Declan Frith

Declan Frith (born 16 May 2002) is an English footballer who plays as a left-back or midfielder for Aston Villa's under-21 side. He has previously played for the academy sides of Welling United and Chelsea.

Declan Frith
Personal information
Full name Declan Frith[1]
Date of birth (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002
Place of birth England[2]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back, midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Aston Villa
Youth career
Years Team
0000–2021 Welling United
2021 Chelsea
2021– Aston Villa

Club career

Early career

Having trialled with Charlton Athletic, Bromley and Sutton United, Frith failed to find a club to sign a professional contract with after leaving school. A further trial at Southend United would also prove unsuccessful, and he eventually settled at non-league Welling United.[3]

A change in FIFA regulations and the effects of Brexit meant that Premier League side Chelsea had to branch out their scouting network, notably bringing in a number of young, non-league players.[4] As a result of this, Frith was offered a trial with the West London-based club in February 2021, and signed in May of the same year.[5]

Used sparingly on either the left or right sides of midfield, Frith managed a total of five appearances for Chelsea's under-23 side, including featuring in an EFL Trophy game against Exeter City.[6] After initially being set for release at the end of the 2020–21 season, Frith continued to feature for Chelsea's youth teams.[6] He eventually left the club at the end of August 2021, and signed a professional contract with fellow Premier League side Aston Villa on 13 October 2021.[3][7][8] He settled quickly into the youth team of his new club, notably scoring twice on his debut against West Midlands rivals Birmingham City U23s.[9][10] He followed this up with a hat-trick against Coventry Sphinx in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup.[11]

Career statistics
As of 18 October 2022.[6]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea U21 2021–22 ————1[lower-alpha 1]010
Aston Villa U21 2022–23 ————2[lower-alpha 1]020
Career total 000000003030
  1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2020/21 released lists". premierleague.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. Declan Frith at WorldFootball.net
  3. Townley, John (2 November 2021). "The inside story of new Aston Villa wonderkid after his Birmingham City heroics". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. Kinsella, Nizaar (5 October 2021). "How Brexit made Chelsea look to non-league for next wave of talent recruitment". goal.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  5. Winter, Lewis (12 May 2021). "Chelsea announce signing of two youngsters ahead of summer transfer window". express.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  6. Declan Frith at Soccerway
  7. "Frith joins Villa Academy". avfc.co.uk. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. Kingsley, Igho (13 October 2021). "Photo confirmation : 19-year-old Chelsea winger completes transfer to Aston Villa". allnigeriasoccer.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. Dick, Brian (16 October 2021). "The new Aston Villa signing who has already emulated Grealish and Agbonlahor". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. Owen, Danny (22 October 2021). "Aston Villa Coach Blown Away by Teenager who Joined just Weeks Ago". hitc.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  11. "Villa to take on Stourbridge in Birmingham Senior Cup". avfc.co.uk. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.