George Taft

George William Taft (born 29 July 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back or left back for EFL League One club Scunthorpe United.

A graduate of Leicester City's youth academy, Taft failed to break into the first team and was loaned out to Kettering Town, Karlstad BK and York City. In 2014, he joined League Two club Burton Albion on a two-year contract. Taft was capped by England at under-18 and under-19 level, and was a member of the squad for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Club Career

Leicester City

Born in Leicester, Leicestershire, Taft started his career at Leicester City in their youth academy. He signed a professional contract with Leicester on 17 March 2011, tying him to the club until June 2013. To gain first-team experience, Taft was loaned out to Conference Premier club Kettering Town in August 2011 and after playing seven times had his loan spell extended by a month. He returned to Leicester in October 2011 having completed the loan with 14 appearances for Kettering. His first involvement with the Leicester first team was as an unused substitute against Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup third round tie which ended 0–0 on 7 January 2012. In the replay he was also an unused substitute, when Leicester won 4–0.

Taft went on loan to Swedish club Karlstad BK in Division 1 Sodra in March 2012. He made 12 appearances, returning to Leicester in July 2012. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Taft signed a one-year contract extension with Leicester. On 29 August 2013, Taft joined League Two club York City on a one-month loan, and made his debut two days later in the a 2–1 away defeat to Exeter City. Having made three appearances for York, he was sent back to Leicester on 23 September 2013 after falling behind David McGurk, Daniel Parslow and Chris Smith in the pecking order for a central defensive berth. Taft was released by Leicester on 9 May 2014, following the club's promotion to the Premier League for 2014–15.

Burton Al