Kenneth Taylor (footballer, born 2002)

Last updated

Kenneth Taylor
Qarabag vs Ajax (24.10.2024) (4) (Kenneth Taylor).jpg
Taylor lining up for Ajax in 2024
Personal information
Full name Kenneth Ina Dorothea Taylor [1]
Date of birth (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 (age 23) [2]
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*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2022 Jong Ajax 60 (14)
2020– Ajax 122 (25)
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
Representing Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner Ireland 2019 U-17 Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:32, 27 September 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]

Contents

Club career

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 with Ajax in 2023. GAE - Ajax - 52788474930 (Kenneth Taylor).jpg
Taylor with Ajax in 2023.

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]

International career

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]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 September 2025 [19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague KNVB Cup Europe OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jong Ajax 2018–19 Eerste Divisie 10———10
2019–20 Eerste Divisie190———190
2020–21 Eerste Divisie297———297
2021–22 Eerste Divisie117———117
Total6014———6014
Ajax 2020–21 Eredivisie 300000—30
2021–22 Eredivisie131313 [a] 000192
2022–23 Eredivisie328318 [b] 01 [c] 0449
2023–24 Eredivisie3451012 [d] 3—478
2024–25 Eredivisie3392017 [e] 6—5215
2025–26 Eredivisie72002 [a] 0—92
Total12225924291017436
Career total18239924291023449
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
  4. ↑ Eight appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 23 March 2025 [20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 202230
202310
202510
Total50

Honours

Ajax [21]

Netherlands U17

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Netherlands" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
  2. ↑ "Kenneth Taylor - Netherlands - European Qualifiers". UEFA. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 Kenneth Taylor at WorldFootball.net
  4. ↑ Verhaar, Thijs (9 February 2021). "Kenneth Taylor: Ajax's 'new Kroos' who idolises Wijnaldum". Goal. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 15 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "K. Taylor". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Taylor's journey: from Ajax youth academy to Club of 100". english.ajax.nl. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  8. ↑ "Eredivisie Awards 2022/23". Eredivisie.eu. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "Jorrel Hato is Talent of the Year [Mentions Taylor won previous year]". Ajax . 12 May 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  10. ↑ "Kenneth Taylor verkozen tot Talent van het Jaar" (in Dutch). AFC Ajax. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "'He's the benchmark': Ajax boss Francesco Farioli praises captain Jordan Henderson [Mentions Taylor]". Flashscore.com.gh. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  12. ↑ "Netherlands clinch title". UEFA. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Taylor: The beating heart of the Oranje". FIFA. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "Netherlands U21 1-1 Georgia U21". ESPN. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  15. ↑ "Van Gaal laat ook Taylor nog debuteren in Polen" [Van Gaal also lets Taylor debut against Poland]. Voetbal International (in Dutch). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  16. ↑ Lea, Greg (10 December 2022). "Netherlands World Cup 2022 squad: Louis van Gaal's full team". FourFourTwo . Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  17. ↑ "The Netherlands hammered 4-0 by France in Euro 2024 qualifier". Netherlands Times. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "Spain 3-3 Netherlands (4-3 pens): Oranje edged out in Valencia". Dutch News. 24 March 2025. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "K. Taylor". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "Kenneth Taylor". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  21. ↑ "Kenneth Taylor - Career Honours". Soccerway.
  22. ↑ UEFA (19 May 2019). "Netherlands clinch title". UEFA. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  23. ↑ "Sparta Rotterdam leads Eredivisie Team of the Month for March". Eredivisie. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  24. ↑ "Taylor Booth named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for November". Eredivisie. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  25. ↑ "Kenneth Taylor verkozen tot Talent van het Jaar" (in Dutch). AFC Ajax.
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