Ashley Westwood (footballer, born 1990)

This article is about the footballer, born 1990. For the footballer, born 1976, see Ashley Westwood (footballer, born 1976).

Ashley Roy Westwood (born 1 April 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for MLS club Charlotte FC.

Ashley Westwood

Westwood with Crewe Alexandra in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Ashley Roy Westwood[1]
Date of birth	(1990-04-01) 1 April 1990 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth	Nantwich, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Charlotte FC
Number	8
Youth career
000–2008	Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2012	Crewe Alexandra	128	(14)
2008	→ Nantwich Town (loan)
2012–2017	Aston Villa	147	(5)
2017–2023	Burnley	162	(7)
2023–	Charlotte FC	62	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:51, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Westwood's first club was Crewe Alexandra, where he spent his first season on loan at his hometown club Nantwich Town from the Northern Premier League Premier Division. After five seasons and 128 league appearances in League One and League Two for Crewe, Westwood joined Premier League club Aston Villa in Birmingham where he scored his first Premier League goal in his second season with them. Six months after Villa dropped out of the Premier League, Westwood joined Burnley, returning to the Premier League in the process. He was Burnley's Player of the Season for 2018–19. He joined Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC in January 2023.

Career

Crewe Alexandra

Westwood in 2010

Born in Nantwich, Cheshire,^[2] Westwood started his career in the academy at Crewe Alexandra. He signed his first professional contract in April 2008, along with Luke Danville, Chris Clements, Josh Thompson, A-Jay Leitch-Smith and Luke Murphy.^[3] He joined hometown club Nantwich Town, playing in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, on loan in 2008.^[4]

The following season saw Westwood break into first team appearing 38 times for the club along with six goals – the first coming in a 3–2 away win at Chesterfield. The season, however, did see Westwood receive his first career red card in the 0–1 home defeat to Notts County for squaring up to Luke Rodgers after the pair tussled for the ball, the County striker was sent off for the incident as well.^[5] The young midfielder impressed the Crewe management over the season and was rewarded with a new two-year contract in December and his performances over the season were rewarded with him named the club's player of the season.^[6]

A further 46 appearances followed in the 2010–11 season along with six goals, including two in the 3–3 home draw to Torquay United. Following a string of impressive performances, Westwood signed a new deal intended to keep him at the club until 2014 midway through the campaign.^[7]

With the release of David Artell in the summer of 2012, Westwood was handed the club captaincy of Crewe by manager Steve Davis.^[8] The young midfielder made three league appearances before he was linked with a move to the Premier League with Swansea City. "It's the first time he'll have had this sort of speculation in his career", Crewe manager Steve Davis commented before adding: "he's got to be professional in how he deals with it".^[9]

Aston Villa

Despite the speculation of a transfer to Swansea City, talks between the two clubs broke down as the South Wales club was unable to match the asking price set by the Railwaymen.^[10] With talks of the deal reaching a stumbling block, Aston Villa were quick to capitalise and signed the midfielder on the final day of the summer 2012 transfer window. Westwood signed on a four-year deal with the Birmingham based club for a fee believed to be around £2 million.^[11]

Westwood playing for Aston Villa in 2013

He made his debut on 15 September 2012, coming on as a second-half substitute for Stephen Ireland during a 2–0 win at home to Swansea City.^[12] On 3 November, Westwood made his first league start for Villa in a 1–0 win away at Sunderland. The young midfielder was highly praised for his role in the win, alongside Barry Bannan.^[13] On 15 July 2013, Westwood signed a new four-year contract keeping him at the club until summer 2017.^[14] He scored his first goal for the club against local rivals West Bromwich Albion in a 2–2 draw at The Hawthorns.^[15] On 29 March 2014, he scored in a 4–1 defeat away to Manchester United at Old Trafford.^[16] On 3 May 2014, Westwood scored after 54 seconds against Hull City in a 3–1 home victory that helped ensure Villa avoided relegation.^[17][18]

On 12 August 2015 Westwood signed a new five-year contract.^[19]

Burnley

On 31 January 2017, Westwood signed for Premier League club Burnley on a three-and-a-half-year contract, with the option of a further year.^[20] He scored his first goal for Burnley on 10 March 2019, opening the scoring direct from a corner in a 4–2 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield.^[21] He was voted Burnley's player of the season for 2018–19 by both supporters and players.^[22] On 3 October 2020, Westwood scored on his 100th Premier League appearance for Burnley in a 3–1 defeat against Newcastle United at St James' Park.^[23]

During Burnley's game against West Ham United at the London Stadium on 17 April 2022, Westwood suffered a serious ankle injury in a collision with Nikola Vlašić, ruling him out for the rest of the season.^[24]

Charlotte

On 7 January 2023, Westwood signed for Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC on a contract until 2024.^[25]

