Leif Davis

Last updated

Leif Davis
Leif Davis 2021.jpg
Davis in 2021
Personal information
Full name Leif Davis [1]
Date of birth (1999-12-31) 31 December 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m) [2]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
Ipswich Town
Number 3
Youth career
2015–2016 Wallsend Boys Club
2016–2018 Morecambe
2018 Leeds United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2022 Leeds United 9 (0)
2021–2022AFC Bournemouth (loan) 12 (0)
2022– Ipswich Town 113 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:55, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

Leif Davis (born 31 December 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Ipswich Town.

Contents

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he spent time in the youth systems at Wallsend Boys Club and Morecambe before joining Leeds United in 2018. He helped Leeds win promotion to the Premier League in 2020. He spent a loan spell at AFC Bournemouth during the 2021–22 season, where he also won promotion to the Premier League. In 2022, he signed for Ipswich Town, helping Ipswich win promotion to the EFL Championship in his first season at the club in the 2022–23 season, and an immediate subsequent promotion to the Premier League in the 2023–24 season.

Club career

Early career

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Davis started his career at English youth football club Wallsend Boys Club in Wallsend, North Tyneside.

On 27 June 2016, Davis joined Morecambe where he spent two years as a scholar, progressing through the ranks of the club’s academy. [3]

Leeds United

On 4 July 2018, Davis joined EFL Championship side Leeds United under head coach Marcelo Bielsa for an undisclosed fee, where he initially linked up with the Leeds academy. [4]

After impressing for Leeds' Under 23s side, [5] Davis was promoted to the first team and was named as an unused substitute on several occasions by head coach Bielsa before making his debut for the club on 23 December 2018, when he started in a 3–2 win against Aston Villa at Villa Park after Barry Douglas fell ill before kickoff. [6]

Davis was regularly named as an unused substitute on the bench for the first team squad in the Championship, but still featured regularly for Carlos Corberán's Leeds United Under 23s side over the course of the 2018–19 season, [7] that won the PDL Northern League 2018–19 season and became the national Professional Development League champions by beating Birmingham City on penalties in the final in May 2019. [8]

With Davis potentially set for a spell in the first team towards the end of the 2018–19 season, after injuries to left-backs Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski, Davis himself was ruled out for the remainder of the season, including Leeds' play-off campaign, after knee surgery in April. [9] [10] Davis made a total of 5 appearances during his first season of senior football at Leeds. [11]

Davis made his first appearance of the 2019–20 season as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 away win against Bristol City on the opening day of the season. He went on to make a total of 3 substitute appearances in the league during the season, as well as 2 starts in the EFL Cup. [12] After the English professional football season was paused in March 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, the season was resumed during June, where Davis earned promotion with Leeds to the Premier League and also become the EFL Championship Champions for the 2019–20 season in July after the successful resumption of the season. [13]

His first start of the 2020–21 season came on 16 September 2020 in Leeds' 1–1 draw against Hull City in the EFL Cup. Hull went on to win 9–8 on penalties. [14] Davis made his Premier League debut for Leeds, as a second-half substitute in Leeds' 1–1 draw with Manchester City on 3 October 2020. [15] He made a total of 4 appearances in all competitions as Leeds finished 9th in the club’s first season back in the Premier League since 2004. [16]

Davis also featured a number of times for Leeds’ U23 side which won the Premier League 2 Division 2 title for the 2020–21 season. [17]

AFC Bournemouth (loan)

On 27 July 2021, Davis joined Championship side AFC Bournemouth on a season-long loan deal. [18] He made his debut for the club coming on as a late sub in the Cherries 2–1 win over Nottingham Forest on 14 August. [19] Davis then made his first start for Bournemouth in an unfamiliar right wing role, in a 2–0 away win at Birmingham City on 18 August. [20] Davis made 15 appearances in all competitions during the 2021–22 season, with 12 of those appearances coming in the league as he helped Bournemouth achieve promotion to the Premier League following a second-placed finish in the Championship. [21]

Ipswich Town

Davis playing for Ipswich Town in 2024 Leif Davis 2024.jpg
Davis playing for Ipswich Town in 2024

On 25 July 2022, Davis joined Ipswich Town on a three-year contract for a seven-figure fee. [22] [23] [24] He made his debut five days later on the opening day of the 2022–23 season in a 1–1 draw against Bolton Wanderers at Portman Road. [25] He quickly established himself as the first choice left-back at Ipswich. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–2 away defeat against Oxford United on 21 January 2023. [26] Davis was an integral member of the team during the 2022–23 season with Ipswich, making 46 appearances across all competitions, scoring 3 league goals and getting 14 league assists in total, and helping the club win promotion from EFL League One following a second-placed league finish. [27] His form throughout the season earned him a place in both the EFL League One Team of the Season [28] and the PFA League One Team of the Year. [29]

Davis continued to be a key player for Ipswich throughout the 2023–24 season, making 43 league starts and contributing 18 assists, a record number of assists by a defender in a Championship season, [30] as well as scoring crucial goals in 3–2 home wins against Bristol City and Southampton in the later stages of the season. [31] He helped Ipswich earn a second successive promotion as Ipswich won promotion to the Premier League as Championship runners-up. [32] His performances throughout the season saw him included in the EFL Championship Team of the Season and PFA Championship Team of the Year as well as being named as Ipswich's Players' Player of the Year and being nominated for the PFA Championship Player of the Season award. [32] [33] [34]

