![]() Taylor lining up for Ajax in 2024 | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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Full name | Kenneth Ina Dorothea Taylor [1] | |||||||||||||
Date of birth | [2] | 16 May 2002|||||||||||||
Place of birth | Alkmaar, Netherlands | |||||||||||||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [3] | |||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||
Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Ajax | |||||||||||||
Number | 8 | |||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||
–2010 | SV De Foresters | |||||||||||||
2010–2019 | Ajax | |||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
2018–2022 | Jong Ajax | 60 | (14) | |||||||||||
2020– | Ajax | 119 | (23) | |||||||||||
International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
2017 | Netherlands U15 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
2017–2018 | Netherlands U16 | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||
2018–2019 | Netherlands U17 | 14 | (4) | |||||||||||
2021– | Netherlands U21 | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||
2022– | Netherlands | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:43, 30 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23 March 2025 (UTC) |
Kenneth Ina Dorothea Taylor (born 16 May 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team. [3]
A product of Ajax's youth academy, [4] Taylor made his Eerste Divisie debut for Jong Ajax on 15 October 2018 in a game against Jong PSV as a 70th-minute substitute for Jasper ter Heide. [5] He became a regular for Jong Ajax over the following seasons, scoring 14 goals in 60 appearances by early 2022. [6]
Taylor made his Eredivisie debut for AFC Ajax on 12 December 2020 in a game against PEC Zwolle as a 64th-minute substitute for Perr Schuurs. [6] His appearances for the first team remained limited until the latter half of the 2021–22 season. In a match against Heracles Almelo on 6 February 2022, Taylor scored his first Eredivisie goal just two minutes after coming on as a substitute, converting an assist from Sébastien Haller in a 3–0 victory. [7] Following this goal, he featured more frequently, finishing the season with 19 first-team appearances and contributing to Ajax winning the Eredivisie title. [6]
The 2022–23 season marked Taylor's breakthrough as a regular starter in the Ajax midfield. [7] He made 44 appearances across all competitions, scoring 9 goals, including 8 in the Eredivisie. [6] His performances earned him the Eredivisie Talent of the Month award for November 2022. [8] At the end of the season, he was named Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award). [9] [10]
Taylor remained a key player during the turbulent 2023–24 season, playing under managers Maurice Steijn and John van 't Schip. He contributed 8 goals in 47 appearances, including his first goals in European competitions, scoring twice in the UEFA Europa League and once in the UEFA Europa Conference League. [6]
Under new manager Francesco Farioli, Taylor continued as a regular starter in the 2024–25 season and displayed notable goalscoring form from midfield. By late March 2025, he was Ajax's top scorer in the Eredivisie with 8 goals, [11] and had also scored 5 goals in the UEFA Europa League campaign. [6]
Taylor represented the Netherlands at various youth levels, starting with the under-15 team in 2017. He was part of the Netherlands U17 squad that won the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. [12] Later that year, he captained the under-17 team at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil. [13] He subsequently progressed to the Netherlands U21 team, earning 15 caps and scoring once between 2021 and 2024, [6] and was included in the squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Romania. [14]
On 22 September 2022, Taylor made his senior debut for the Netherlands under manager Louis van Gaal, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 UEFA Nations League victory against Poland. [15] He was subsequently named in the 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, making a brief substitute appearance in the final group stage match against the hosts on 29 November. [16] On 24 March 2023, Taylor played his fourth match – again as a substitute – in a 4–0 loss against France during UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. [17] He earned his fifth cap two years later, coming on as a substitute in the UEFA Nations League Finals quarter-final second leg against Spain on 23 March 2025. [18]
Club | Season | League | KNVB Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Jong Ajax | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
2020–21 | Eerste Divisie | 29 | 7 | — | — | — | 29 | 7 | ||||
2021–22 | Eerste Divisie | 11 | 7 | — | — | — | 11 | 7 | ||||
Total | 60 | 14 | — | — | — | 60 | 14 | |||||
Ajax | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
2021–22 | Eredivisie | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 [a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
2022–23 | Eredivisie | 32 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 8 [b] | 0 | 1 [c] | 0 | 44 | 9 | |
2023–24 | Eredivisie | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 [d] | 3 | — | 47 | 8 | ||
2024–25 | Eredivisie | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 17 [e] | 6 | — | 52 | 15 | ||
2025–26 | Eredivisie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
Total | 119 | 23 | 9 | 2 | 40 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 169 | 34 | ||
Career total | 179 | 37 | 9 | 2 | 40 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 229 | 47 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Netherlands | 2022 | 3 | 0 |
2023 | 1 | 0 | |
2025 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 5 | 0 |
Ajax [21]
Netherlands U17
Individual