, before being released at the age of 15. After a period at Swaffham Town, Taylor signed for King's Lynn Town at the age of 16. ^[4]

Taylor signed a one-year contract extension King's Lynn in December 2020. ^[5] Taylor joined Eastern Counties League Premier Division club Wroxham on loan ahead of the 2021–22 season, making his debut on the opening day against Walsham-le-Willows. ^[6] In his first home match, Taylor scored a hat-trick as his side thrashed Thetford Town 7–2. ^[7] In October 2021, Taylor was recalled by King's Lynn after scoring 21 goals in just thirteen appearances ^[8] and made his National League debut off of the bench in a 1–0 home defeat to Solihull Moors. ^[9]

Peterborough United

On 15 November 2021, Taylor joined Championship club Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal, initially joining up with the club's under-23 squad. ^[10] In December 2021, it was reported that Taylor had been impressing in the under-23 squad and would begin training with the first-team. ^[11] After scoring a hat-trick in a Premier League Cup quarter-final victory against Charlton Athletic, ^[12] Taylor made his first-team debut four days later on 8 March 2022 in a 1–1 draw with second-placed AFC Bournemouth. ^[13]

He scored his first goal for Peterborough in an EFL Cup win over Plymouth Argyle on 10 August 2022. ^[14]

Luton Town

On 31 January 2023, Taylor signed for Championship club Luton Town for an undisclosed fee. ^[15]

On 5 August 2023, Taylor signed for League Two club Colchester United on a season-long loan. ^[16] He was recalled from his loan on 8 January 2024. ^[17]

On 9 January 2024, Taylor signed for League One club Lincoln City for the remainder of the season. ^[18] He made his debut the following weekend in the 1–1 draw against Wycombe Wanderers. ^[19] He scored his first goal against Exeter City on 17 February 2024 to secure a 1–0 win. ^[20] He won the EFL League One Player of the Month and the EFL Young Player of the Month for March 2024, following 6 goals and an assist which included his first professional hat-trick in the 5–0 win over Bristol Rovers. ^{[21] [22] [23]} He would win Lincoln City's Golden Boot, after scoring 10 goals in his 19 games for the club. ^[24]

International career

In September 2022 Taylor made his debut for the Wales national under-21 football team in the starting line-up for the 2–0 friendly match defeat against Austria under-21. ^{[25] [26]}

Career statistics

As of match played 30 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
King's Lynn Town	2021–22 [27]	National League	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
Wroxham (loan)	2021–22	Eastern Counties Premier Division	11	20	1	0	—		1 [a]	1	13	21
Peterborough United	2021–22 [27]	Championship	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2022–23 [28]	League One	8	0	1	0	2	1	4 [b]	0	15	1
	Total		12	0	1	0	2	1	4	0	19	1
Luton Town	2022–23 [28]	Championship	5	0	0	0	0	0	1 [c]	0	6	0
	2023–24 [29]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2024–25 [30]	Championship	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	Total		14	0	0	0	0	0		0	14	0
Colchester United (loan)	2023–24 [29]	League Two	25	11	1	0	1	1	0	0	27	12
Lincoln City (loan)	2023–24 [29]	League One	19	10	—		—		0	0	19	10
Career total			80	41	3	0	3	2	6	1	92	44

1. Appearance(s) in FA Vase
2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
3. Appearances in Championship play-offs

Honours

Luton Town

• EFL Championship play-offs: 2023 ^[31]

Individual

• EFL League One Player of the Month: March 2024 ^[21]
• EFL Young Player of the Month: March 2024 ^[22]

References

1. "Football (Sky Sports)". SkySports.
2. "J.Taylor". www.theposh.com. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
3. "Joe Taylor". Luton Town F.C. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
4. "Former Peterborough United striker on how he has gone from working in a bar 'hating football' to the Premier League". Peterborough Telegraph. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
5. "Joe Taylor signs contract". www.kltown.co.uk. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
6. "No change as Yachtsmen win away". www.wroxhamfc.club. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
7. "Taylor Makes Seven Heaven As Yachtsmen Show Class". www.wroxhamfc.club. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
8. Lakey, Chris (11 October 2021). "Hot-shot Joe Taylor on swapping Wroxham for King's Lynn". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
9. "King's Lynn Town 0–1 Solihull Moors". BBC Sport. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
10. "Posh Complete Deal For Teenage Front Man". www.theposh.com. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
11. Swann, Alan (22 December 2021). "Peterborough United teenager closing in on first-team call-up, plus Under-23 and Premier League Cup standings". Peterborough Today. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
12. "Joe Taylor Nets Treble For Under-23s". www.theposh.com. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
13. "Cherries are frustrated by bottom side". BBC Sport. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
14. "Plymouth 0-2 Peterborough". BBC. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
15. "Joe Taylor joins from Peterborough United on a permanent transfer". www.lutontown.co.uk. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
16. "Colchester sign Luton forward Taylor on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
17. "Luton Recall Taylor". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
18. "City strengthen forward options". Lincoln City FC. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
19. "Wycombe Wanderers 1 Imps 1". Lincoln City FC. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
20. "Taylor looking up the league". Lincoln City FC. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
21. "Sky Bet League One Manager & Player of the Month: March winners". EFL. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
22. "Lincoln City's Joe Taylor wins the EFL's Young Player of the Month". EFL. 16 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
23. "Lincoln City 5-0 Bristol Rovers". BBC. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
24. "City celebrate at End of Season Awards". Lincoln City FC. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
25. James Wales under 21 call up
26. Taylor Wales under-21 debut
27. "Games played by Joe Taylor in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
28. "Games played by Joe Taylor in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
29. "Games played by Joe Taylor in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
30. "Games played by Joe Taylor in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
31. "Luton win shootout to reach Premier League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2023.