Lewin Nyatanga | ||
Personal information | ||
---|---|---|
Full name | Lewin John Nyatanga | |
Date of birth | August 18, 1988 | |
Place of birth | Burton upon Trent, England | |
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | |
Playing position | Centre back, Left back | |
Club information | ||
Current club | Derby County | |
Number | 19 | |
Senior career1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
2005– 2006–2007 2007 2007–2008 2008 |
Derby County → Sunderland (loan) → Barnsley (loan) → Barnsley (loan) → Barnsley (loan) |
63 (4) 11 (0) 10 (1) 25 (0) 16 (1) |
National team2 | ||
2003–2005 2005– 2006– |
Wales U17 Wales U21 Wales |
9 (0) 27 (0) |
8 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
Lewin John Nyatanga (born August 18, 1988) is an English-born Welsh footballer who plays as a defender for Derby County and the Welsh national team
Contents |
Career
Club Level
Derby County
Nyatanga developed as a player through Derby's academy, signing professional terms for the club in August 2005[1] and making his senior debut in a League Cup tie against Grimsby Town, going on to feature in over half of Derby's league games during the 2005-06 season, primarily at centreback,[2] scoring his first goal a 2-1 win over Stoke City.
Despite starting the 2006-07 season in the first team picture, Nyatanga lost his place in the first team and was loaned out to fellow Championship side Sunderland for four months in October 2006. Whilst at Sunderland, Nyatanga played left back due to an injury to Stephen Wright and Clive Clarke leaving on loan. Sunderland boss Roy Keane was reportedly interested in signing Nyatanga in a £1.5m move in January 2007. Derby manager Billy Davies said there was a possibilty that Nyatanga could join Sunderland permenantly,[3] however, no bid was ever tabled by Sunderland.
Nyatanage returned to Derby in January 2007, only to join Barnsley a month later on a three month loan deal.[4] Nyantanga helped the club to some vital wins during his time at Barnsley, including a surprise 1-0 win over promotion hopefuls Birmingham City and a vital 3-1 win away over relegation rivals Southend United. Nyantanga was recalled to Derby on 16 April after injuries and suspensions, respectively, to two key defenders in Michael Johnson and Darren Moore, left Derby with only one natural centre half.[5] In his first game after returning to Derby he scored the winner against Luton Town on 20 April which sent Derby back into the automatic promotion places and relegated Luton. Nyatanga lost his place when Moore and Johnson returned, and was not in the 16 for the 2007 Playoff victory.
Nyatanga signed a new 4-year contract in the summer of 2007,[6] and returned to Barnsley on a six-month loan shortly after.[7] He formed an impressive partnership with Dennis Souza at the heart of Barnsley's defence, but was recalled by Derby in January 2008.[8] On January 19, 2008, Nyatanga scored on his Premier League debut at Portsmouth in the 5th minute,[9] which gave Derby a 1-0 lead, though Derby went on to lose the game 3-1 after a Benjani hatrick.[10] That was to be his only Premier League game of the season and his first of only 3 appearances for Derby that season, as he was sent back out on loan to Barnsley for the remainder of the 2007-8 season.[11]
During the 2008-09 season, Nyatanga was initially out of the first team picture, behind Martin Albrechtsen and Dean Leacock. A season-ending injury to Leacock gave Nyatanga a chance to establish himself and he featured predominantly from November onwards, going on to make 30 league appearances, scoring once - the first in a 3-1 hammering of fierce local rivals Nottingham Forest.[12] He also played in the League Cup semi final 1st leg against Manchester United, a game which Derby won 1-0.
International Level
Although born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, Nyatanga qualifies for Wales through parentage, having been born to a Zimbabwean father and Welsh mother. Nyatanga holds the records for being the youngest captain and youngest player ever to play for the Welsh Under-21s. On March 1, 2006, aged 17 years and 195 days, he made his full international debut for Wales in a friendly match against Paraguay in Cardiff, breaking Ryan Green's record as the youngest ever Welsh international.[13] Despite his inexperience, with only 17 first team appearances for Derby behind him, he played "a key role" in the goalless draw.[14][15] Wales' match against Trinidad and Tobago in May 2006 marked Nyatanga's second international appearance, and also saw his age record broken by 16 year old teammate Gareth Bale.
Personal Honours
- Derby County
- Championship Play Off Winner - 2006/07
- Young Player of the Year - 2005/2006
- Other
- Welsh Football Writer's Young Player of the Year - 2006[16]
Notes
- ^ "Bluebirds set Premiership target". BBC Sport. 2005-12-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/4165480.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Portsmouth 3-1 Derby". BBC Sport. 2008-01-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/4540462.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Nyatanga could stay at Sunderland". BBC Sport. 2006-10-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/6066520.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Barnsley sign defender Nyatanga". BBC Sport. 2007-02-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/barnsley/6356983.stm. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
- ^ "Defender Nyatanga back at Derby". BBC Sport. 2007-04-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/6561147.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Nyatanga signs new deal with Rams". BBC Sport. 2007-07-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/6904571.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Nyatanga returns to Tykes on loan". BBC Sport. 2007-07-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/barnsley/6919597.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Derby to recall Nyatanga & Macken". BBC Sport. 2007-12-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/7159115.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Portsmouth 3-1 Derby". BBC Sport. 2008-01-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7184823.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ Whyatt, Chris (2008-01-19). "Portsmouth 3-1 Derby". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7184823.stm. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
- ^ "Tykes sign Anderson and Nyatanga". BBC Sport. 2008-01-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/barnsley/7221327.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Nott'm Forest 1-3 Derby". BBC Sport. 2009-02-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7883601.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Nyatanga called up to Wales squad". BBC Sport. 2006-02-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4709296.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Wales 0-0 Paraguay". BBC Sport. 2006-03-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4756204.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ "Nyatanga to build on Wales debut". BBC Sport. 2006-03-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4765696.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ Jones, Matt. "Raise Your Game - Lewin Nyatanga". BBC Wales. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/raiseyourgame/pages/lewin_nyatanga.shtml. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
External links
- Lewin Nyatanga career stats at Soccerbase
- Official Sunderland AFC Profile
- Lewin Nyatanga Profile at FootballDatabase
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