Blair Sebastian Turgott (born 22 May 1994) is a 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 lea ...

who plays as a winger for

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

. He has previously played for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

and has had loan spells with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

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 level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

and

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

. Born in England, he represents the Jamaica national team.

Career

West Ham United

Turgott joined

aged 8 becoming a youth and development squad player. He made his West Ham debut on 5 January 2014 in a 5–0 FA Cup defeat by

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. This was his only appearance for West Ham before being released in 2015.

Loan spells

He moved on loan from West Ham United to

in November 2012, and made his professional debut in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

in a 1–1 draw against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on 30 November 2012. Turgott stated in December 2012 that he hoped the loan move would toughen him up. On 4 March 2013, he returned to West Ham after his loan spell ended, having made 11 appearances for the club. Turgott signed an initial one-month loan deal with

on 28 November 2013. Turgott made his Colchester United debut on 14 December 2013, coming on as a half time substitute in a 4–0 home defeat by

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

. He scored his first club career goal on 26 December 2013, the opener in a 4–0 home win over

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

. Turgott returned to West Ham at the end of his loan having played four times and scoring once for Colchester. On 17 January 2014, Turgott joined

on an initial one-month loan. He made his Rotherham debut a day later in a 3–0 away win against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for

Ben Pringle Benjamin Philip Pringle (born 25 July 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Second Division League club Precision. He has notably played for Derby County, Rotherham United, Fulham and Preston North End wi ...

. This was his only appearance for Rotherham before he was recalled by West Ham in February 2014. On 27 March 2014, Turgott joined League Two side

on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. Turgott made his Dagenham & Redbridge two days after signing for the club, making his first start for them, in a 1–0 win over

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

. Turgott went on to make five appearances for the club.

Coventry City

Having been released from his contract by West Ham United, on 2 February 2015, Turgott signed for

on a short-term deal. Turgott made his Coventry City debut on 3 March 2015, coming on as a substitute for Adam Barton in the second half, in a 1–0 loss against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. Turgott scored his only Coventry goal on 28 March in a 0–1 away win against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

following-up a shot from

Sanmi Odelusi Oluwasanmi Babafemi Oluwaseu Odelusi (born 11 June 1993) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He began his professional career in 2012 at Bolton Wanderers, where he made six appearances in the Championship. He a ...

. He was released by Coventry at the end of the 2014–15 season.

Leyton Orient

Turgott joined League Two club

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

on a one-year contract on 19 June 2015. He made his debut as a substitute on the opening day of the season, coming on for

Jay Simpson Jay-Alistaire Frederick Simpson (born 1 December 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. A product of the Arsenal Academy, he never played a league game for Arsenal, spending most of his time on loan, at Mil ...

in the 2–0 home win over

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; anc ...

, and scored his first goal for the club in the 3–0 win over

on 18 August. His opening goal for Leyton Orient was described as a "stunning goal" by their manager, Ian Hendon. Meeting a right-wing cross from

Sean Clohessy Sean David Clohessy (born 12 December 1986) is an English former Association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. Having risen through the Arsenal F.C. Academy, Arsenal Academy, he continued his develo ...

, Turgott hit a first-time volley from past the Stevenage goalkeeper,

Chris Day Christopher Nicholas Day (born 28 July 1975) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Day started his career at Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, ...

. In May 2016, he was released from Leyton Orient when it was announced that he would not be retained when his contract expired.

Bromley

On 4 August 2016, after a successful pre-season in which he had scored four goals, it was announced that Turgott had signed for hometown club

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

Stevenage and Boreham Wood

After attending the

V9 Academy V9 Academy is an English association football, football academy co-founded by Jamie Vardy with the intention of gaining non-League football, non-League players contracts at professional clubs. History The V9 Academy was founded, in 2016, by profes ...

, on 27 June 2017, Turgott joined League Two side

. After a single appearance for the Boro, as a second-half substitute in an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

loss at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

, he was loaned to

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

on 8 September 2017. He played the full 90 minutes against former club Leyton Orient the following day. On 21 December 2017, Stevenage announced that Turgott's contract had been terminated, following which he returned to Boreham Wood on a permanent deal.

