Jayson William Leutwiler (born 25 April 1989) is a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

club

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

and the Canada national team. A product of the

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...

academy, he was loaned to several other clubs in Switzerland for the duration of his time there, before joining

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in 2012. Rarely used at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

, he was released two years later and joined

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

for free. He helped the team win promotion from

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

as runners-up in 2014–15. In August 2017, he joined

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

for an undisclosed fee. After making six league appearances in three years for the club, he moved to

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

in September 2020, before joining Huddersfield Town in January 2021. Leutwiler has been called up to represent Switzerland at youth international levels, up to under-21. He later transferred his national allegiance to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, receiving his first call-up to the national team in October 2016. He was chosen for their squads at the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

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2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

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Club career

Early career

Leutwiler started his children's football with the local club in

Cornaux Cornaux is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. History Cornaux is first mentioned in 1212 as ''Curnaul''. Geography Cornaux has an area, , of . Of this area, or 45.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 22.2% is fore ...

. In 2002, he moved to the youth system of

Neuchâtel Xamax , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France ...

and stayed there until 2005. Playing in the U-18 and U-21 teams, Leutwiler came through the ranks at

, but because

Yann Sommer Yann Sommer (born 17 December 1988) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Switzerland national team. Sommer completed his apprenticeship at Basel, where he won the Swi ...

was first choice goalkeeper in front of him, Leutwiler was sent on loan at

FC Concordia Basel FC Concordia Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. The club was founded in 1907. They play in the 2nd regional league which is the fifth level, and their home stadium was Rankhof Stadium until the 2008-09 season. FC Concordia Basel has ...

in 2007, where he was more likely to get first-team football. At just 18 years of age he had much improving to do and a season-long loan spell at Concordia would have helped him to mature as a footballer. However, after only four games FC Basel cancelled the loan and took Leutwiler back as their first team third-choice goalkeeper because the transfer of

Riccardo Meili Riccardo Meili (born 6 March 1982) is a Association football, footballer from Switzerland who last plays as Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for FC Vaduz in the Swiss Challenge League. Soccer Career Meili started his career at SC ...

fell through. After two further seasons on the bench with the Basel first team squad and a number of appearances in the reserve team, Leutwiler was loaned out to Yverdon-Sport for the 2009–10 season. The following season, he was loaned to

FC Wohlen FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

, but he was unable to hold the first-choice goalkeeper position, so returned to Basel. During the second half of the 2010–11 and the first half of the 2011–12 season, he played for the Basel U-21 team again. On 27 January 2012, it was announced that he would be loaned out to

FC Schaffhausen FC Schaffhausen is a Swiss football team from the town of Schaffhausen. The club plays in the Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. Honours League Swiss Challenge League *Winners: 1962-63, 2003–04 Cup Swiss Cup *Runners-up: ...

until the end of the season.

Middlesbrough

On 14 August 2012, it was announced that Leutwiler joined

. He made his debut in a 3–1 win away at

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in the League Cup third round on 25 September. It was his only appearance of the season; in addition he was an unused substitute for 42

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

matches, 3

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

games and 2 League Cup fixtures. He made his league debut for the club on 10 August 2013, in a 1–0 win over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

at The Valley, replacing Jason Steele for the last 12 minutes shortly after

Lukas Jutkiewicz Lukas Isaac Paul Jutkiewicz (born 28 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Birmingham City. He previously played for Swindon Town, Everton, Plymouth Argyle, Huddersfield Town, Motherwell, Coventr ...

had scored the only goal of the game. A week later, with Steele still injured, Leutwiler made his first league start at home against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. He conceded after 83 minutes from Chris Basham but

Marvin Emnes Marvin Renato Emnes (born 27 May 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker or winger. Early life Born in Rotterdam, Emnes was a sprinter as a youth. Emnes played football for amateur side Xerxes before he joined the Spar ...

scored an equaliser in added time. Leutwiler's third and final league appearance of the season came on 23 November, in

Aitor Karanka Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and ; born 18 September 1973) is a Spanish football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Segunda División club Granada. Save for a brief spell in the United States at age 32, Karanka ...

's first match in charge, away to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

: in the last minute of the first half, Steele was sent off for a foul on Dexter Blackstock and Leutwiler was brought on at the expense of Emnes in a 1–2 defeat.

