Nathan Delfouneso

At 33 years old, Nathan Delfouneso has this physical status:

Nathan Abayomi Delfouneso (born 2 February 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool. Having graduated from Aston Villa's academy Delfouneso broke into their first team in 2008, mainly being an impact substitute over the next few years, he scored 9 goals in 52 appearances, including two goals in the club's 2008-09 UEFA Cup campaign.

Delfouneso had a series of loan moves to Football League Championship sides while at Aston Villa, followed by permanent spells at Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Swindon Town.

He signed for Blackpool for a fourth time in 2017. Delfouneso was a regular England youth international, playing a total of 54 matches and scoring 19 goals at U16, U17, U19 and U21 levels.

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Club career

In the 2006–07 season, born in Tyseley, Birmingham, Delfouneso, a member of the Aston Villa Academy, Delfouneso, became a regular for both the club's reserve and academy teams. He made his Reserve team debut in March 2007, just a month after turning 16. Villa defeated Portsmouth 21-0 thanks to his late penalty. He scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw with Reading in October. Delfouneso's first professional job with Aston Villa was signed in February 2008, just days after he was given the number 14 shirt for the first team, according to French daily Onze Mondial that the number was chosen due to Delfouneso's admiration of striker Thierry Henry. He joined the squad for the game against Fulham but fell short of the final 16 on Friday. Delfouneso had made 41 appearances for the Academy team by the end of the 2008–08 season, scoring 22 goals in the process.

Delfouneso made his competitive first-team debut as a substitute in the away leg of the UEFA Cup second round match against Icelandic team FH Hafnarfjörur. Delfouneso was the youngest player to represent Villa in European football at the age of 17 years and 195 days. In the second leg at Villa Park, he was also on the team. He got off to a good start in a UEFA Cup match against MK ilina, scoring with a left-footed volley after only half an hour. He scored in his second game on December 17th, netting a consolation goal against Hamburger SV.

Delfouneso made his first domestic senior appearance at Priestfield Stadium on January 4, 2009, where Villa defeated Gillingham 2–1. In an FA Cup fourth round replay against Doncaster Rovers at Villa Park, he scored his first domestic senior goal, which Villa won 3–1. Manager Martin O'Neill lauded his contribution. Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock was interested in moving Delfouneso to Selhurst Park on loan, according to News on February 16th. O'Neill denied, claiming that Warnock's chances of acquiring the striker were "not a prayer." On March 15, Delfouneso made his league debut against Tottenham Hotspur as a second-half replacement for Gabriel Agbonlahor. During Villa's 3–3 draw with Everton, he had two good chances for himself but failed to score. Delfouneso called an end to the season on May 13 by selecting both Villa's Young Player of the Year and Supporters' Young Player of the Year. Delfouneso scored the first goal in a 3–1 victory over Sunderland in the Premier Reserve League final eight days later.

Delfouneso completed a new two-and-a-half year with Aston Villa on November 6, 2009, keeping him at the club until the 2011-12 season. Delfouneso, as well as fellow students Marc Albrighton and Ciaran Clark, were the subject of many loan offers from various other clubs in January 2010. However, he went on to emphasize his conviction that the three players were strong enough to remain as key squad members on Aston Villa's first team's fringes. After coming off the bench against Portsmouth in a 2–1 win at Fratton Park on April 18, he scored his first league goal on 18 April.

Delfouneso's first Premier League game against Fulham was scheduled on Friday, but Emile Heskey, John Carew, and Agbonlahor were all injured. He played 88 minutes of the game, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Delfouneso scored his second Premier League goal in a 3–2 victory over Blackpool at Villa Park on November 10th. He made 16 appearances and scored two goals in all competitions by the end of the season for Villa. Delfouneso, along with Marc Albrighton, had been suspended from his job and would be a free agent for the 2014-15 season as a result of Aston Villa's Twitter page on May 20, 2014.

