Aaron Collins (footballer)

Aaron Graham John Collins (born 27 May 1997) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a striker for Forest Green Rovers.

Aaron Collins
Personal information
Full name Aaron Graham John Collins[1]
Date of birth (1997-05-27) 27 May 1997
Place of birth Newport, Wales
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Forest Green Rovers
Number 10
Youth career
0000–2014 Newport County
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Newport County 21 (2)
2015 → Merthyr Town (loan) 1 (0)
2016–2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Notts County (loan) 18 (2)
2017 → Tranmere Rovers (loan) 2 (1)
2017 → Maidstone United (loan) 4 (1)
2018 → Newport County (loan) 10 (0)
2018–2019 → Colchester United (loan) 7 (0)
2019 Morecambe 15 (8)
2019– Forest Green Rovers 28 (5)
National team‡
2015 Wales U19 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:06, 29 February 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 May 2019 (UTC)

Career

Newport County

Collins was a part of the Bristol City academy before joining the Newport County academy. In 2014, he nearly left the Newport academy after not being offered a scholarship. Unable to afford the costs of travelling each day, Collins took a job in McDonald's in Malpas. However, academy coach Mike Flynn later intervened and Collins was offered his first professional contract with the club soon after. Then Newport manager Jimmy Dack described Collins as "a young George Boyd".[2]

Collins was handed his first place in a matchday squad as an unused substitute for Newport aged 17 in a Football League Two match versus Shrewsbury Town on 20 September 2014.[3] Collins made his senior debut for Newport aged 17 in a Football League Trophy first round match versus Swindon Town on 23 September 2014 as an 11th minute replacement for Mike Flynn.[4] However, his debut lasted just 34 minutes when the ball hit him in the face and he too had to be substituted. Swindon won the game 2–1.[5] In January 2015, Collins joined Merthyr Town on loan, making his only appearance as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Clevedon Town.[6] Collins made his football league debut on 18 April 2015 as a second-half substitute in the League Two match versus Dagenham & Redbridge. He scored his first competitive goal for Newport on 15 August 2015 in a League Two match versus Stevenage during a 2–2 draw.[7] In the final week of the transfer window in August 2015, Football League Championship side Burnley submitted two bids for Collins, the last being £65,000 plus potential future add-ons, both of which were rejected by Newport.[8]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 22 January 2016, Collins signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers on a two and a half year contract for an undisclosed fee.[9]

On 31 August 2016, Collins joined Notts County on loan until 7 January 2017. He scored a last minute equaliser on his debut against Grimsby Town to tie the game at 2–2.[10]

On 23 March 2017, Collins joined Tranmere Rovers on loan for the remainder of the 2016–17 season.[11] He made his debut for the club as a substitute during a 9–0 victory over Solihull Moors, scoring his side's final goal of the game.[12]

On 29 November 2017, Collins joined Maidstone United on a one-month loan deal[13] and on 3 January 2018, he re-joined Newport County on loan for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[14]

On 7 June 2018, Collins joined Colchester United on loan for the 2018–19 season.[15] He made his competitive debut on 4 August in Colchester's 0–0 draw with Notts County.[16] His loan was terminated by mutual consent on 2 January 2019 after scoring one goal in eleven appearances for the club.[17]

In January 2019, Collins' contract with Wolverhampton Wanderers was terminated by mutual consent.[18]

Morecambe

The following month on 9 February 2019, he signed for Morecambe until the end of the 2018–19 season.[19] Collins scored eight goals in 15 League Two matches for Morecambe.

Forest Green Rovers

Collins joined Forest Green Rovers on a two-year deal in June 2019.[20]

International

In April 2015, Collins was named in the Wales Under 19 squad for the match versus Germany on 18 April 2015 and was subsequently named in the starting line-up.[21]

Personal life

He is the elder brother of professional footballer Lewis Collins.[22]

Career statistics

Club
As of 31 August 2016[23]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Newport County 2014–15 League Two 2000001030
2015–16 League Two 182201011223
Newport County total202201021253
Merthyr Town (loan) 2014–15 Southern League Premier 1000000010
Total 212101021253

References
  1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  2. "New deal for County youngster Aaron Collins". South Wales Argus. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  3. "A star is born as Regan Poole shines on Football League debut". South Wales Argus.
  4. Collins debut
  5. "County 1 Swindon 2". South Wales Argus.
  6. "Martyrs defeat Clevedon". Merthyr Town F.C. 14 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  7. "Newport 2–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  8. "Manchester United swoop to sign Newport County starlet Regan Poole in deadline-day deal". WalesOnline. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  9. "Collins Arrives at Wolves". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 22 January 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  10. "Aaron Collins joins Notts". Notts County F.C. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  11. "Aaron Collins: Tranmere Rovers sign Wolves forward on loan for rest of season". BBC Sport. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  12. "Tranmere Rovers 9–0 Solihull Moors". BBC Sport. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  13. "Wolves forward joins on loan". Maidstone United. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  14. "Aaron Collins returns to Newport County AFC on loan until the end of the Season". Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  15. "Colchester United sign Ethan Ross from West Brom and Aaron Collins from Wolves". BBC Sport. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  16. "Notts County 0–0 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  17. Waldron, Jonathan (2 January 2019). "Colchester United loanee Aaron Collins returns to parent club Wolves". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  18. "Stevenson joins Colchester". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 30 January 2019.
  19. "Morecambe: Aaron Collins joins League Two club after release by Wolves". BBC Sport. 9 February 2019.
  20. "SIGNING Aaron Collins signs two-year-deal with Forest Green Rovers". Forest Green Rovers F.C. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  21. "INTERNATIONAL: Collins Called Up To Welsh U19s". newport-county.co.uk. Newport County. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  22. "Lewis Collins – Midfielder – First Team – Newport County". www.newport-county.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  23. "Aaron Collins". Soccer Base. Centurycomm Limited. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
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