Shrewsbury Town

Following his close season release from Middlesbrough, Leutwiler became the eighth summer signing to join

on a two-year deal on 11 June 2014. He started the season as first choice goalkeeper, keeping a clean sheet in each of the first three rounds of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, all against higher division opposition, to set up a fourth round home tie with

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. It was documented in February 2015 that Leutwiler had kept more clean sheets that season than any goalkeeper in Europe, 20 in 39 matches. Leutwiler broke the club record for most clean sheets in a league season, after keeping his 22nd clean sheet in a home match against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

, before clinching promotion to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

the following weekend with a 1–0 away victory at

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

. Leutwiler continued in his role as first-choice goalkeeper at Shrewsbury until a back injury ruled him out of a home match against

in September 2015, ending a run of 54 consecutive starts in the

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 ...

, losing his place to

Mark Halstead Mark James Halstead (born 17 September 1990) is an English association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Torquay United F.C., Torquay United. He began his career at Blackpool F.C., Blackpool, ...

. He was immediately reinstated on his return to fitness, although he suffered concussion and facial injuries in a televised

second-round match at

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

in December which saw Halstead deputise for him once again. He returned to the side for an away match at

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

, as Shrewsbury beat the league leaders 2–1. With Shrewsbury avoiding relegation in their first season back in League One, Leutwiler signed a new contract in June 2016, keeping him at the club until summer 2018.

Blackburn Rovers

On 2 August 2017,

announced the signing of Leutwiler on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He was second-choice to the Spaniard

David Raya David Raya Martín (; born 15 September 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Arsenal, on loan from Brentford, and the Spain national team. Raya began his senior career in England with Blackburn Rove ...

and did not make his debut until 4 November in the first round of the

against

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

; Blackburn won 3–1 at home and local newspaper the ''

Lancashire Telegraph The ''Lancashire Telegraph'', formerly the ''Lancashire Evening Telegraph'', is a local tabloid newspaper distributed in East Lancashire, England. It is edited by Karl Holbrook. There are around twenty towns in the area, including Blackburn, ...

'' wrote that he was "left exposed for the Barnet goal but in truth had a relatively trouble-free Rovers debut". He played the remainder of their Cup campaign, a win over

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

on a replay, then a 1–0 loss to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

in the third round on 6 January 2018. Leutwiler's league debut for Rovers was his only such appearance of the season, a 1–0 loss at

on 28 April.

Fleetwood Town

Leutwiler joined

club

on 11 September 2020. He departed the club on 8 January 2021, following the expiration of his contract.

Huddersfield Town

On 1 February 2021, Leutwiler joined

side

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

on a deal until the end of the season.

Oldham Athletic

In June 2021, Leutwiler joined

, signing a two-year deal.

International career

Switzerland

Leutwiler played twice for the Swiss U-16 team, his debut being in the 2–1 home win against the Czech Republic U-16 team on 26 April 2005. He also played for the Switzerland U-18 team on 18 October 2006 in the 4–5 away defeat against Slovakia U-18. Leutwiler was nominated for the Swiss national U-20 squad four times, playing three times. He gave his debut on 10 September 2008 in the 5–2 home win against Italy U-20 in the

Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia is a multi-use stadium in Como, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Como 1907. The stadium holds 13,602 people. The stadium was completed in 1927 and was built on precise ...

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

. His last appearance was against the same opposition on 20 May 2010 as the Swiss lost 4–1. He was also called up for the Swiss U-21 team, but remained on the bench in all three occasions.

Canada

In August 2015, it was revealed that Leutwiller holds Canadian citizenship and would be interested in playing for

should the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ( ...

approach him. In October 2016, the CSA confirmed that he would take part in a Canadian camp. He made his debut as a half-time substitute against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

on 11 November 2016. Leutwiler was named to Canada's 40-man provisional team for the

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ove ...

in June 2017, as well as the final 23-man squad. He was also named to the

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was primarily hosted in th ...

squad on 30 May 2019. On 1 July 2021 Leutwiler was named to the squad for the

2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 16th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was originally scheduled t ...

, his third participation at the tournament.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Basel * Swiss Champion at U-18 level: 2005–06 * Swiss Cup Winner at U-19/U-18 level: 2005–06 Shrewsbury Town *

runner-up, second-place promotion: 2014–15 Blackburn Rovers *

runner-up, second place promotion: 2017–18

References

External links

* *
Profile at FC Basel

Profile at Swiss Football League Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leutwiler, Jayson 1989 births Living people People from Neuchâtel Association football goalkeepers Swiss people of Canadian descent Canadian people of Swiss descent Canadian soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Swiss men's footballers Swiss expatriate footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players FC Basel players FC Concordia Basel players Yverdon-Sport FC players FC Wohlen players FC Schaffhausen players Middlesbrough F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Swiss Challenge League players English Football League players Switzerland youth international footballers Switzerland under-21 international footballers Canada men's international soccer players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Sportspeople from the canton of Neuchâtel