Max Andrew Bird (born 18 September 2000) is an English

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 ...

who can play either as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

. He made his first-team debut in September 2017, aged 16.

Career

Having progressed through the

Academy, Bird made his debut for the first team against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

on 12 September 2017. Aged 16 at the time, he became Derby's eighth-youngest player. Shortly afterwards, he signed a new contract running until 2020. Bird's first league appearance for Derby County came in the closing seconds of a 2–1 win over Swansea City on 1 December 2018, replacing

Mason Mount Mason Tony Mount (born 10 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking or central midfielder for club Chelsea and the England national team. Mount began his senior club career with Chelsea, and joined Vite ...

. He made his first start on 2 March 2019 in a 4–0 away defeat to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, playing the full 90 minutes of the game. On 17 September 2020, Bird signed a new deal with Derby to take him through to the end of the 2023–24 season. He scored his first goal for Derby in a 2-1 win against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

on 18 September 2021.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Max Living people 2000 births Sportspeople from Burton upon Trent English footballers Association football midfielders Derby County F.C. players English Football League players