Hayden Lindley

Hayden Lindley
Personal information
Full name	Hayden Taylor Lindley
Date of birth	2 September 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Huddersfield, England
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	FC United of Manchester
Youth career
	Honley Junior
2008–2010	Blackburn Rovers
2010–2019	Manchester City
2019–2021	Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years	Team
2021–2023	Aston Villa
2022	→ Newport County (loan)
2023	Golcar United
2023–2024	Darlington
2024	→ Pontefract Collieries (loan)
2024–	FC United of Manchester
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:57, 24 January 2025 (UTC)

Hayden Taylor Lindley (born 2 September 2002) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Premier League Premier Division club FC United of Manchester. Lindley is a product of the Aston Villa Academy and was also on the books of Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers as a junior. He appeared in the EFL Cup for Aston Villa and in the Football League for Newport County before moving into non-league football.

Career

Early career

After impressing for the under-eights team of local side Honley Junior Football Club, Lindley joined the youth setup at Blackburn Rovers in October 2008. Soon after, he also began training with Manchester City's academy at a site in Bradford. Lindley was also approached by Leeds United but did not join them.^[2] Lindley remained with City until July 2019, when he departed to join Aston Villa.^[3]

Aston Villa

On 8 January 2021, Lindley made his first-team debut for Aston Villa as a substitute in a FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool, after Villa had been forced to name a team of inexperienced academy players after a large number of first-team players tested positive for COVID-19.^[4]^[5] Lindley was ever-present for Aston Villa U18s' run to the final of the 2021 FA Youth Cup, in which they beat Liverpool U18s 2–1.^[6] He was one of six members of that squad to sign new contracts with Aston Villa at the end of the season.^[7] Lindley again appeared for the first team on 24 August in Villa's away win against Barrow in the EFL Cup; he came on in the second half as a late substitute for Frédéric Guilbert.^[8]^[9]

On 1 September 2022, Lindley joined Newport County on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season.^[10] He made his debut for Newport on 13 September as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 League Two defeat to Stevenage,^[11]^[12] and made four more league appearances, but he fell out of favour after a change of management and returned to Villa on 1 January 2023.^[13]^[14]

Towards the end of the 2022–23 season, with the end of his Aston Villa contract approaching, Lindley was allowed to go on trial with League One club Cheltenham Town.^[15] He was released by Aston Villa when his contract expired.^[16]

Darlington

After leaving Aston Villa, Lindley played one match for Northern Counties East League club Golcar United on a non-contract basis, a 1–1 draw against Bottesford Town on 14 October 2023.^[17]

Lindley signed for National League North club Darlington on 24 October, and made his debut the same day, as a substitute in a goalless draw against Blyth Spartans.^[18] He was a regular starter in 2023, but fell out of contention in 2024,^[19] and on 28 March he joined Northern Premier League Division One East club Pontefract Collieries on loan until the end of the season.^[20] He was released by Darlington when his contract expired.^[21]

FC United of Manchester

Lindley joined Northern Premier League Premier Division club FC United of Manchester for the 2024–25 season.^[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aston Villa U21	2020–21^[5]	—	—		—		—		1^[a]	0	1	0
	2021–22^[9]	—	—		—		—		3^[a]	0	3	0
	2022–23^[12]	—	—		—		—		1^[a]	0	1	0
	Total		—		—		—		5	0	5	0
Aston Villa	2020–21^[5]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2021–22^[9]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2022–23^[12]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	1	0	1	0	—		2	0
Newport County (loan)	2022–23^[12]	League Two	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Golcar United	2023–24^[17]	NCEFL Premier Division	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Darlington	2023–24^[19]	National League North	14	0	—		—		0	0	14	0
Pontefract Collieries (loan)	2023–24^[23]	Northern Premier League Division One East	5	1	—		—		0	0	5	1
FC United of Manchester	2024–25^[24]	NPL Premier Division	18	0	2	0	—		1^[b]	0	21	0
Career total			43	1	3	0	1	0	8	0	55	1

^ ^a ^b ^c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
^ Two appearances in FA Trophy, one in Manchester Premier Cup