Playing style

Westwood operates primarily as a deep-lying playmaker although he is capable of playing in a role higher up the midfield as well as right back. After his transfer to Aston Villa, Westwood compared himself to Michael Carrick adding that he is "someone who stays out of the limelight and keeps it simple, retaining the ball and laying it off to team-mates".^[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 October 2023

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
Crewe Alexandra	2008–09[27]	League One	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2009–10[28]	League Two	36	6	1	0	1	0	0	0	38	6
	2010–11[29]	League Two	46	5	1	1	2	0	2[a]	0	51	6
	2011–12[30]	League Two	41	3	1	0	0	0	5[b]	0	47	3
	2012–13[31]	League One	3	0	—		2	0	—		5	0
	Total		128	14	3	1	5	0	7	0	143	15
Aston Villa	2012–13[31]	Premier League	30	0	1	0	—		—		31	0
	2013–14[32]	Premier League	35	3	1	0	1	0	—		37	3
	2014–15[33]	Premier League	27	0	6	0	1	0	—		34	0
	2015–16[34]	Premier League	32	2	3	0	2	0	—		37	2
	2016–17[35]	Championship	23	0	0	0	0	0	—		23	0
	Total		147	5	11	0	4	0	—		162	5
Burnley	2016–17[35]	Premier League	9	0	1	0	—		—		10	0
	2017–18[36]	Premier League	19	0	1	0	2	0	—		22	0
	2018–19[37]	Premier League	34	2	1	0	1	0	5[c]	0	41	2
	2019–20[38]	Premier League	35	2	2	0	0	0	—		37	2
	2020–21[39]	Premier League	38	3	1	0	3	0	—		42	3
	2021–22[40]	Premier League	27	0	1	0	1	0	—		29	0
	2022–23[41]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		162	7	7	0	7	0	5	0	181	7
Charlotte FC	2023[42]	Major League Soccer	29	3	2	0	—		6[d]	0	37	3
Career total			466	29	23	1	16	0	18	0	523	30

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Two appearances in Football League Trophy, three in League Two play-offs
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Five appearances in Leagues Cup, one in MLS Cup Playoffs

Honours

Crewe Alexandra

• Football League Two play-offs: 2012^[43]

Individual

• Burnley Player of the Year: 2018–19^[44]

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 433. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
3. "Crewe offer deals to youngsters". BBC Sport. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
4. "Non-league football: Shotton is going nowhere, says Davis". The Sentinel. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
5. "Crewe Alexandra 0–1 Notts County". Crewe Alexandra F.C. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
6. "Westwood named Crewe Alexandra player of the season". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
7. "New Crewe Alexandra deal for Ashley Westwood". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
8. "Ashley Westwood handed Crewe Alexandra captaincy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
9. "Crewe boss Steve Davis reveals Ashley Westwood enquiries". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
10. Morse, Peter (29 August 2012). "Crewe Alex: Railwaymen braced for Swansea bid for Westwood". Crewe Chronicle. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
11. "Westwood signs for Villa on four-year deal". Aston Villa F.C. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
12. "Aston Villa 2–0 Swansea" BBC Sport. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
13. "Sunderland 0–1 Aston Villa". Aston Villa F.C. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
14. "Aston Villa reward midfielder Ashley Westwood with new four-year contract". Sky Sports News. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
15. "West Bromwich Albion 2–2 Aston Villa" BBC Sport. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
16. "Manchester United 4–1 Aston Villa" BBC Sport. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
17. 3 May 2014, Aston Villa 3–1 Hull City
18. "Ashley Westwood seemed impatient to help Aston Villa out". 3 May 2014.
19. "Westwood signs new contract". Aston Villa F.C. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
20. "Ashley Westwood: Burnley sign Aston Villa midfielder". BBC Sport. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
21. "Liverpool 4–2 Burnley". BBC Sport. 10 March 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
22. "Double Top For Westwood". Burnley F.C. 5 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
23. "Newcastle United 3–1 Burnley". BBC Sport. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
24. Fordham, Josh (18 April 2022). "DISTRAUGHT Ashley Westwood injury update with Nikola Vlasic in tears and consoled by West Ham teammates as Burnley star is stretchered off and taken to hospital". Talk Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
25. Club, Charlotte Football. "Charlotte FC Sign Midfielder Ashley Westwood | Charlotte FC". Charlotte Football Club. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
26. "Westwood makes Villa move". Sky Sports. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
27. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
28. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
29. "A. Westwood". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
30. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
31. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
32. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
33. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
34. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
35. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
36. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
37. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
38. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
39. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
40. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
41. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
42. "Games played by Ashley Westwood in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
43. "Cheltenham Town v Crewe Alexandra, 27 May 2012 - 11v11 match report". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
44. Coates, Charlotte (8 May 2019). "Ashley Westwood celebrates best season yet". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2024.

External links

• Ashley Westwood profile Archived 15 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine at the Burnley F.C. website
• Ashley Westwood at Soccerbase