Robert Taylor (footballer, born 1994)

Robert Thomas Taylor (born 21 October 1994) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and wing-back for Eliteserien club Brann and the Finland national team.

Robert Taylor

Taylor playing for JJK in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Robert Thomas Taylor[1]
Date of birth	21 October 1994
Place of birth	Kuopio, Finland
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder wing-back
Club information
Current team	Brann
Number	16
Youth career
2004–2008	JJK
2008–2009	Nottingham Forest
2009–2011	JJK
2011–2013	Lincoln City
2013	Barnet
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011	Huima	1	(0)
2011–2013	Lincoln City	0	(0)
2013	→ Boston Town (loan)	1	(0)
2013–2015	JJK	50	(11)
2013	→ Villiketut (reserves)	6	(3)
2016–2017	RoPS	41	(14)
2017–2018	AIK	4	(0)
2018	→ Tromsø (loan)	27	(4)
2019	Tromsø	28	(4)
2020–	Brann	26	(5)
National team^‡
2011	Finland U17	2	(0)
2013	Finland U19	2	(0)
2011	Finland U20	2	(0)
2015–2016	Finland U21	10	(0)
2017–	Finland	14	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 November 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2020

Club career

Taylor joined the youth team at JJK in 2004, and stayed with the club until senior level. During this time, he had spells in the country of his father's birth, England, with Nottingham Forest and then Lincoln City, who he joined on a two-year scholarship in 2011. Taylor was loaned out to Boston Town of the United Counties League in 2013, where he made one appearance.[2] Later in 2013, he joined Barnet, where he was due to sign a professional contract, but this fell through following their relegation from the English Football League.[3]

Taylor played for JJK in the Ykkönen until 2015, when he joined Veikkausliiga side RoPS.

In July 2017, Taylor was sold to AIK for €100,000.[4] He joined Tromsø on loan for the 2018 season, and then permanently for the 2019 season.

On 20 January 2020, Taylor penned a three-year deal with Brann,[5] which saw Ruben Yttergård Jenssen go the other way.

International career

Taylor has been capped by Finland at under-17, under-19, under-20, under-21 and senior level. He made his debut for the senior side on 9 January 2017 as a substitute in a 1–0 friendly win over Morocco.[6]

On 11 October 2020, Taylor scored his first goal in a 2–0 UEFA Nations League victory over Bulgaria.[7]

Personal life

Taylor's father, Paul is an English former footballer who played for KuPS in the 1990s.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 November 2020

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
JJK	2011[8]	Veikkausliiga	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		―		1	0
Huima	2011[6]	Kolmonen Central and Eastern Finland	1	0	0	0	―		―		—		1	0
Lincoln City	2012–13[8]	Conference Premier	0	0	0	0	―		—		0	0	0	0
Boston Town (loan)	2012–13[6]	United Counties League Premier Division	1	0	―		―		―		—		1	0
JJK	2013[8]	Veikkausliiga	11	1	1	0	0	0	―		―		12	1
	2014[8]	Ykkönen	18	3	1	0	0	0	―		―		19	3
	2015[8]	Ykkönen	21	7	0	0	0	0	―		―		21	7
	Total		50	11	2	0	1	0	―		―		53	11
RoPS	2016[8]	Veikkausliiga	31	11	4	3	5	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	0	―		44	14
	2017[8]	Veikkausliiga	10	3	0	0	0	0	―		―		10	3
	Total		41	14	4	3	5	0	4	0	―		54	17
AIK	2017[8]	Allsvenskan	4	0	2	0	―		0	0	―		6	0
Tromsø (loan)	2018[8]	Eliteserien	27	4	3	0	―		―		―		30	4
Tromsø	2019[8]	Eliteserien	28	4	3	0	―		―		―		31	4
	Total		55	8	6	0	―		―		―		61	8
Brann	2020[8]	Eliteserien	26	5	—		―		―		―		26	5
Career total			178	38	14	3	6	0	4	0	0	0	202	41

1. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 11 November 2020[9][10]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Finland	2017	2	0
	2018	5	0
	2019	3	0
	2020	5	1
Total		15	1

International goals

As of match played 11 November 2020. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Taylor goal.[9][10]

List of international goals scored by Robert Taylor

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 October 2020	Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	13	Bulgaria	1–0	2–0	2020–21 UEFA Nations League B

References

1. "altomfotball.no: Robert Taylor – Tromsø – Eliteserien, 2018". TV 2. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
2. "Scholars Out For Experience – News – Lincoln City". www.redimps.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
3. Kaarkoski, Tuomas. "Robert Taylor tekee paluun JJK:hon". KSML.fi – Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
4. "BRIEF-AIK Fotboll signs on Robert Taylor from finnish fotball club..." Reuters. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
5. https://www.brann.no/nyheter/robert-taylor-har-signert-for-brann
6. "Robert Taylor". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
7. Hirvonen, Hinni (11 October 2020). "Huuhkajat kukisti kotiyleisön edessä Bulgarian – Robert Taylorille maajoukkueuran avausmaali". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
8. Robert Taylor at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
9. "Robert Taylor". Football Association of Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
10. "Robert Taylor". European Football. Retrieved 12 October 2020.

External links

• Robert Taylor at the Brann website (in Norwegian)