Following Ipswich’s promotion to the Premier League, Davis signed a new contract with Ipswich until 2028 on 21st October 2024. [35] He scored his first Premier League goal for Ipswich in a 1–1 home draw on 2 November 2024 against Leicester City: a stunning 55th-minute volley which was cancelled out by Jordan Ayew in the 94th minute. [36] The goal was nominated for the Premier League Goal of the Month award for November. [37]

Style of play

Davis predominantly plays as a left-back. During his time at Leeds United, he was converted by then Leeds United Under 23s manager Carlos Corberán to also play as a centre-back. [38] Davis describes his style of play as "a modern-day, attacking left-back". [39] [40] Davis is known for his crossing ability and set piece taking and his ability to create chances and provide assists. [41]

Personal life

Outside of football, Davis has expressed an interest in becoming an aircraft pilot. He often uses Microsoft Flight Simulator in his spare time and has stated that he would like to train for a pilot license after he retires from playing football. [42] [43]

Career statistics

As of match played 8 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup EFL Cup OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Leeds United 2018–19 [11] Championship 4010000050
2019–20 [12] Championship30002050
2020–21 [16] Premier League 20101040
2021–22 [21] Premier League00000000
Total90203000140
Leeds United U21 2020–21 [16] 2 [a] 020
AFC Bournemouth (loan) 2021–22 [21] Championship1202010150
Ipswich Town 2022–23 [27] League One 43320001 [a] 0463
2023–24 [44] Championship4321000442
2024–25 [45] Premier League2710000271
Total11363000101176
Career total13467040301486
  1. 1 2 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Leeds United

AFC Bournemouth

Ipswich Town

Individual

References

  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Ipswich Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 36. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  2. Leif Davis at Soccerway
  3. "Leeds United sign 18-year-old full-back Leif Davis from Morecambe". Talk Sport. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  4. "WHITES CAPTURE LEIF DAVIS – Leeds United". Leeds United. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  5. "Leif Davis selection is another blow for teammate". HITC. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  6. "Aston Villa 2 Leeds United 3". BBC Sport. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  7. "'True leader' – Leeds under-23 captain Hugo Diaz impresses the fans once again". The Boot Room. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  8. "Carlos Corberan on what the future can hold for Leeds United's PDL champions". YEP. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  9. "Leeds defender Leif Davis undergoes operation". HITC. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  10. "Leeds United 2–4 Derby County (Derby win 4–3 on agg)". BBC Sport. 15 May 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Games played by Leif Davis in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Games played by Leif Davis in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  13. "Championship: Leeds United promoted to Premier League after 16-year absence". BBC Sport. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  14. "Leeds 1 Hull City 1". BBC Sport. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  15. McNulty, Phil (3 October 2020). "Leeds United 1–1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 "Games played by Leif Davis in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  17. "Premier League 2 explained". Premier League. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  18. "DAVIS JOINS CHERRIES FROM LEEDS". www.afcb.co.uk. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  19. "Nottingham Forest 1-2 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  20. "Birmingham City 0-2 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 "Games played by Leif Davis in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  22. "Leif Davis Is A Blue". www.itfc.co.uk. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  23. "Leif Davis: Leeds United left-back joins Ipswich Town on three-year deal". BBC Sport . 26 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  24. Watson, Stuart (29 July 2022). "Everything you need to know about Town new boy Leif Davis". East Anglian Daily Times . Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  25. "Ipswich Town 1–1 Bolton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  26. "Oxford United 2–1 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  27. 1 2 "Games played by Leif Davis in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  28. 1 2 "EFL Team of the Season line-ups revealed". EFL. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  29. 1 2 "Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  30. "Davis knocking on England's door? Best bits from record-breaking 2023/24 Season". Sky Sports. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  31. "Leif Nominated for PFA Championship Award". Ipswich Town F.C. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  32. 1 2 3 "PFA Championship Team of the Year". PFA. 20 August 2024.
  33. 1 2 "See who made the EFL Team of the Season line-ups". EFL. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  34. 1 2 "End of Season Award Winners". Ipswich Town F.C. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  35. "Leif Signs New Contract". Ipswich Town F.C. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  36. "Jordan Ayew's late equaliser denies Ipswich first league win of season". The Observer. The Guardian. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  37. "November 2024 Guinness Goal of the Month contenders". Premier League. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  38. "LEIF DAVIS: IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE". Leeds United. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  39. "Leif Davis in profile: What can Leeds United expect from the promising defender they have snapped up for the U23s?". Leeds Live. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  40. "Who is this promising teenager that Leeds have signed? The future star under Bielsa?". Soccer Souls. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  41. "Every bit the modern full-back". Coaches’ Voice. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  42. "Ipswich Town: Leif Davis praised by 5 Live with unique hobby revealed". East Anglian Daily Times. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  43. "Premier League star training to become a pilot and helped fly his team-mates in pre-season". express.co.uk. 26 October 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  44. "Games played by Leif Davis in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  45. "Games played by Leif Davis in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  46. "Huddersfield Town 2–1 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  47. "AFC Bournemouth 1–0 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  48. "We Are Premier League!". 4 May 2024.
  49. "Fleetwood Town 2 - 2 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.