Daniel Ayala
Ayala training with Liverpool in 2011
Personal information
Full name Daniel Sánchez Ayala[1]
Date of birth (1990-11-07) 7 November 1990
Place of birth El Saucejo, Spain
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Rotherham United
Number 4
Youth career
2000–2007 Sevilla
2007–2009 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Liverpool 5 (0)
2010 → Hull City (loan) 12 (1)
2011 → Derby County (loan) 17 (0)
2011–2014 Norwich City 7 (0)
2012–2013 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 12 (1)
2013–2014 → Middlesbrough (loan) 13 (3)
2014–2020 Middlesbrough 176 (18)
2020–2023 Blackburn Rovers 56 (3)
2023– Rotherham United 7 (0)
International career
2011 Spain U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:51, 17 December 2023 (UTC)

Daniel Sánchez Ayala (born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Rotherham United. His first club was Premier League club Liverpool, where he spent two seasons as a reserve. He joined Norwich City in 2011, and joined Middlesbrough on loan in October 2013, before joining the club on a permanent deal in January 2014. He left Middlesbrough on 27 June 2020 after failing to agree a new contract. He then joined Blackburn Rovers in September 2020 with a 3-year contract.

Club career

Liverpool

Born in El Saucejo, Seville, Andalusia, Ayala agreed a move to Liverpool in September 2007 after rejecting a professional contract with Sevilla, where he came through the youth team. Liverpool paid a compensation fee to Sevilla and Ayala was offered a three-year contract. In the 2007–08 season he featured predominantly in the Under-18 team, whilst in the 2008–09 season he split his time between the Under-18 and reserve teams. He played through injury in the FA Youth Cup 2008–09 Final defeat to Arsenal.[3]

Ayala made his senior debut on 16 August 2009 in a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, coming on as a substitute for the injured Martin Škrtel[4] and made his first start against Stoke City at Anfield three days later.[5] On Halloween, he came on as a substitute in Liverpool's 3–1 defeat against Fulham at Craven Cottage, after Jamie Carragher and Philipp Degen were sent off. He also played in Liverpool's 4–0 win over Burnley, subsequently relegating them to the Championship, and Liverpool's 2–0 defeat against Chelsea. On 12 November, it was announced that the player had signed an extended contract keeping him at Liverpool until the summer of 2012.[6]

In September 2010, Ayala joined Championship side Hull City on loan.[7] He started the same day in Hull City's away match at Cardiff City which they lost 2–0.[8] In his second match for the club against Derby County he scored his first goal in a competitive match.[9] On 20 September, Liverpool announced that his loan period had been extended until 1 January.[10] Ayala played 12 times for Hull in all competitions, scoring once. On 27 December, he returned to Liverpool due to an injury crisis.

On 11 February 2011, Derby County finally signed Ayala on a loan deal until the end of the season, after the move was delayed due to the players hamstring injury which he picked up while playing for Hull City. He went on to play 17 times for Derby, making 16 consecutive starts.

Norwich City

On 13 August 2011, Ayala signed for Norwich City for a reported fee of £800,000.[11] The deal officially went through on 16 August 2011. Ayala was handed the number 26 shirt, vacated by Steven Smith and was named in the squad for the Premier League fixture against Stoke City at Carrow Road on 21 August 2011. This was due to Zak Whitbread being rated as doubtful for the fixture after picking up a knee knock against Wigan. He made his debut for Norwich as a second-half substitute for Anthony Pilkington following Leon Barnett's sending off against Stoke.

Ayala suffered a knee injury in the League Cup defeat to Milton Keynes Dons ruling him out for two months. He made his Norwich comeback in the 1–1 draw against Fulham, starting with Zak Whitbread and playing 90 minutes. Ayala was ruled out for a few weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in a 2–0 win over Bolton.