Maidstone United

After Turgott scored during a short three-match loan spell at Maidstone, the Stones signed him for the 2018 - 19 season. Turgott went on to score 17 goals in 43 appearances, his most prolific period as a striker so far in his career.

Sweden

In July 2019, Turgott left England and signed with

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

side

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

. It wasn't until on 10 August 2019 when he made his debut for the club against

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollf� ...

, coming on as a 43rd-minute substitute and won the penalty, which teammate

Dino Islamović Dino Islamović ( sr-Cyrl, Дино Исламовић; born 17 January 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Rosenborg. Born in Sweden, he formerly represented Sweden internationally before switching to represent the ...

successfully converted the penalty, in a 1–1 draw. Two weeks later on 25 August 2019, Turgott scored his first goal for Östersunds FK, in a 3–1 lost against AIK. At the end of the 2019 season, he went on to make sixteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. At the start of the 2021 season, Turgott helped Östersund when he scored three times in the Svenska Cupen's group stage matches, including a brace against

Landskrona BoIS Landskrona Boll och Idrottsällskap (, locally referred to as BoIS) is a Swedish professional football club located in Landskrona, Scania, which currently plays in Superettan, the second league tier of football in Sweden. The club was formed ...

and saw the club reach through the group stage. Turgott scored his first hat–trick of his Östersund's career, in a 5–0 win against

Örebro SK Örebro Sportklubb, more commonly known as Örebro SK, Örebro or (especially locally) ÖSK, is a Swedish professional football club based in Örebro. The club are affiliated to Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Behrn ...

on 18 April 2021. He then scored his second hat–trick of his Östersund's career, in a 3–1 win against

IF Elfsborg Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional association football, football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Alls ...

on 19 September 2021. However, he was unable to help the club avoid relegation after they lost 3–0 against

Varbergs BoIS Varbergs BoIS FC is a Swedish professional football club located in Varberg, the main town of Varberg Municipality in Halland County. Background The club was formed at a meeting in the Varbergs Folkets Hus on 25 March 1925. The backbone of the ...

. Despite this, Turgott finished as Östersund's top–scorer with thirteen goals in a total of twenty–nine appearances in the 2021 season. On 5 May 2022, Turgott joined

side

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg (Hisingen). It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Forme ...

on a two-year deal. He won the

2022 Allsvenskan The 2022 Allsvenskan was the 98th season since its establishment in 1924 of Sweden's top-level football league, Allsvenskan. A total of 16 teams participated. Malmö FF were the defending champions after winning the title in the previous seaso ...

in his first season with

, scoring in the title deciding match against IFK Goteborg in October 2022. On 20 June 2024, Turgott signed for fellow Allsvenskan side

on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

International career

He has represented England up to under-19 level. He scored in the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 14th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was h ...

against Canada and helped England to top their group. He scored his first goal at under-19 level during 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualification in a 3–0 win against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. He also scored twice in the 6–0 win against

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, helping England finish top of their qualification group which also contained

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Turgott was called up to represent the Jamaica national team for a pair of friendlies in June 2021. On 7 June 2021, he made his senior international debut for Jamaica in a 1–1 draw against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Personal life

In April 2017, Turgott was charged with offences relating to

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

. He was subsequently cleared of a charge of converting criminal property, while a jury failed to reach a verdict on the other charge of fraud.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Bradford City *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

BK Häcken *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turgott, Blair 1994 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Bromley People from Bromley Jamaican men's footballers 21st-century Jamaican sportsmen Jamaica men's international footballers English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent West Ham United F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League players Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people Men's association football midfielders Colchester United F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players National League (English football) players England men's semi-pro international footballers Boreham Wood F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. players Östersunds FK players BK Häcken players Halmstads BK players Allsvenskan players V9 Academy players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden English expatriate sportspeople in Sweden 21st-century English sportsmen