Douglas Edward James-Taylor (born 18 November 2001) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Walsall.

Club career

James-Taylor grew up in Altrincham where he attended

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys Altrincham Grammar School for Boys is a boys' grammar school in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. Admissions The school is a fully selective non-fee paying grammar school with admission via an entrance exam. Its previous status as a fo ...

. He began his football career with Salford City and was a prolific goalscorer for their under-18s which saw him make his senior debut in a

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

game at

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

. He joined the Stoke City U23s in September 2020. He gained first team experience in the second half of the 2021–22 season playing four times for Wealdstone and ten times for AFC Fylde. On 1 July 2022, James-Taylor joined Walsall on loan for the 2022–23 season. He made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut on 30 July 2022 in a 4–0 victory against Hartlepool United. He scored his first EFL goal of his career on 1 January 2023 in a 2–1 win against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. James-Taylor made 30 appearances for Walsall, scoring twice as the Saddlers finished in 16th position. He was released by Stoke at the end of the 2022–23 season. On 28 June 2023, he returned to Walsall on a permanent basis, signing a one-year deal with the option for a further year.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James-Taylor, Douglas 2001 births Living people English men's footballers Salford City F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Wealdstone F.C. players AFC Fylde players Walsall F.C. players Men's association football forwards National League (English football) players English Football League players Sportspeople from Altrincham Footballers from Greater Manchester