Honours

Aston Villa U18

FA Youth Cup: 2020–21

References

^ "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ "Honley's Hayden Lindley plays for Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers at 7 years old". Examiner. Huddersfield. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ "Hayden Lindley". Aston Villa F.C. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021.
^ Maher, Matt (8 January 2021). "FA Cup: Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 4 – Report". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Games played by Hayden Lindley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^ Preece, Ashley (24 May 2021). "Aston Villa vs Liverpool FA Youth Cup final LIVE updates". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ "Young Lions sign new contracts". Aston Villa F.C. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ Maher, Matt (24 August 2021). "Carabao Cup: Barrow 0 Aston Villa 6 – Report". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Games played by Hayden Lindley in 20201/20202". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^ "Newport County transfer news: Exiles sign midfielder Hayden Lindley on loan from Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ Penman, Andrew (13 September 2022). "Newport County AFC v Stevenage FC". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Games played by Hayden Lindley in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^ "Lindley to return to Villa". Aston Villa F.C. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ Preece, Ashley (29 December 2022). "Aston Villa loan agreement cut short as player returns to Bodymoor Heath". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ Palmer, Jon (4 May 2023). "Aston Villa's former Man City and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Hayden Lindley set for trial at Cheltenham Town". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ "Premier League clubs publish 2022/23 retained lists". Premier League. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Golcar United 1–1 Bottesford Town". Northern Counties East Football League. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ Wilson, Scott (25 October 2023). "Josh Gowling says Spennymoor will be 'wounded animals' at Darlington". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b "H. Lindley". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
^ Simpson, Ray (28 March 2024). "Hayden Lindley goes out on loan". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ Simpson, Ray (27 April 2024). "Retained list status". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
^ FC United of Manchester [@FCUnitedMcr] (28 June 2024). "We're delighted to announce that midfielder Hayden Lindley has joined us for the coming season. He's a central midfielder who can play as a #4 or an #8 and previously at City, and Aston Villa" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via Twitter.
^ "Pontefract Collieries – Appearances – Hayden Lindley – 2023–2024". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
^ "FC United of Manchester – Appearances – Hayden Lindley". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 24 January 2025.

External links

Aston Villa F.C. profile

[EFLT-23] Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

[26] Two appearances in FA Trophy, one in Manchester Premier Cup

[1] "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2024.

[2] "Honley's Hayden Lindley plays for Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers at 7 years old". Examiner. Huddersfield. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[3] "Hayden Lindley". Aston Villa F.C. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021.

[4] Maher, Matt (8 January 2021). "FA Cup: Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 4 – Report". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2024.

[sb2021-5] "Games played by Hayden Lindley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2024.

[6] Preece, Ashley (24 May 2021). "Aston Villa vs Liverpool FA Youth Cup final LIVE updates". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[7] "Young Lions sign new contracts". Aston Villa F.C. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[8] Maher, Matt (24 August 2021). "Carabao Cup: Barrow 0 Aston Villa 6 – Report". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2024.

[sb2122-9] "Games played by Hayden Lindley in 20201/20202". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2024.

[10] "Newport County transfer news: Exiles sign midfielder Hayden Lindley on loan from Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[11] Penman, Andrew (13 September 2022). "Newport County AFC v Stevenage FC". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 15 August 2024.

[sb2223-12] "Games played by Hayden Lindley in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2024.

[13] "Lindley to return to Villa". Aston Villa F.C. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[14] Preece, Ashley (29 December 2022). "Aston Villa loan agreement cut short as player returns to Bodymoor Heath". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 15 August 2024.

[15] Palmer, Jon (4 May 2023). "Aston Villa's former Man City and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Hayden Lindley set for trial at Cheltenham Town". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[16] "Premier League clubs publish 2022/23 retained lists". Premier League. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[Golcar-17] "Golcar United 1–1 Bottesford Town". Northern Counties East Football League. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[18] Wilson, Scott (25 October 2023). "Josh Gowling says Spennymoor will be 'wounded animals' at Darlington". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 25 October 2023.

[Soccerway-19] "H. Lindley". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 May 2024.

[20] Simpson, Ray (28 March 2024). "Hayden Lindley goes out on loan". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[21] Simpson, Ray (27 April 2024). "Retained list status". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 17 May 2024.

[22] FC United of Manchester [@FCUnitedMcr] (28 June 2024). "We're delighted to announce that midfielder Hayden Lindley has joined us for the coming season. He's a central midfielder who can play as a #4 or an #8 and previously at City, and Aston Villa" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via Twitter.

[24] "Pontefract Collieries – Appearances – Hayden Lindley – 2023–2024". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 15 August 2024.

[25] "FC United of Manchester – Appearances – Hayden Lindley". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 24 January 2025.

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