.jpg) Hayden withArsenal in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Isaac Scot Hayden[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-03-22)22 March 1995 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Chelmsford, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Brentwood Boys FC | |||
| 2004–2008 | Southend United | ||
| 2008–2013 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | →Hull City (loan) | 18 | (1) |
| 2016–2025 | Newcastle United | 151 | (6) |
| 2022–2023 | →Norwich City (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | →Standard Liège (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2024 | →Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2025 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2025– | Queens Park Rangers | 18 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2011 | England U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | England U17 | 9 | (1) |
| 2012 | England U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | England U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | England U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2016 | England U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2024– | Jamaica | 12 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:12, 11 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 08:12, 20 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Isaac Scot Hayden (born 22 March 1995) is a professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder orcentre-back forEFL Championship clubQueens Park Rangers. Born in England, he plays for theJamaica national team.
Hayden is a product ofArsenal'syouth academy. A versatile player, he can also play as acentre-back orfull-back.
Hayden was born inChelmsford, Essex and played forSouthend United until he was 13 years old,[3][4] when he moved toLondon to joinArsenal's Academy.[3][4]
Hayden made his full debut forArsenal in the third round of theLeague Cup in September 2013 againstWest Bromwich Albion. He started the away match playing in midfield and was substituted after 84 minutes forKristoffer Olsson. Arsenal eventually won the game on penalties atThe Hawthorns.[5] On 23 September 2014, Hayden made a second appearance for Arsenal, playing at centre-back in another League Cup third-round game, a 2–1 home defeat againstSouthampton in September 2014.[6]
On 31 July 2015, Hayden joinedHull City on a season-long loan to gain first team experience.[7] Hayden made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2015–16 season in a 2–0 home win toHuddersfield Town.[8] Hayden opened his account when he scored the final goal for Hull in the 6–0 defeat ofCharlton Athletic on 16 January 2016.[9]
On 11 July 2016, Hayden signed forPremier League clubNewcastle United on a five-year contract.[10] Hayden scored his first goal for Newcastle in a 4–1 win overReading on 17 August 2016.[11] Hayden went on to win the2016–17 Championship with Newcastle in May 2017.[12]
Following promotion Hayden secured a place in the Newcastle team under the management ofRafael Benítez as a defensive midfielder. Following the departure of Benitez in 2019,Steve Bruce continued to play Hayden as a midfielder and at right back. Hayden scored the winning goal in a2020 mid-season 1–0 win against Chelsea with a header in stoppage time.[13]
After suffering a long-term injury in December 2021, Hayden was not named in the Newcastle United 25-man Premier League squad for the remainder of the2021–22 season.[14][15]
On 14 March 2022, Hayden was fined £19,000 byThe Football Association after complaining onTwitter (now X) about refereeDavid Coote's performance following Newcastle's 1–0 defeat againstChelsea.[16]
On 26 May 2023, Newcastle managerEddie Howe said Hayden had no future at the club and would be moved on.[17]
On 2 August 2025, after a nine-year spell and 171 appearances for the club, Hayden left Newcastle permanently by mutual consent.[18]
On 7 June 2022, Hayden joinedEFL Championship clubNorwich City on a season-long loan.[19]
On 5 September 2023, Hayden joinedBelgian Pro League clubStandard Liège on a season-long loan deal,[20][21] but on 1 February 2024, he was recalled from his loan and was set to return to England and join Championship sideQueens Park Rangers on a loan deal until the end of the season.[22][23]
On 10 January 2025, Hayden joined Championship clubPortsmouth on loan until the end of the season.[24]
On 25 August 2025, Hayden returned to QPR as a free agent.[25]
Hayden was born in England to an English mother and Jamaican father, and was eligible to represent both national teams.[26] Hayden representedEngland at theunder-16,under-17,under-18,under-19,under-20 andunder-21 levels of football.[27][28]
Hayden declared his ambition to play for England at senior level in September 2019,[29] but changed track in March 2021, when he personally contacted theJamaican Football Federation to express his interest in playing for theJamaica team.[30] This came at a time when the Jamaican Football Federation announced its intention to target call-ups for a number of English players with Jamaican heritage, in order to improve the national team's chances of qualifying for the2022 World Cup.[30]
Hayden switched his alliance to Jamaica, and made his debut for the national team on 15 November 2024 in aCONCACAF Nations League game against theUnited States at theIndependence Park. He substitutedGreg Leigh at half-time, as USA won 1–0.[31]
Then Arsenal managerArsène Wenger has described Hayden as a player whose key assets are concentration, intelligence and strength. Equally comfortable at centre-back or in central midfield, whilst having also previously featured at right-back and as a playmaker.[32]
Hayden previously had a wife named Lauren, with whom he has a daughter, Adriana, born in December 2017.[33][34]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2013–14 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Hull City (loan) | 2015–16 | Championship | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Newcastle United | 2016–17 | Championship | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | |
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 151 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 171 | 7 | |||
| Norwich City (loan) | 2022–23 | Championship | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |
| Standard Liège (loan) | 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2023–24 | Championship | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Portsmouth (loan) | 2024–25 | Championship | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 2025–26 | Championship | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 245 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 275 | 8 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 0 | |
Newcastle United
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)"My fiancée was very, very ill for the whole term of her pregnancy… Lauren has done an awful lot for me and given up a lot to have a child."
When I look back, it was bonkers what I was doing," he says, thinking of his preparations for a game at Arsenal in December 2017. His daughter, Adriana, had been born six weeks premature and was with her mother Lauren in London's Portland Hospital, waiting to be brought home.
