Max Clayton
English footballer (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Max Clayton (born 9 August 1994) is an English retired footballer, who last played as a striker for Altrincham. He has also represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-19 levels.
|
Clayton in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Max Clayton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1994[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Crewe, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2011 | Crewe Alexandra | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | Crewe Alexandra | 74 | (9) |
| 2014–2017 | Bolton Wanderers | 27 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | Blackpool | 2 | (0) |
| 2020 | Altrincham | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 104 | (11) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010 | England U16 | 5 | (2) |
| 2010–2011 | England U17 | 21 | (4) |
| 2011–2012 | England U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | England U19 | 4 | (1) |
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:20, 26 October 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14:43, 27 May 2013 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Crewe Alexandra
Born in Crewe, Cheshire, Clayton started his football career at Crewe Alexandra Academy. In 2009, the club's technical director Dario Gradi revealed a Premier League club had attempted to poach one of their 15-year-old players, with Clayton named by the media. Liverpool had offered the Cheshire club a sum of around £1 million for the player's services.[3] In March 2010, Clayton signed a long-term contract with Crewe.[4]
Clayton made his debut for Crewe Alexandra in a 2–1 league win against Morecambe at the Alexandra Stadium on 22 April 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute for Shaun Miller.[5] He made his second appearance of the season in a 2–0 away loss to Wycombe Wanderers, again coming on as a late substitute for Miller.[6] Having made his debut for the club, Clayton signed his first professional contract with the club, which keep him until 2014.[7]
He made his first appearance of the 2011–12 season on 6 August 2011, again replacing Miller as Crewe lost 3–0 away to Swindon.[8] He began to get a regular run of games for Crewe, and scored his first goal in a 1–0 home win against Macclesfield Town in the JPT Trophy on 5 October 2011.[9] His first league goal came in a 2–1 win on 19 November 2011 as he scored a 94th-minute winner against Morecambe, after England under-17 teammate Nick Powell had equalised for Crewe. He scored his second goal in a 2–0 home win against Accrington on 21 February 2012.[10] On 10 March, he scored another 94th-minute winner as Crewe beat Gillingham 4–3.[11]
On 16 May 2012, Clayton scored a vital goal in a 2–2 draw at Southend United to send Crewe to Wembley for the League 2 play-off final on a 3–2 aggregate score.[12] Then in the 2012–13 season, Clayton scored twice in the first round of Football League Cup, in a 5–0 victory over Hartlepool United[13] and then scored the only goal in the game, in a 1–0 win over Coventry City a few weeks later.[14] His good display in August earned Football League young player of the month for August.[15] Then on 7 April 2013, he scored in the 2013 Football League Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium, as Crewe beat Southend United 2–0.[16][17]
After a prolonged absence due to a broken ankle sustained in November 2013,[18] Clayton started negotiation for a new contract to stay at Crewe, believed to be a three-year contract.[19][20] However, Clayton refused to sign a new contract at Crewe and left the club.[21]
Clayton had trials at other clubs,[22] including Wolverhampton Wanderers[23] and Sunderland (he played in Sunderland's 5–1 pre-season victory over Darlington 1883 on 19 July 2014).[24][25] Though Clayton left Crewe, press reports revealed the club would receive a six-figure compensation fee if he was sold to a foreign club.[26]
Bolton Wanderers
In early September 2014, it was reported that he was expected to join Bolton Wanderers.[27] On 18 September 2014, he officially moved for a fee of £300,000 which had been set at a tribunal due to him being under the age of 24.[28][29]
He made his debut for the club on 4 October in a 2–1 home defeat to Bournemouth.[30] After making four substitute appearances, he scored on his first start for the club in a 3–1 win at home to local rivals Wigan Athletic.[31] After coming off injured in a 0–0 draw at home against Ipswich[32] in December 2014, Clayton was ruled out for the rest of the season.[33]
Blackpool
On 22 June 2017 it was confirmed that Clayton would join Blackpool on 1 July when his contract at Bolton expired.[34] In May 2019, Clayton was released by Blackpool having only played seven games in his debut season and none in the 2018–2019 season due to continued hamstring problems.[35]
Altrincham
On 20 August 2020, Clayton signed for National League side Altrincham.[36] He was released two months later by mutual consent after making just one league appearance for the club.[37]
International career
He has also represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 levels, playing in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. On 25 June 2011, he scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory over Uruguay in Torreón. He scored his first goal for the under-19 team on 24 May 2013 against Georgia.[38]
Personal life
His father Paul Clayton was a striker for Crewe Alexandra and his older brother Harry is currently a professional with Nantwich Town.[39] Clayton grew up idolising Michael Owen.[40]
Clayton says he is friends with Nick Powell, having played football together when they both five or six.[15]
Career statistics
- As of match played 3 October 2020
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crewe Alexandra | 2010–11[41] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011–12[42] | League Two | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[a] | 2 | 30 | 5 | |
| 2012–13[43] | League One | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4[b] | 3 | 42 | 9 | |
| 2013–14[44] | League One | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| Total | 74 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 92 | 16 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 2014–15[45] | Championship | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 2015–16[46] | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[47] | League One | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| Total | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
| Blackpool | 2017–18[48] | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 2018–19[49] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Altrincham | 2020–21[50] | National League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 104 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 129 | 19 | ||
- Three appearances and one goal in Football League Trophy, three appearances and one goal in League Two play-offs
- Appearances in Football League Trophy
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
