 Donacien on hisIpswich Town debut in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Janoi Denzil Naieme Donacien[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-11-03)3 November 1993 (age 31) | ||
| Place of birth | Castries, Saint Lucia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chesterfield | ||
| Number | 44 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2010 | Luton Town | ||
| 2010 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| 2010–2013 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | →Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 31 | (0) |
| 2015 | →Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | →Newport County (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2016–2019 | Accrington Stanley | 80 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | →Ipswich Town (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2019–2024 | Ipswich Town | 97 | (0) |
| 2019 | →Accrington Stanley (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2021 | →Fleetwood Town (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2025– | Chesterfield | 7 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Saint Lucia | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:10, 12 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:54, 30 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Janoi Denzil Naieme Donacien (born 3 November 1993) is a Saint Lucian professionalfootballer who plays as adefender forEFL League Two clubChesterfield, and represents theSaint Lucia national team. A versatile player, he is capable of playing atfull-back andcentre-back.
Born inSaint Lucia, Donacien moved toEngland at the age of eight. He began his football career in the academy atLuton Town in 2005. He spent five years in the academy at Luton, going on to spend a brief spell in the youth set up atTottenham Hotspur in 2010 before joining theAston Villa Academy later that year. He spent six years at Aston Villa, working his way through the club's academy whilst also spending time out on loan atTranmere Rovers,Wycombe Wanderers andNewport County during his time atVilla Park. He moved on a permanent deal toAccrington Stanley in 2016, going onto win theEFL League Two title in 2018. He joinedIpswich Town in the summer of 2018, initially on loan before making the deal permanent in January 2019. He spent a spell on loan at former club Accrington Stanley in 2019, as well as a loan atFleetwood Town in 2021. He helped Ipswich gain promotion fromEFL League One during the 2022–23 season following a second-placed league finish.
He made his debut for theSaint Lucia national team in 2023.
Born inCastries,Saint Lucia, Donacien moved to theUnited Kingdom with his family in 2001 at the age of eight. He began his footballing career in 2005, joining the academy atLuton Town. He spent 5 years at Luton before spending a brief spell in the youth set up atTottenham Hotspur, representing the club in the2010 Milk Cup, prior to joining theAston Villa Academy in 2010.[3]
Donacien joined theacademy at Aston Villa in 2010, working his way through the academy to represent Villa in youth, reserves andNextGen Series competitions. He was a member of Villa's NextGen Series-winning team during the2012–13 season. Donacien played his first games for the senior team during the pre-season ahead of the2013–14 Premier League season, making his non-competitive debut in a pre-season friendly match againstWycombe Wanderers on 22 July 2013.[4] Donacien was awarded a place in the first-team squad and the squad number 32, he went on to be named on the first-team's bench twice during the 2013–14 season, once in thePremier League againstSunderland and once in theFA Cup againstSheffield United.
Donacien was loaned toTranmere Rovers in August 2014 and made his professional debut in a 2–1 home win againstMorecambe atPrenton Park on 30 August 2014.[5] He turned out regularly at both centre-back and right wing-back for Tranmere over the season with a brief spell back at Villa Park after the January transfer window, the side finished bottom ofLeague Two, being relegated to theNational League.[6] Donacien made a total of 37 appearances during his first season in professional football.[7]
On 21 August 2015 he signed a one-month loan deal with Wycombe Wanderers,[8] He made his debut for Wycombe a day later in a 1–1 draw withDagenham & Redbridge.[9] He made 2 league appearances for Wycombe before returning toVilla Park on 19 September.[10]
On 24 September 2015 he joinedNewport County on loan. He made his debut for Newport on 26 September in the starting line-up for the League Two match againstCarlisle United.[11] In January 2016 the loan was extended to the end of the 2015–16 season. Donacien made 31 appearances across all competitions during his loan spell at Newport.[10]
On 5 August 2016 Donacien signed forAccrington Stanley on a free transfer.[12] He made his debut for Accrington on the opening day of the 2016–17 season in a 3–2 win againstDoncaster Rovers.[13] Donacien scored his first goal for Accrington, and first senior goal of his career, on 29 October 2016 in the 1–3 League Two defeat against Newport County.[14] During his first season at Accrington, Donacien made a total of 41 appearances.[15]
Donacien played a key role for Accrington as they won the EFL League Two title and promotion toEFL League One for the first time in the club's history in the 2017–18 season.[16] He featured in 45 of Accrington's 46 league matches during the season and made 51 appearances in total across all competitions.[17] Donacien made a total of 92 appearances in all competitions during two seasons at theCrown Ground, scoring one goal.[18]
On 31 July 2018 Donacien signed forEFL Championship sideIpswich Town, initially on loan with a view to becoming a permanent deal once he received his new UK work permit.[19] He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2018–19 season in a 2–2 draw withBlackburn Rovers.[20] All of his appearances during the early stages of the season came underPaul Hurst, however after Hurst was sacked in October and replaced byPaul Lambert, who had previously been the manager at Aston Villa during Donacien’s time at the club, he did not make a single appearance for Ipswich for the remainder of the season. His transfer to Ipswich was made permanent in January 2019, signing a three-year contract for a reported fee of £750,000.[21][22] He made 11 appearances during his first season atPortman Road, before returning to former club Accrington Stanley on loan in January, with Ipswich ultimately suffering relegation to EFL League One during the season.[23]
On 18 January 2019, Donacien returned to Accrington Stanley on loan until the end of the season.[24] He made his return debut to Accrington in a 0–1 FA Cup defeat toDerby County on 26 January.[25] He made 20 appearances for Accrington during the second half of the 2018–19 season, helping theLancashire club secure League One safety.[23]
