Finn Azaz

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Finn Azaz
Personal information
Full name Finn Isaac Azaz[1]
Date of birth (2000-09-07) 7 September 2000 (age 23)[2]
Place of birth Westminster, England
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Middlesbrough
Number 20
Youth career
2009–2020 West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 West Bromwich Albion 0 (0)
2020–2021 → Cheltenham Town (loan) 37 (1)
2021–2024 Aston Villa 0 (0)
2021–2022 → Newport County (loan) 42 (7)
2022–2023 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 34 (8)
2023–2024 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 26 (7)
2024– Middlesbrough 19 (4)
International career‡
2022 Republic of Ireland U21 1 (0)
2024– Republic of Ireland 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:51, 27 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:46, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Finn Isaac Azaz (born 7 September 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Middlesbrough and the Republic of Ireland national team.[3]

Azaz was a product of the West Bromwich Albion academy and spent the 2020–21 season on loan at Cheltenham Town. He moved to Aston Villa in July 2021 and was immediately loaned out to Newport County for the 2021–22 season. He spent two loan spells with Plymouth Argyle before signing for Middlesbrough in January 2024.

Born in England, Azaz made his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland national side in March 2024.

Early and personal life[edit]

Born in Westminster, Azaz is of mixed Irish and Israeli heritage.[4][5]

His family moved to Birmingham when he was 15 months old. He attended Kings Heath Primary School and King Edwards School, where he achieved 9 A*s at GCSE,[6] and 2 A-Levels in French and Business, which he completed as a scholar at West Bromwich Albion. He continued his studies in French and Spanish after his A levels, for his own personal development.[7]

Club career[edit]

West Bromwich Albion[edit]

Azaz joined West Bromwich Albion at the age of 9.[8]

Azaz moved on loan to Cheltenham Town in August 2020.[8] He made his professional debut in September 2020 in an EFL Cup 1–0 win over Peterborough United, and his first professional goal came in the same competition in the same month in a second round 3–1 loss to Championship side Millwall.[9]

Aston Villa[edit]

On 26 July 2021, Azaz joined Aston Villa and was immediately loaned out to Newport County for the 2021–22 season.[10][11] He made his Newport debut on 10 August 2021, in a 1–0 EFL Cup victory over Ipswich Town, in which he provided an assist for the winning goal.[12] Azaz scored his first goal for Newport on 24 September 2021 in the 2–1 League Two defeat to Barrow.[13] Azaz was awarded the EFL Young Player of the Month award for January 2022 after three assists as his side picked up thirteen points from six matches.[14]

At the 2022 EFL Awards, Azaz was awarded the League Two Young Player of the Season award[15] as well as being named in the League Two Team of the Season with teammate Dom Telford.[16]

On 11 July 2022, Azaz signed a contract extension with Aston Villa,[17] and joined Plymouth Argyle on a season-long loan.[18][19] Azaz made his first appearance for Plymouth on 30 July 2022, scoring a debut goal in 1–0 victory over Barnsley.[20] On 25 October, Azaz suffered a "serious" ankle injury during a 2–1 victory over Shrewsbury Town which was expected to keep him sidelined for over two months.[21] Azaz made his return to the Plymouth starting line-up on 21 January 2023 - with two assists in a 4–2 league victory over Cheltenham Town.[22]

On 2 August 2023, Azaz signed another contract extension with Aston Villa and re-joined Plymouth Argyle on another season-long loan.[23][24] The loan was terminated in January 2024 after Azaz was recalled by Villa.[25]

Middlesbrough[edit]

On 5 January 2024, Azaz signed for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee.[26][27]

International career[edit]

Azaz was called up the Republic of Ireland under-21 side for the first time in September 2022.[28] He made his under-21 debut on 27 September 2022, in a 0–0 draw against Israel in a 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play off that Ireland lost in a penalty shootout.[29] His first call up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad came in March 2024, ahead of their friendly games against Belgium and Switzerland.[30] He made his senior debut for the country on 26 March 2024, coming off the bench in a 1–0 defeat against Switzerland at the Aviva Stadium.[31][32]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played on 27 April 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
West Bromwich Albion 2020–21[9] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2020–21[9] League Two 37 1 3 1 2 1 2[a] 0 44 3
Aston Villa 2021–22[33] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022–23[34] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023–24[35] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Newport County (loan) 2021–22[33] League Two 42 7 1 0 2 0 0 0 45 7
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2022–23[34] League One 34 8 0 0 1 0 4[a] 0 39 8
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2023–24[35] Championship 26 7 0 0 2 0 0 0 28 7
Middlesbrough 2023–24[35] Championship 19 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 4
Career total 148 27 4 1 67 1 6 0 175 29
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy.

