Hayden Lindley

Hayden Taylor Lindley (born 2 September 2002) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder. Lindley is a product of the Aston Villa Academy and was also on the books of Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers as a junior. He appeared in the EFL Cup for Aston Villa and in the Football League for Newport County before moving into non-league football.

Early career
After impressing for the under-eights team of local side Honley Junior Football Club, Lindley joined the youth setup at Blackburn Rovers in October 2008. Soon after, he also began training with Manchester City's academy at a site in Bradford. Lindley was also approached by Leeds United but did not join them. Lindley remained with City until July 2019, when he departed to join Aston Villa.

Aston Villa
On 8 January 2021, Lindley made his first-team debut for Aston Villa as a substitute in a FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool, after Villa had been forced to name a team of inexperienced academy players after a large number of first-team players tested positive for COVID-19.

Lindley was a member of the Aston Villa U18s team that won the 2021 FA Youth Cup, beating Liverpool U18s 2–1 in the final.

On 7 July 2021, Lindley was one of several young players who signed a new contract with Aston Villa. Lindley again appeared for the first team on 24 August in Villa's away EFL Cup victory at Barrow, coming off the bench in the second half as a late substitute for Frédéric Guilbert.

On 1 September 2022, Lindley joined Newport County on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. He made his debut for Newport on 13 September as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 League Two defeat to Stevenage. Lindley returned to Villa on 1 January 2023, after making only five league appearances for Newport in the first half of the season.

Towards the end of the 2022–23 season, with the end of his Aston Villa contract approaching, Lindley was allowed to go on trial with League One club Cheltenham Town. He was released by Aston Villa when his contract expired.

Darlington
After leaving Aston Villa, Lindley played one match for Northern Counties East League club Golcar United on a non-contract basis, a 1–1 draw against Bottesford Town on 14 October 2023.

Lindley signed permanently for National League North club Darlington on 24 October. He made his debut the same day, as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against Blyth Spartans. Lindley was a regular starter in 2023, but fell out of contention in 2024, and on 28 March he joined Northern Premier League Division One East club Pontefract Collieries on loan until the end of the season. He was released by Darlington when his contract expired.

Honours
Aston Villa U18s
 * FA Youth Cup: 2020–21