Delfouneso completed his season with Burnley of the Football League Championship on March 8, 2011. He made his debut on the same day while playing at Hull City's KC Stadium. Just five minutes into his first game for the Clarets, Delfouneso scored past on-loan Aston Villa teammate Brad Guzan. Delfouneso signed a one-month loan contract with Leicester City on January 23, 2012. He made five appearances for the Foxes, all as a substitute, but failed to score a single goal.

Delfouneso signed a one-year loan contract with Championship side Blackpool on August 31, 2012. In a 1–0 loss to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday, he made his debut the following day as a 66th-minute replacement. In a 4–1 victory over Middlesbrough, he scored twice in his first game for the club on September 18th. Delfouneso had re-signed on loan with Blackpool on a six-month contract, according to the newspaper on August 16, 2013. In his second stint at Bloomfield Road, he appeared in eleven league games before returning to his parent club on January 2, 2014.

Delfouneso joined Coventry City on loan for the remainder of the 2013-14 season from January 30. Delfouneso suffered with exhaustion during his time in office, and he had only scored two league goals in 14 appearances. With his second and last goals for Coventry in a 2–1 loss at Bramall Lane at the end of the 2013–14 season, his first came against Walsall in March. He was also blamed for a goal against Wolverham Wanderers that was later branded as a Danny Batth own-goal.

Delfouneso has been a fan of two previous loan spells, but he has since signed a one-year deal with Blackpool, with the possibility of a second in July 2014. On September 9, he made his first appearance for the club in his new spell with them. In May 2015, he was released.

Following Delfouneso's release from Blackpool, he signed for Blackburn Rovers on a one-year contract and was given the number 7 shirt on August 6, 2015. He scored his first Rovers goal against Shrewsbury Town in a 2–1 loss at Ewood Park in the Football League Cup first round on August 11, 2015. In a Championship match against Huddersfield, he also found the back of the net. Delfouneso joined Bury on loan until 19 April on March 18, 2016.

Delfouneso was a student at the University of Swindon Town until the end of the 2016–17 season on August 18th.

Delfouneso re-joined Blackpool on a permanent basis for the second time and fourth time overall, signing a contract before the 2016-2017 campaign comes to an end. After exercising an option, Blackpool's contract was extended until the end of the 2017-18 season.

In May 2019, he renewed his two-year deal with Blackpool.

Delfouneso joined Bolton Wanderers on a two-year contract on August 6, 2020. In Bolton's first match of the season, a 1–2 home loss to Bradford in the first round of the EFL Cup, after scoring four goals in pre-season. In a 2–1 victory over Harrogate Town on October 3, he scored his first competitive goal, scoring Bolton's second goal.

Delfouneso joined Bradford City's EFL League Two side on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. Bolton said on May 3rd that he would be released at the end of his deal.

Delfouneso signed for Accrington Stanley, a League One club, on a short-term deal on September 20, 2022.

International career

Delfouneso first noticed playing for the England U16 team on international stage, winning eight caps and scoring three goals during this period, two of whom were scored in the 2006 Victory Shield. Delfouneso made his England U17 team debut in October 2007 with a hat-trick win over Malta.

In a UEFA Championship Qualifying tie against Albania, Delfouneso made his England U19 debut on October 8, 2008. In a tense 3–0 victory, the striker came on as an 18th-minute replacement and scored his second goal. He added another brace to his count in the semi-finals against France, putting England over to the final of the 2009 UEFA Under-19 Championship.

Delfouneso received his first call up to the England under-21 squad on March 3, 2010, scoring on his debut against Greece in a 2–1 loss.

Delfouneso was selected in the final 18-man squad for the 2010 UEFA Under-19 Championship, which took place in France.

In a 2–1 friendly loss against Iceland in March 2011, Delfouneso scored his second U-21 international goal against them at Deepdale.

In a 4–1 victory over Israel at Oakwell on 5 September 5, he scored his third goal for the England under-21 team.

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