On 7 August 2012, Ayala secured a season-long loan deal with Nottingham Forest. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 home win against Cardiff City.[12]

Middlesbrough

On 23 October 2013, Ayala joined Championship club Middlesbrough on a three-month emergency loan spell.[13] He made his debut for Middlesbrough two days later, when his new side crushed Doncaster Rovers 4–0, taking the honour of scoring on his debut.[14] He bagged in his second goal for the club in his third appearance in their 2–2 draw with Watford, where he scored the equaliser in the final minute of added time.[15]

On 24 January 2014, Ayala joined Middlesbrough on a permanent forty-two month contract.[16] Ayala thus became recently appointed manager Aitor Karanka's first permanent signing for Middlesbrough, with the fee reported to be in the region of £350,000.[16]

He was released upon the expiration of his contract on 30 June 2020.[17]

Blackburn Rovers

On 15 September 2020, Ayala signed for Blackburn Rovers on a 3-year-deal.[18] Ayala made his debut for Blackburn in their 0–0 draw with Cardiff on 3 October.[19] Ayala scored his first goal for Blackburn in the club's 2–1 win against Nottingham Forest on 18 August 2021.[20]

Rotherham United

On 27 October 2023, Ayala signed for EFL Championship side Rotherham United on a short-term deal.[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 December 2023[22]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2009–10[23] Premier League 5000000050
2010–11[24] Premier League 0000000000
Total 5000000050
Hull City (loan) 2010–11[24] Championship 1210000—121
Derby County (loan) 2010–11[24] Championship 1700000—170
Norwich City 2011–12[25] Premier League 702010—100
2012–13[26] Premier League 000000—00
2013–14[27] Premier League 000000—00
Total 702010—100
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2012–13[26] Championship 1210020—141
Middlesbrough 2013–14[28] Championship 3260000—326
2014–15[29] Championship 3342130—385
2015–16[30] Championship 3531030—393
2016–17[31] Premier League 1412010—171
2017–18[32] Championship 3472030—397
2018–19[33] Championship 3313130—392
2019–20[34] Championship 2520000—252
Total 20621102130—22926
Blackburn Rovers 2020–21[35] Championship 1000000—100
2021–22[36] Championship 2121100—223
2022–23[37] Championship 2511000—261
Total 5632100—584
Rotherham United 2023–24[38] Championship 7000——70
Career total 322261431400035029

Honours

Middlesbrough

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Sanchez Ayala official profile". Liverpoolfc.tv. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009.
  3. ↑ "The website for the English football association, the Emirates FA Cup and the England football team". The Football Association. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Tottenham 2–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "Liverpool 4-0 Stoke". BBC Sport. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "Ayala signs extended Liverpool deal". Anfield Online. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "Defender seals loan deal". Liverpoolfc.tv. 11 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "Cardiff 2–0 Hull". BBC Sport. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Hull 2–0 Derby". BBC Sport. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "Defender extends loan". liverpoolfc.tv. 20 September 2010. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "Norwich sign Liverpool defender Daniel Ayala". BBC Sport. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "Nott'm Forest 3-1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Middlesbrough: Norwich City's Daniel Ayala joins on loan". BBC Sport. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Middlesbrough 4–0 Doncaster". BBC Sport. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "Middlesbrough 2–2 Watford". BBC Sport. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Transfer window: Norwich's Daniel Ayala joins Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "BBC article about his release from Middlesbrough FC". BBC Sport.
  18. ↑ "Ayala arrives!". Rovers.co.uk. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Cardiff City: Top scorers Blackburn have strong form checked". BBC Sport. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Nottingham Forest 1-2 Blackburn Rovers: Darragh Lenihan goal leaves Forest pointless". BBC Sport. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  21. ↑ "Signing – Millers Granted Permission to Add Ayala to Squad List". Rotherham FC. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "Daniel Sanchez Ayala". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Ayala in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 "Games played by Daniel Ayala in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  25. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Ayala in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  26. 1 2 "Games played by Daniel Ayala in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Ayala in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  28. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  29. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  31. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  32. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  33. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  34. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Sanchez Ayala in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  37. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Ayala in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  38. ↑ "Games played by Daniel Ayala in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  39. ↑ "The Football League Awards 2016: Winners". EFL.com. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  40. ↑ "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  41. ↑ "Daniel Ayala wins PFA Fans' Player of the Season in the Championship". Sky Sports. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
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