Isaac Scot Hayden (born 22 March 1995) 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

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, on loan from

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. Born in England, he plays for the Jamaica national team. 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 ...

youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

. A versatile player, he can also play as a

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 Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, Essex and played for

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

until he was 13 years old, when he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. He started the away match playing in midfield and was substituted after 84 minutes for Kristoffer Olsson. Arsenal eventually won the game on penalties at

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. ...

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

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in September 2014.

Hull City (loan)

On 31 July 2015, Hayden joined

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

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 Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. 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 a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

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 Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...

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 Association football, player who was a centre-back in a twenty-year playing career. He is currently the head coa ...

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

2020 The year 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 even ...

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 (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 oldest footb ...

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 Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on a season-long loan. On 26 May 2023, Newcastle manager

Eddie Howe Edward John Frank Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Premier League club Newcastle United. A centre-back during his playing career, Howe spent most of his playing ...

said Hayden had no future at the club and would be moved on.

Standard Liège (loan)

On 5 September 2023, Hayden joined

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

club

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

on a season-long loan deal.

Queens Park Rangers (loan)

On 1 February 2024, Hayden joined Championship side

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Portsmouth (loan)

On 10 January 2025, Hayden joined

on a loan deal until the end of the season.

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 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 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 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 was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. Hayden made his Jamaica national team debut on 15 November 2024 in a

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

game against the United States at the Independence Park. He substituted Greg Leigh at half-time, as USA won 1–0.

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 Development. ...

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

Club

International

Honours

Newcastle United *

: 2016–17

References

External links

* *
Isaac Hayden
at Arsenal.com
Isaac Hayden
at The FA {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Isaac 1995 births Living people Footballers from Chelmsford Jamaican men's footballers 21st-century Jamaican sportsmen Jamaica men's international footballers English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Jamaican people of English descent English people of Jamaican descent 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 Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people Sportspeople of Jamaican descent English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Belgian Pro League players 21st-century English sportsmen