International[edit]

As of match played 26 March 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland
2024 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours[edit]

Cheltenham Town

Plymouth Argyle

Individual

References[edit]

  1. ^ Finn Azaz at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b "Finn Azaz". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  3. ^ Finn Azaz at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. ^ Tanswell, Jacob (20 March 2024). "Finn Azaz - a footballer who wants to make a difference on and off the pitch". The Athletic.
  5. ^ Walters, Mike (11 February 2022). "Finn Azaz on track to become next Aston Villa star thanks to EFL loan system". Irish Mirror.
  6. ^ Cosgrove, David (24 August 2017). "Baggies trainee scoops 10 GCSEs". Express & Star.
  7. ^ "Profile". The Pilgrim: Matchday Programme of Plymouth Argyle F.C. 23 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Lewis Freestone & West Brom's Finn Azaz join Cheltenham Town". BBC Sport. 1 August 2020.
  9. ^ a b c "Games played by Finn Azaz in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Azaz joins Aston Villa and seals Newport loan". Aston Villa Football Club.
  11. ^ "County sign Aston Villa midfielder on loan for the season". South Wales Argus.
  12. ^ Cole, Rob (10 August 2021). "Ipswich Town 0–1 Newport County: Exiles' positive start to season continues with Carabao Cup win". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Barrow 2–1 Newport County". BBC Sport.
  14. ^ a b "Finn Azaz earns EFL Young Player of the Month award". www.efl.com. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Aleksandar Mitrovic named Sky Bet Championship Player of the Season". www.efl.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". www.efl.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Villa duo head out on loan". Aston Villa Football Club. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Azaz comes aboard". www.pafc.co.uk. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Argyle sign Villa's Azaz on season-long loan". BBC Sport.
  20. ^ Errington, Chris (30 July 2022). "Debut goal for Finn Azaz seals Argyle win on opening day". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  21. ^ Errington, Chris (1 November 2022). "League One leaders Argyle dealt major injury blow over Finn Azaz". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  22. ^ O'Connor, Sean (23 January 2023). "The three best Irish performances of the weekend – Evan Ferguson finds the net once again". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Finn Azaz signs new deal and seals loan to Plymouth Argyle". Aston Villa Football Club. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Villa midfielder Azaz returns to Plymouth on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Azaz returns to Villa | Plymouth Argyle - PAFC". www.pafc.co.uk.
  26. ^ "Finn Azaz Joins Boro From Aston Villa". www.mfc.co.uk. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Middlesbrough sign Villa midfielder Azaz" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  28. ^ Errington, Chris (15 September 2022). "Argyle midfielder Azaz gets Republic of Ireland under-21s call-up". PlymouthLive.
  29. ^ McCarry, Patrick (27 September 2022). "Ireland U21s miss out on European Championships history after devastating shootout drama". SportsJOE.ie. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  30. ^ https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/szmodics-azaz-and-obrien-called-into-john-osheas-first-ireland-squad/a160489222.html
  31. ^ Mahoney, Donny (26 March 2024). "Finn Azaz Could Not Contain His Joy After Ireland Debut". balls.ie. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  32. ^ Gray, Andy (26 March 2024). "Republic of Ireland 1-0 Switzerland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  33. ^ a b "Games played by Finn Azaz in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  34. ^ a b "Games played by Finn Azaz in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  35. ^ a b c "Games played by Finn Azaz in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  36. ^ "Report & highlights: The Town are Champions". www.ctfc.com.
  37. ^ "Plymouth beat Port Vale to win League One title". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  38. ^ Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton crush Plymouth to win Papa Johns Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
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