Isaac Scott Hayden (born 22 March 1995) 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 defensive midfielder for

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

club Standard Liège on loan from

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. Hayden is a product of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

's youth academy. A versatile player, he can also play as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or full-back.

Early life

Hayden was born in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

, Essex and played for Southend United until he was 13 years old, when he moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to join Arsenal's Academy.

Club career

Arsenal

Hayden made his full debut for

in the third round of the League Cup in September 2013 against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

. He started the away match playing in midfield and was substituted after 84 minutes for

Kristoffer Olsson Mats Kristoffer Olsson (born 30 June 1995) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish club FC Midtjylland, on loan from Belgian club Anderlecht, and the Sweden national team. Club career Early career Born in Nor ...

. Arsenal eventually won the game on penalties at The Hawthorns. On 23 September 2014, Hayden made a second appearance for Arsenal, playing at centre back in another League Cup third-round game, a 1–2 home defeat against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in September 2014.

Hull City (loan)

On 31 July 2015, Hayden joined Hull City on a season-long loan to gain first team experience. Hayden made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2015–16 season in a 2–0 home win to Huddersfield Town. Hayden opened his account when he scored the final goal for Hull in the 6–0 defeat of

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 ...

on 16 January 2016.

Newcastle United

On 11 July 2016, Hayden signed for

on a five-year contract. Hayden scored his first goal for Newcastle in a 4–1 win over

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on 17 August 2016. Hayden went on to win the 2016–17 Championship with Newcastle in May 2017. Following promotion Hayden secured a place in the Newcastle team under the management of

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under-1 ...

as a defensive midfielder. Following the departure of Benitez in 2019,

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...

continued to play Hayden as a midfielder and at right back. Hayden scored the winning goal in a

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

mid-season 1–0 win against Chelsea with a header in stoppage time. After suffering a long-term injury in December 2021, Hayden was not named in the Newcastle United 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of the 2021–22 season. On 14 March 2022, Hayden was fined £19,000 by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

after complaining on

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about referee David Coote's performance following Newcastle's 1–0 defeat at Chelsea.

Norwich City (loan)

On 7 June 2022, Hayden joined Championship club Norwich City on a season-long loan. On 26 May 2023, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said Hayden had no future at the club and would be moved on.

Standard Liège (loan)

On 5 September 2023, Hayden joined

club Standard Liège on a season-long loan deal.

International career

Hayden was born in England to an English mother and Jamaican father, and is eligible to represent both national teams. Hayden has represented England at the under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19,

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

and under-21 levels of football. Hayden declared his ambition to play for England at senior level in September 2019, but changed track in March 2021, when he personally contacted the

Jamaican Football Federation The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is the governing body of football in Jamaica and is in charge of the Jamaica national football team and the Jamaica National Premier League. History Early history (1893–1962) According to the JFF, th ...

to express his interest in playing for the Jamaica team. This came at a time when the Jamaican Football Federation announced its intention to target call-ups for up a number of English players with Jamaican heritage, in order to improve the national team's chances of qualifying for the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...

Style of play

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...

has described Hayden as a player whose key assets are concentration, intelligence and strength. Equally comfortable at centre-back or in central midfield, whilst having also previously featured at right-back and as a playmaker.

Personal life

Hayden is married to Lauren Hayden. Their daughter Adriana was born in 2017.

Career statistics

Honours

Newcastle United *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

: 2016–17

References

External links

Isaac Hayden profile
at Arsenal.com
England profile
at The FA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Isaac 1995 births Living people Footballers from Chelmsford English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders Southend United F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Standard Liège players English Football League players Premier League players Black British sportsmen English people of Jamaican descent English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Belgian Pro League players