Kenneth Taylor (footballer, born 2002)

Kenneth Taylor
Taylor playing for Ajax in 2024
Personal information
Full name Kenneth Ina Dorothea Taylor[1]
Date of birth (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002[2]
Place of birth Alkmaar, Netherlands
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Ajax
Number 8
Youth career
–2010 SV De Foresters
2010–2019 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Jong Ajax 60 (14)
2020– Ajax 129 (25)
International career‡
2017 Netherlands U15 5 (0)
2017–2018 Netherlands U16 6 (1)
2018–2019 Netherlands U17 14 (4)
2021–2024 Netherlands U21 15 (1)
2022– Netherlands 5 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Netherlands
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner Ireland 2019 U-17 Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 December 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23 March 2025

Kenneth Ina Dorothea Taylor (born 16 May 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team.[3]

Club career

Early career

A product of the Ajax Youth Academy,[4] Taylor joined the club in 2010 from SV De Foresters. He made his professional debut for the reserve team, Jong Ajax, on 15 October 2018, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute for Jasper ter Heide in an Eerste Divisie match against Jong PSV.[5] Over the following seasons, he became a regular fixture for Jong Ajax, eventually captaining the side and scoring 14 goals in 60 appearances by early 2022.[6]

Taylor made his senior debut for AFC Ajax on 12 December 2020 in a 4–0 victory against PEC Zwolle, entering as a 64th-minute substitute for Perr Schuurs.[6] His first-team opportunities remained limited until the latter half of the 2021–22 season under manager Erik ten Hag. On 6 February 2022, he scored his first Eredivisie goal against Heracles Almelo just two minutes after coming off the bench, converting an assist from Sébastien Haller in a 3–0 win.[7] He finished the campaign with 19 appearances, helping Ajax secure the league title.[6] In July 2022, he extended his contract with the club until 2027.[8]

Breakthrough and establishment

Following the departure of Ryan Gravenberch in the summer of 2022, Taylor became a regular starter in the Ajax midfield during the 2022–23 season.[7] He made 44 appearances across all competitions, contributing 9 goals and 4 assists.[6] His strong performances were recognised when he was named the Eredivisie Talent of the Month for November 2022.[9] At the conclusion of the season, he was awarded the Marco van Basten Award as the Ajax Talent of the Year.[10]

During the 2023–24 season, Taylor remained a key player despite the team's collective struggles and frequent managerial changes. Playing primarily under Maurice Steijn and later John van 't Schip, he recorded 8 goals in 47 appearances. He also scored his first European goals that season, netting twice in the UEFA Europa League and once in the UEFA Europa Conference League.[6]

2024–25: Player of the Year

The 2024–25 season under new manager Francesco Farioli proved to be Taylor's most prolific to date. Given a more advanced role in midfield, he displayed improved goalscoring form, finishing the campaign as Ajax's top league scorer with 9 goals in 33 matches.[11] A major highlight of his season came on 2 February 2025 in De Klassieker against rivals Feyenoord, where he scored a dramatic 94th-minute winner to secure a 2–1 victory at the Johan Cruyff Arena.[12] He was also instrumental in Europe, scoring 6 goals during the club's run in the UEFA Europa League.[6] In recognition of his consistent performance, Taylor was named Ajax Player of the Year in May 2025.[13]

2025–26 season

In the summer of 2025, Taylor was the subject of a transfer bid from Portuguese club FC Porto, which was rejected by Ajax; Taylor subsequently expressed his commitment to the Amsterdam club.[14] He began the 2025–26 season as a starter in the UEFA Champions League, making 4 appearances in the group stage. However, his progress was interrupted in late 2025 by an injury that ruled him out of action through December.[6]

International career

Taylor has represented the Netherlands at various youth levels, beginning with the under-15 team in 2017. He was a member of the Netherlands U17 squad that won the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[15] Later that year, he captained the U17s at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.[16] He subsequently progressed to the Netherlands U21 team, earning 15 caps and scoring once between 2021 and 2024,[6] and was included in the squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Romania.[17]

