Nathaniel Edwin Clyne (born 5 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back, right wing-back, or centre-back for club Crystal Palace.
A Crystal Palace academy graduate, Clyne made his senior debut in 2008, playing regularly in four Championship seasons, being named Football League Young Player of the Year in 2010 and the club's Player of the Season in 2011 and making 137 appearances. In 2012, he was signed by Premier League side Southampton where he spent three seasons, making over 100 appearances and scored five goals in all competitions.
Clyne was signed by Liverpool in July 2015 for a fee of ã12.5 million, starting as Liverpool lost the 2016 League Cup and Europa League finals. Initially an integral starter in the squad, he suffered persistent injury problems and lost his place to youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold before having a brief loan spell with Bournemouth. After making over 100 appearances for Liverpool, he rejoined boyhood club Crystal Palace in 2020, making a further 100 appearances and winning the FA Cup in 2025.
Formerly an international at under-19 and under-21 level, Clyne made his senior international debut for England in November 2014. He was selected for Euro 2016 and made a total of 14 appearances for his country.
Clyne was born in Stockwell, South London, and played for nearby Afewee Academy, before being spotted by Crystal Palace who signed him for their youth academy. He made his Palace debut for the first-team in a 3âÂÂ0 Championship win against Barnsley at Selhurst Park on 18 October 2008. He signed a three-year professional contract with the club two days later, with the Palace manager at the time Neil Warnock stating that Clyne "has a bright future in the game". His first career goal came on 8 December 2009, when he opened the scoring in a 4âÂÂ2 win at Reading in the seventh minute. In February 2010 he was offered a move to Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, but rejected it without even entering talks with manager Mick McCarthy.
In the 2010âÂÂ11 season, Clyne was the youngest player in the Football League to play every single match of that campaign, and won Crystal Palace's Player of the Year award.
On 19 July 2012, Clyne signed a four-year deal with newly promoted Premier League club Southampton. He made his debut on 19 August, in a 3âÂÂ2 defeat against Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium. His first match at St Mary's came six days later in a 0âÂÂ2 defeat by Wigan Athletic. He scored his first goal for the club on 22 September, in a 4âÂÂ1 win at home against Aston Villa, set up by Gastón RamÃÂrez with England under-21 coach Stuart Pearce in attendance at St Mary's. His second goal for the club came in the FA Cup third round against Burnley on 4 January 2014, opening an eventual 4âÂÂ3 home victory with a 25-yard strike past Tom Heaton.
Clyne scored in Southampton's first match of the 2014âÂÂ15 season, a 2âÂÂ1 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield on 17 August. He scored his second goal of the campaign on 23 September, with a long-range effort which gave Southampton a 2âÂÂ1 victory at Arsenal in the League Cup third round. On 24 November, he finished Ryan Bertrand's 81st-minute cross to earn a 1âÂÂ1 draw away to Aston Villa.
On 1 July 2015, Liverpool confirmed the signing of Clyne from Southampton for ã12.5 million on a five-year contract, with his former club, Crystal Palace receiving a payment of ã2.5M. Clyne made his debut in a Liverpool shirt against the True Thai Premier League All Stars in Bangkok on 14 July as part of the club's pre-season tour. He made his competitive debut on 9 August in a 1âÂÂ0 away win against Stoke City in the first match of the 2015âÂÂ16 Premier League season. On 28 October, Clyne scored his first Liverpool goal in a 1âÂÂ0 League Cup fourth round victory over AFC Bournemouth; the team's first win under Jürgen Klopp. His first league goal came on 14 February 2016, in a 6âÂÂ0 win away to Aston Villa.
In March 2016, in Liverpool's first European matches against rivals Manchester United, Clyne won a penalty that Daniel Sturridge converted in the first leg, and conceded a penalty scored by Anthony Martial in the second, as Liverpool won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League. On 18 May, he played the full 90 minutes in the final, a 3âÂÂ1 loss to Sevilla in Basel.
Prior to the 2017âÂÂ18 season, Clyne suffered a back injury expected to rule him out until February 2018. On 31 March 2018, having missed the entire campaign up to this point, he made his first appearance on the team sheet as an unused substitute in Liverpool's 2âÂÂ1 league victory away to former club Crystal Palace. A week later on 7 April, he made his return, keeping a clean sheet in a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Everton in a Merseyside derby.
Clyne joined fellow Premier League club Bournemouth on 4 January 2019 on loan for the remainder of the 2018âÂÂ19 season. He made his debut the next day in a 3âÂÂ1 FA Cup third round defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.
On 20 July 2019, Clyne sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund. On 25 June 2020, after having made no appearances during the 2019âÂÂ20 season due to continuing injury problems, Liverpool confirmed that his contract would not be renewed and Clyne would leave the club.
After leaving Liverpool, Clyne trained with Crystal Palace in an attempt to regain fitness and was registered as a triallist in order to make appearances for the under-23 team. On 14 October 2020, he joined the club on a short-term contract. He made his debut ten days later in a 2âÂÂ1 win at Fulham. On 25 January 2021, Clyne signed a contract extension to remain at the club until the end of the 2020âÂÂ21 season.
On 6 August 2021, Clyne signed a new one-year contract with Crystal Palace and in June 2022, he signed a further contract extension keeping him at the club until 2023. In June 2023, Clyne signed a one-year extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until 2024. On 5 June 2024, the club said the player had signed another year-long extension. He was an unused substitute as Palace won the 2025 FA Cup final against Manchester City on 17 May 2025 for the club's, and Clyne's, first ever trophy. Following former captain and long-term serving player Joel Ward's departure that summer, Clyne became the last remaining Palace player to have represented the club in the EFL Championship.
Clyne was born in England and is of Grenadian descent through family.
On 2 October 2014, Clyne was named in the England squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Estonia later that month. He was an unused substitute in both matches. Clyne said "My aim, now, is to try to make myself first choice for Euro 2016. That's what I'm going to keep pushing for." On 15 November, he made his full international debut in a home qualifier against Slovenia, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3âÂÂ1 victory. Clyne went on to establish himself as first-choice right-back for England, appearing in five of their last six qualifiers.
Clyne has many tattoos, including of London landmarks. These include the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and Stockwell tube station, the nearest to his childhood home.
Liverpool
Crystal Palace
Individual