 Yates withNottingham Forest in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan James Yates[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1997-11-21)21 November 1997 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Lincoln,Lincolnshire, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2016 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016– | Nottingham Forest | 224 | (17) |
| 2016–2017 | →Barrow (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2017 | →Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | →Notts County (loan) | 25 | (3) |
| 2018 | →Scunthorpe United (loan) | 16 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:08, 22 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Ryan James Yates (born 21 November 1997) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder for andcaptainsPremier League clubNottingham Forest. Yates joined Nottingham Forest's youth academy in 2005, and has been signed professionally to the club since 2016.
Yates was named as part of theNottingham Forest first-team squad at the start of the2016–17 season, before heading north toNational League sideBarrow for an initial period of one-month on 26 August 2016.[3][4] On 21 September Barrow opted to extend the loan deal, and again on 2 November until 9 January 2017.[5] After this final extension to the deal, Barrow managerPaul Cox said of Yates: "He's a diamond in terms of wanting to learn, wanting to get better, wanting to get stronger. That's what makes Ryan so potent in this squad. He rubs off on other people with his hunger and desire."[6]
Yates was recalled by Forest on 13 January, having made nineteen appearances and scoring twice in all competitions for Barrow.[7]
On 31 January, shortly after his recall from Barrow, Yates was loaned out toLeague One'sShrewsbury Town for the remainder of the season.[8] He made his professional league debut on 14 February as a 64th-minute substitute of a 2–1 loss toPeterborough United.[9] On 27 February, whilst on loan with Shrewsbury Town, Yates extended his contract at Forest until 2019.[10] Yates was shown the first red card of his professional career on 1 April for two sliding tackles in a game atBristol Rovers, despite having been pushed to the floor by the opponent's players after the second challenge, in a decision described by his loan club as "harsh".[11]
On 4 August 2017 Yates joinedNotts County on loan for the2017–18 season, joining fellow Forest midfielderJorge Grant at the club.[12] His debut for the club came on 8 August away atScunthorpe United in the first round of theEFL Cup. Yates started the match and scored in the last minute of the second period of extra time to equalise the score to 3–3. Although Notts lost the subsequent penalty shootout, Yates received praise from his managerKevin Nolan, who described the teenager as a "leader" with "bags and bags of potential".[13]
On 11 January 2018, Yates signed a deal keeping him at Nottingham Forest until 2020, and was recalled from his loan at Notts County to join League One club Scunthorpe United for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[14] He scored on his Iron debut against Peterborough United,[15] in what theScunthorpe Telegraph described as a "man of the match performance".[16]Sky Sports awarded Yates the man of the match trophy for the 1–1 draw withOxford United on 30 March.[17]
On 5 July 2018, Yates signed a new three-year deal with Nottingham Forest, keeping him at the club until 2021.[18] He made his debut for Nottingham Forest on 14 August 2018, in theEFL Cup in a 1–1 draw withBury which Forest won on penalties.[19] He scored his first goal for the club on 12 February 2019, in a 2–2 draw withWest Bromwich Albion.[20] On 5 December 2019, he extended his contract until 2023.[21]
Yates received praise for his performances during the 2021–22 season, with a particular increase in his goal output. He was heavily involved in theNottingham Forest team which gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, making 43EFL Championship appearances, 3 play-off appearances, and scoring eight league goals. He featured in the EFL Championship Team of the Season.[22] Nottingham Forest managerSteve Cooper has described Yates as a "culture-setter" within the Nottingham Forest team.[citation needed]
On 4 May 2024, Yates scored in a 3–1 win againstSheffield United, which made Yates join a select group of players to have scored in all five top divisions of English football.[23] Later that year, on 29 July, Yates signed a new four-year deal with Forest, committing himself to the club until 2028.[23]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2016–17[24] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[25] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19[26] | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2019–20[27] | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 3 | |||
| 2020–21[28] | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| 2021–22[29] | 43 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 51 | 9 | ||
| 2022–23[30] | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24[31] | 35 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 40 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25[32] | 35 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 39 | 4 | |||
| 2025–26[33] | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | 224 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 254 | 22 | ||
| Barrow (loan) | 2016–17[24] | National League | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 2016–17[24] | League One | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Notts County (loan) | 2017–18[25] | League Two | 25 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 6 |
| Scunthorpe United (loan) | 2017–18[25] | League One | 16 | 2 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 18 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 293 | 23 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 332 | 32 | ||
Nottingham Forest
Individual