Taylor made his senior debut for the Netherlands on 22 September 2022 under manager Louis van Gaal, appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 UEFA Nations League victory over Poland.[18] He was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad in Qatar, where he made one appearance as a substitute in the final group stage match against the hosts.[19]

On 24 March 2023, Taylor earned his fourth cap in a 4–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying loss to France.[20] He made his next international appearance two years later, coming on as a substitute in the UEFA Nations League Finals quarter-final second leg against Spain on 23 March 2025.[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 December 2025[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League KNVB Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jong Ajax 2018–19 Eerste Divisie 1 0 — — — 1 0
2019–20 Eerste Divisie 19 0 — — — 19 0
2020–21 Eerste Divisie 29 7 — — — 29 7
2021–22 Eerste Divisie 11 7 — — — 11 7
Total 60 14 — — — 60 14
Ajax 2020–21 Eredivisie 3 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 0
2021–22 Eredivisie 13 1 3 1 3[a] 0 0 0 19 2
2022–23 Eredivisie 32 8 3 1 8[b] 0 1[c] 0 44 9
2023–24 Eredivisie 34 5 1 0 12[d] 3 — 47 8
2024–25 Eredivisie 33 9 2 0 17[e] 6 — 52 15
2025–26 Eredivisie 14 2 0 0 4[a] 0 — 18 2
Total 129 25 9 2 44 9 1 0 183 36
Career total 189 39 9 2 44 9 1 0 243 49
  1. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
  4. ^ Eight appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of 23 March 2025[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Netherlands 2022 3 0
2023 1 0
2025 1 0
Total 5 0

Honours

Ajax[24]

Netherlands U17

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Netherlands" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Kenneth Taylor - Netherlands - European Qualifiers". UEFA. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b Kenneth Taylor at WorldFootball.net
  4. ^ Verhaar, Thijs (9 February 2021). "Kenneth Taylor: Ajax's 'new Kroos' who idolises Wijnaldum". Goal. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 15 October 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "K. Taylor". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Taylor's journey: from Ajax youth academy to Club of 100". english.ajax.nl. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Kenneth Taylor extends Ajax contract". AFC Ajax. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Eredivisie Awards 2022/23". Eredivisie.eu. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Jorrel Hato is Talent of the Year". Ajax. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  11. ^ "'He's the benchmark': Ajax boss Francesco Farioli praises captain Jordan Henderson". Flashscore.com.gh. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Kenneth Taylor scores dramatic 94th minute winner for Ajax against arch-rivals Feyenoord". NL Times. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  13. ^ "Taylor voted Player of the Year". AFC Ajax. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Kenneth Taylor and the failed move to FC Porto" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 3 October 2025.
  15. ^ "Netherlands clinch title". UEFA. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Taylor: The beating heart of the Oranje". FIFA. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  17. ^ "Netherlands U21 1-1 Georgia U21". ESPN. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  18. ^ "Van Gaal laat ook Taylor nog debuteren in Polen" [Van Gaal also lets Taylor debut against Poland]. Voetbal International (in Dutch). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  19. ^ Lea, Greg (10 December 2022). "Netherlands World Cup 2022 squad: Louis van Gaal's full team". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  20. ^ "The Netherlands hammered 4-0 by France in Euro 2024 qualifier". Netherlands Times. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Spain 3-3 Netherlands (4-3 pens): Oranje edged out in Valencia". Dutch News. 24 March 2025. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  22. ^ "K. Taylor". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Kenneth Taylor". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Kenneth Taylor - Career Honours". Soccerway.
  25. ^ UEFA (19 May 2019). "Netherlands clinch title". UEFA. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  26. ^ "Taylor voted Player of the Year". AFC Ajax. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  27. ^ "Kenneth Taylor verkozen tot Talent van het Jaar" (in Dutch). AFC Ajax.
  28. ^ "Sparta Rotterdam leads Eredivisie Team of the Month for March". Eredivisie. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  29. ^ "Kenneth Taylor named as Eredivisie Talent of the Month for November". Eredivisie. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
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