Rhys James Evitt-Healey (born 6 December 1994) 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 club

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Career

Connah's Quay Nomads

Healey started his career with Connah's Quay Nomads, joining their youth setup at Under-16 level in 2009. He made his first team debut for the club as a substitute during a 6–1 victory on the opening

Cymru Alliance The Cymru Alliance League (known for sponsorship reasons as Huws Gray Alliance) was a football league in north and central Wales which formed the second level of the Welsh football league system. From the 2019/20 season onwards, it was replaced ...

match of the 2011–12 season against

Caersws Caersws ( cy, Caersŵs; ) is a village and community on the River Severn, in the Welsh county of Powys (Montgomeryshire) west of Newtown, and halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. It has a station on the Cambrian Line from Aberystwyth ...

and made 10 league appearances as the club won promotion to the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...

. The following season, he made his debut in the

, coming off the bench against

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

and went on to score 12 league goals for the club during the first half of the 2012–13 season. His prolific form saw him attract the attention of several clubs and Healey spent time on trial with

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 ...

and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

Cardiff City

On 28 January 2013, Healey signed for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. In March 2014 he signed a new contract with the club. On 11 May, he made his first-team debut on the last day of the season, in a 2–1 defeat against

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 ...

as a substitute in place of

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...

. Healey signed on loan for

EFL 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 ...

club

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

on 19 September 2014. He joined the club as back-up to first choice striker

Freddie Sears Frederick David Sears (born 27 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Dagenham & Redbridge He started his career with his local club West Ham United at the age of eleven, progressing through the West ...

, initially signing until 20 December. He made his debut as a substitute in the second half, and scored in a 3–0 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 ...

, which was followed with another in the next game, in a 4–2 loss 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 ...

. Having made ten appearances and scored four goals, his loan was extended until the end of the season. On 19 March 2015, Healey was recalled by his parent club. On 2 April, he was re-loaned to Colchester as a protracted loan move to

EFL 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 ...

club Newport County fell through after the move was blocked by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, a decision that was branded ''unbelievable'' by Newport manager

Jimmy Dack James Dack is an English professional football coach and manager, most recently has become chief scout at Wigan athletic and currently in his 5th season at the club Playing career Dack began his career as a youth at Brentford. After being re ...

. On 1 September 2015, Healey signed for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

club

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

on loan until January. He made a total of 7 appearances for the club, scoring once during a 2–1 defeat to

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

, before his loan spell was ended early following an injury. On 31 August 2016, Healey joined Newport County on loan until 3 January 2017. He made his debut on 10 September in League Two during a 2–2 draw with

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 ...

, coming on as a second-half substitute in place of

Jon Parkin Jonathan Parkin (born 30 December 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. While never making a Premier League appearance, Parkin played extensively in all Football League divisions, and (excluding loan spel ...

. He scored his first goal two weeks later in a 2–1 defeat to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

. His final appearance was in a 2–1 defeat to

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 2 January. Upon on returning, Healey found himself placed on the bench for Cardiff City for the first time in three years against

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 ...

. On 21 January, he scored the winner against

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 ...

, also his first for the Bluebirds, after replacing

Junior Hoilett David Wayne Hoilett Jr. (born 5 June 1990), known as Junior Hoilett, is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Reading and the Canada national team. After impressing in a youth tournament, Hoile ...

. During his second start for the club against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

on 18 February, Healey was forced off after suffering a serious knee injury, which ruled him out for up to nine months. During his recovery from the injury, Healey signed a new two and a half year deal at Cardiff, before making his first team return on 26 December 2017, coming on for

Loïc Damour Loïc Damour (born 8 January 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Versailles. A graduate of the world-renowned Clairefontaine academy, Damour has played for a number of clubs during his career, includin ...

against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. He joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

on loan in March 2018 for the remainder of the 2017–18 season, scoring six times in eight appearances including a hat-trick during a 4–3 defeat at home to

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in t ...

. On 24 August 2018, Healey joined

club

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

on loan until January. He scored his first goal for in an

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

tie against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

on 4 September.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 16 July 2019, Healey returned to former loan club Milton Keynes Dons on a permanent basis, signing for an undisclosed fee. In his first game back at the club, Healey scored a 93rd-minute winner in a 1–0 home victory over

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 ...

. Despite missing several months of the season through injury, Healey finished the 2019–20 campaign as the club's top scorer with 12 goals in 20 appearances across all competitions, and was voted Players' Player of the Year by his teammates.

Toulouse

On 27 August 2020, Healey joined

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

club

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 14 September when he replaced

Efthymis Koulouris Efthymis Koulouris ( el, Ευθύμης Κουλούρης, born 6 March 1996) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a striker for Austrian Bundesliga club LASK and the Greece national team. Koulouris began his career with PAOK, an ...

, in a league match versus

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy Soc ...

. A few days later, Healey scored his first goal in a 3–1 league win against

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

. Healey was named the UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Month for December 2020 following an impressive run of six goals in five consecutive league games during the month. On 20 November 2021, Healey scored all four goals in a 4–1 home league win over Sochaux. He was later named UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Month for the second time, winning the November 2021 award. On 9 April 2022, Healey scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 away win over

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guinga ...

. At the conclusion of the 2021–22 season, in total Healey had scored 20 goals in 32 appearances, contributing to Toulouse achieving promotion back to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

as champions. He finished the campaign as Ligue 2's top scorer, and was later chosen as one of six Toulouse players to feature in the UNFP Ligue 2 Team of the Year.

Watford

Rhys Healey signed for

in 2023.

Career statistics

Honours

Connah's Quay Nomads *

: 2011–12 Milton Keynes Dons *

third-place promotion: 2018–19 Toulouse *

: 2021–22 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Individual *

Players' Player of the Year: 2019–20 *

UNFP Player of the Month The UNFP Player of the Month trophy is an award that recognises the best Ligue 1 player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 50% of the final tally, and the players of each ...

Ligue 2: December 2020, November 2021, April 2022 *

Top Scorer: 2021–22 * UNFP Ligue 2 Team of the Year: 2021–22

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Rhys 1994 births Living people Footballers from Manchester English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Toulouse FC players Watford F.C. players Cymru Alliance players Cymru Premier players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players National League (English football) players Ligue 2 players Ligue 1 players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France