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Max Clayton
English footballer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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Club career
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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]
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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
- 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
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Honours
Crewe Alexandra
Bolton Wanderers
- EFL League One second-place promotion: 2016–17
References
External links
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