Flynn Downes

Flynn Downes (born 20 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League One club Ipswich Town and the England national under-20 team.

Flynn Downes
Downes playing for Ipswich Town in 2017
Personal information
Full name Flynn Downes[1]
Date of birth (1999-01-20) 20 January 1999[2]
Place of birth Brentwood, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Ipswich Town
Number 21
Youth career
2006–2017 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– Ipswich Town 77 (3)
2018 → Luton Town (loan) 10 (0)
National team‡
2017–2018 England U19 5 (0)
2018– England U20 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:33, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:56, 11 February 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Ipswich Town

Downes was born in Brentwood, Essex.[4] He joined Ipswich Town at the age of seven,[2] signing a two-year scholarship in May 2015.[5] Downes signed a one-year professional contract with the club on 29 June 2017, with the option of a further year.[6] However, after impressing manager Mick McCarthy during pre-season, he signed a new three-year contract with Ipswich on 19 July to keep him at the club until the summer of 2020.[7] He made his professional debut on the opening day of 2017–18, coming on as a substitute for the injured Andre Dozzell in first-half stoppage time in a 1–0 home victory over Birmingham City.[8]

Luton Town (loan)

On 31 January 2018, Downes joined League Two leaders Luton Town on loan until the end of 2017–18.[9] He made his debut three days later, starting in Luton's 1–0 home win over Exeter City.[10] Following the match, manager Nathan Jones said "He was outstanding. It's as if he lives here in terms of the way he went about the pitch, the confidence he played with, the security and everything he had".[11] Downes finished the loan with 10 appearances,[12] as Luton were promoted to League One after finishing second in League Two.[13]

Return to Ipswich

Following his return from loan, Downes played regularly for the first team during the 2018–19 season, making 30 appearances across all competitions – ending in the team being relegated to League One.[14] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in March 2019, with the option of a further year, and scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 home victory over Leeds United on the final day of the season.[15][16]

Downes remained a regular player for Ipswich following relegation to League One during the 2019–20 season. He scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 home win over Shrewsbury Town on 31 August.[17] On 1 December 2019, Downes captained Ipswich for the first time in a FA Cup second round tie against Coventry City, which ended as a 1–1 draw. Aged just 20 years old, this made him the youngest ever player to captain The Tractor Boys in their history.[18]

Following his impressive performances for the Blues, Downes was linked with a move away from the club during summer 2020. On 1 September, the club confirmed that it had rejected 2 bids for Downes from a Premier League club, widely reported to be Crystal Palace.[19] After the second bid was rejected, Downes reportedly handed in a transfer request and subsequently was left out of the squad for the club's opening three games.[20]

Following some time out of the side due to transfer speculation, Downes returned to the first-team on 16 September, coming on as a second half substitute in an EFL Cup second round tie against Fulham. He continued to feature from the bench for the next few matches, before suffering a knee injury in a 1–1 draw with MK Dons on 3 October, with the injury expected to rule him out of action for two months.[21]

International career

Downes was called up to the England under-19 team on 24 August 2017 for two friendly matches against Poland and Germany.[22] He made his debut on 5 September against the latter, starting in a 3–1 defeat, in which he was substituted in the 60th minute.[23] He was capped five times by England at under-19 level.[24] Downes was named on standby for the England under-20 team on 9 November 2018 for a match against Germany.[25] He was called into the squad three days later[26] and earned his first cap as an 89th-minute substitute in a 2–0 victory the following week.[27][28]

Career statistics
As of match played 6 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ipswich Town 2017–18[12] Championship 1000020—120
2018–19[14] Championship 2911000—301
2019–20[29] League One 292201000322
2020–21[30] League One 90001000100
Total 773304000843
Luton Town (loan) 2017–18[12] League Two 100———100
Career total 873304000943

    Honours

    Individual

    References
    1. "EFL: Club retained and released lists published". English Football League. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
    2. Watson, Stuart (15 July 2017). "Seven academy graduates trying to catch the eye for Ipswich Town in pre-season". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    3. "Flynn Downes: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
    4. "Flynn Downes". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
    5. "Sons of Dozzell and Wright amongst new scholars". TWTD.co.uk. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
    6. "Trio sign first pro deals". TWTD.co.uk. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
    7. "Downes signs another new deal". TWTD.co.uk. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
    8. Watson, Stuart (5 August 2017). "Ipswich Town 1 Birmingham City 0 match report – Joe Garner's debut goal seals gritty win". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    9. "Luton sign Liverpool's Lloyd Jones, Ipswich's Flynn Downes & Plymouth's Jake Jervis". BBC Sport. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
    10. Simmonds, Mike (3 February 2018). "Cornick seals vital victory for the Hatters". Luton Today. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
    11. Simmonds, Mike (4 February 2018). "Hatters boss hails 'outstanding' Downes". Luton Today. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
    12. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
    13. "League Two: 2017/18: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
    14. "F. Downes: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
    15. Warren, Andy (30 March 2019). "Downes signs new Town deal until the summer of 2022". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
    16. Warren, Andy (5 May 2019). "Ipswich Town 3–2 Leeds United: Quaner wins dramatic game for Blues as Lambert's men sign off with a victory". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
    17. "Ipswich Town 3–0 Shrewsbury Town". 31 August 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
    18. https://twitter.com/chompx3/status/1201132163585990656
    19. "BIDS REJECTED FOR FLYNN". www.itfc.co.uk.
    20. "PAUL ON FLYNN SPECULATION". www.itfc.co.uk.
    21. "Flynn and Stephen Suffer Injury Blows". Ipswich Town F.C. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
    22. Brammer, Chris (24 August 2017). "Ipswich Town's Tristan Nydam and Flynn Downes get England Under-19 calls for Poland and Germany games". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    23. "Downes wins first cap but England U19s defeated". TWTD.co.uk. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
    24. "England's matches: The under 19's: 2010–20". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin, Glen Isherwood & Peter Young. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
    25. Watson, Stuart (9 November 2018). "Dozzell and Chalobah in England U20 squad for game at Colchester, with Bramble handed coaching role". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    26. Warren, Andy (12 November 2018). "Downes added to England U20 squad for Germany clash at Colchester". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    27. Warren, Andy (19 November 2018). "Andy's Angles: Captain Chalobah, Andre's display and Downes' debut – observations as England U20s beat Germany". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    28. "England's matches: The under 20's". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin, Glen Isherwood & Peter Young. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
    29. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
    30. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
    31. Heath, Mark (2 May 2018). "Bialkowski a double winner at Town's end of season awards as Celina claims best goal". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
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