| Taylor playing for Ajax in 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Ina Dorothea Taylor [1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 May 2002 [2] | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Alkmaar, Netherlands | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [3] | |||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Lazio | |||||||||||||
| Number | 24 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| –2010 | SV De Foresters | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2019 | Ajax | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Jong Ajax | 60 | (14) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2026 | Ajax | 130 | (25) | |||||||||||
| 2026– | Lazio | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Netherlands U15 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Netherlands U16 | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Netherlands U17 | 14 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Netherlands U21 | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Netherlands | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:54, 1 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23 March 2025 | ||||||||||||||
Kenneth Ina Dorothea Taylor (born 16 May 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Lazio and the Netherlands national team. [3]
A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, [4] Taylor joined the club in 2010 from SV De Foresters. He made his professional debut for the reserve team, Jong Ajax, on 15 October 2018, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute for Jasper ter Heide in an Eerste Divisie match against Jong PSV. [5] Over the following seasons, he became a regular fixture for Jong Ajax, eventually captaining the side and scoring 14 goals in 60 appearances by early 2022. [6]
Taylor made his senior debut for AFC Ajax on 12 December 2020 in a 4–0 victory against PEC Zwolle, entering as a 64th-minute substitute for Perr Schuurs. [6] His first-team opportunities remained limited until the latter half of the 2021–22 season under manager Erik ten Hag. On 6 February 2022, he scored his first Eredivisie goal against Heracles Almelo just two minutes after coming off the bench, converting an assist from Sébastien Haller in a 3–0 win. [7] He finished the campaign with 19 appearances, helping Ajax secure the league title. [6] In July 2022, he extended his contract with the club until 2027. [8]
Following the departure of Ryan Gravenberch in the summer of 2022, Taylor became a regular starter in the Ajax midfield during the 2022–23 season. [7] He made 44 appearances across all competitions, contributing 9 goals and 4 assists. [6] His strong performances were recognised when he was named the Eredivisie Talent of the Month for November 2022. [9] At the conclusion of the season, he was awarded the Marco van Basten Award as the Ajax Talent of the Year. [10]
During the 2023–24 season, Taylor remained a key player despite the team's collective struggles and frequent managerial changes. Playing primarily under Maurice Steijn and later John van 't Schip, he recorded 8 goals in 47 appearances. He also scored his first European goals that season, netting twice in the UEFA Europa League and once in the UEFA Europa Conference League. [6]
The 2024–25 season under new manager Francesco Farioli proved to be Taylor's most prolific to date. Given a more advanced role in midfield, he displayed improved goalscoring form, finishing the campaign as Ajax's top league scorer with 9 goals in 33 matches. [11] A major highlight of his season came on 2 February 2025 in De Klassieker against rivals Feyenoord, where he scored a dramatic 94th-minute winner to secure a 2–1 victory at the Johan Cruyff Arena. [12] He was also instrumental in Europe, scoring 6 goals during the club's run in the UEFA Europa League. [6] In recognition of his consistent performance, Taylor was named Ajax Player of the Year in May 2025. [13]
In the summer of 2025, Taylor was the subject of a transfer bid from Farioli's new club, Portuguese club FC Porto, which was rejected by Ajax; Taylor subsequently expressed his commitment to the Amsterdam club. [14] He began the 2025–26 season as a starter in the UEFA Champions League, making four appearances in the group stage. However, his progress was interrupted in late 2025 by an injury that ruled him out of action through December. [6]
On 9 January 2026, Taylor signed for Serie A side Lazio until June 2030 for a fee of €15 million in addition to add-ons. [15]
Taylor has represented the Netherlands at various youth levels, beginning with the under-15 team in 2017. He was a member of the Netherlands U17 squad that won the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. [16] Later that year, he captained the U17s at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil. [17] He subsequently progressed to the Netherlands U21 team, earning 15 caps and scoring once between 2021 and 2024, [6] and was included in the squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Romania. [18]
Taylor made his senior debut for the Netherlands on 22 September 2022 under manager Louis van Gaal, appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 UEFA Nations League victory over Poland. [19] He was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad in Qatar, where he made one appearance as a substitute in the final group stage match against the hosts. [20]
On 24 March 2023, Taylor earned his fourth cap in a 4–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying loss to France. [21] He made his next international appearance two years later, coming on as a substitute in the UEFA Nations League Finals quarter-final second leg against Spain on 23 March 2025. [22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong Ajax | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Eerste Divisie | 29 | 7 | — | — | — | 29 | 7 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Eerste Divisie | 11 | 7 | — | — | — | 11 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 60 | 14 | — | — | — | 60 | 14 | |||||
| Ajax | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 [b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 32 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 8 [c] | 0 | 1 [d] | 0 | 44 | 9 | |
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 [e] | 3 | — | 47 | 8 | ||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 17 [f] | 6 | — | 52 | 15 | ||
| 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 [b] | 0 | — | 19 | 2 | ||
| Total | 130 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 44 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 184 | 36 | ||
| Lazio | 2025–26 | Serie A | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 198 | 40 | 11 | 2 | 44 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 254 | 51 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2022 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
Ajax [25]
Netherlands U17
Individual