He started the 2019–20 season as the first choice right-back at Ipswich, starting in the 1–0 opening day win overBurton Albion. He started the following three league games of the season, however the signing ofKane Vincent-Young in August saw his game time reduced in the league.He featured regularly in theEFL Trophy, starting every group stage match as Ipswich finished second in the group, qualifying for the second round as a result. He also made regular appearances in the FA Cup. Following an injury to Vincent-Young in October, he competed for a starting place in the first-team with stand-in right-backGwion Edwards. He made a total of 19 appearances across all competitions before the 2019–20 season was suspended due to theCoronavirus outbreak in March.[26]
Donacien saw his game time limited to a handful of appearances in cup competitions during the first-half of the 2020–21 season, making only 3 appearances across the FA Cup,EFL Cup and EFL Trophy before being sent out on loan to Fleetwood Town in the January transfer window.[27]
On 22 January 2021, Donacien joinedFleetwood Town on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[28] He made his Fleetwood Town debut the following day, starting the match in a 0–0 draw withWigan Athletic.[29] In total, Donacien made 19 appearances during his loan spell with Fleetwood.[27]
On 10 May 2021, Ipswich announced that they had taken up the option to extend Donacien's contract by an additional year, keeping him under contract until 2022.[30]
The 2021–22 season and the arrival ofPaul Cook as Ipswich's new manager saw Donacien feature as a regular starter for the first time since joining Ipswich. He was a key part of the first-team during the season, featuring primarily as a right-back under Paul Cook during the first-half of the season. He quickly formed a strong partnership with new signingWes Burns on the right-hand side of the team. In November 2021, Donacien signed a new contract with Ipswich until 2023, with the option of an additional one-year extension.[31] He continued to feature regularly during the season after Cook was sacked in December and replaced byKieran McKenna. He played primarily as a right sided centre-back under McKenna as Ipswich's defensive record improved considerably, playing as part of a defense which set a new club record for the length of time without the team conceding a goal, surpassing the previous record of 547 minutes.[32] During the season he started 40 league matches and also came on as a substitute in a further 3 league matches. In total, Donacien made 48 appearances throughout the 2021–22 season, the most of any Ipswich player, whilst also making more league starts than any other player.[33]
He continued to be a key part of Kieran McKenna's team during the 2022–23 season, featuring more at right-back as the season progressed and Ipswich changed system. In January, Ipswich signedHarry Clarke fromArsenal, reducing Donacien's game time as a regular starter, although he still served as an important part of the squad. He once again helped Ipswich set a new club record for consecutive time without conceding, setting a run of 9 consecutive clean sheets and 949 minutes without conceding a goal, surpassing the record set by the team the previous season.[34] In April 2023, Ipswich exercised the option in Donacien's contract to extend his deal by an additional year, keeping him contracted to the club until summer 2024.[35] He made a total of 42 appearances in all competitions during the season, 38 of which came in the league as he helped Ipswich win promotion back to the Championship following a second-placed league finish.[36]
On 3 June 2024, Ipswich said that although the player's contract had expired, he would continue his rehabilitation throughout the off-season "and will return to pre-season training alongside the first-team squad as he builds towards a successful 2024/25 campaign".[37]
On 12 January 2025, Donacien joined League Two sideChesterfield on a short-term contract until the end of the season.[38]
Donacien received his first call-up to theSaint Lucia national team in June 2023.[39] He made his debut for Saint Lucia on 16 June 2023 in a 1–3 defeat againstMartinique in a2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification first preliminary round match at theDRV PNK Stadium inFort Lauderdale,Florida.[40]
Donacien is a versatile defender, capable of playing anywhere in defense, primarily either atfull-back orcentre-back. He is known for his tackling ability, athleticism and one-v-one defending. In August 2022, Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said of Donacien; "He certainly has the athleticism to get up and down the pitch and technically he’s growing and finding more belief in himself now."[41]
Donacien's immigration status made national headlines in 2012 as he and his family were denied permanent residency by theUnited KingdomHome Office.[42] Donacien and his family were granted three years of discretionary leave to remain in the United Kingdom in 2012.[43] In October 2018 it was revealed that Donacien was waiting to receive a biometric residence permit from the UK Home Office, which would grant him permanent residency to the United Kingdom, despite having lived in the UK since 2001.[44] In January 2019 it was announced that his Leave to remain had been confirmed, granting him permanent residency in the UK.[21]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa | 2013–14[45] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014–15[7] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16[10] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2014–15[7] | League Two | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 2015–16[10] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Newport County (loan) | 2015–16[10] | League Two | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| Accrington Stanley | 2016–17[15] | League Two | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 41 | 1 |
| 2017–18[17] | League Two | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 51 | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 92 | 1 | ||
| Ipswich Town | 2018–19[c][23] | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[26] | League One | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[27] | League One | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[33] | League One | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 48 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[36] | League One | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[46] | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 107 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 127 | 0 | ||
| Accrington Stanley (loan) | 2018–19[23] | League One | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2020–21[27] | League One | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Chesterfield | 2024–25[47] | League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Career total | 292 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 334 | 1 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Lucia | 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Aston Villa U19
Accrington Stanley
Ipswich Town
