Declan Frith (born 16 May 2002) is an English footballer who plays as a left-back or midfielder for Aston Villa.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Declan Frith[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 (age 20) | ||
| Place of birth | England[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back, midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 0000–2021 | Welling United | ||
| 2021 | Chelsea | ||
| 2021– | Aston Villa | ||
Having trialled with Charlton Athletic, Bromley and Sutton United, Frith failed to find a club to sign a professional contract with after leaving school. A further trial at Southend United would also prove unsuccessful, and he eventually settled at non-league Welling United.[3]
A change in FIFA regulations and the effects of Brexit meant that Premier League side Chelsea had to branch out their scouting network, notably bringing in a number of young, non-league players.[4] As a result of this, Frith was offered a trial with the West London-based club in February 2021, and signed in May of the same year.[5]
Used sparingly on either the left or right sides of midfield, Frith managed a total of five appearances for Chelsea's under-23 side, including featuring in an EFL Trophy game against Exeter City.[6]After initially being set for release at the end of the 2020–21 season, Frith continued to feature for Chelsea's youth teams.[6] He eventually left the club at the end of August 2021, and signed a professional contract with fellow Premier League side Aston Villa on 13 October 2021.[3][7][8]He settled quickly into the youth team of his new club, notably scoring twice on his debut against West Midlands rivals Birmingham City U23s.[9][10] He followed this up with a hat-trick against Coventry Sphinx in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup.[11]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chelsea U21 | 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Aston Villa U21 | 2022–23 | — | — | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||