Aaron Wildig
Wildig playing for Cardiff City in 2010
Personal information
Full name Aaron Keith Wildig[1]
Date of birth (1992-04-15) 15 April 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Hereford, England
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Newport County
Number 24
Youth career
2008–2009 Cardiff City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Cardiff City 13 (1)
2011 → Hamilton Academical (loan) 3 (0)
2011–2012 → Shrewsbury Town (loan) 12 (2)
2012–2015 Shrewsbury Town 52 (3)
2014–2015 → Kidderminster Harriers (loan) 4 (0)
2015 → Morecambe (loan) 9 (1)
2015–2022 Morecambe 204 (19)
2022– Newport County 47 (3)
International career
2008 Wales U16 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:17, 20 January 2024 (UTC)

Aaron Keith Wildig (born 15 April 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Newport County.

Club career

Cardiff City

Wildig was born in Hereford, and began his career at Cardiff City, making his way through the club's youth system, including captaining the under-18 side.[2][3] In April 2009, Wildig signed a professional contract at the club,[4] before going on to make his professional debut at the start of the 2009–10 season, replacing Miguel Comminges during a 3–1 win over Dagenham & Redbridge in the first round of the League Cup on 11 August.[5] He made two more appearances in the competition for Cardiff, in the second round win over Bristol Rovers and the third round defeat to Aston Villa. His league debut came nearly three months later when he replaced Riccardo Scimeca at half time during a 2–0 win over West Bromwich Albion on 8 December.[6] He made his first start on 12 January 2010 in the FA Cup tie with rivals Bristol City,[7] and then made his first league start on 16 January against Scunthorpe United. During his next league appearance, Wildig scored the first professional goal of his career during a 5–1 defeat to Newcastle United.[8]

He moved on loan to Scottish Premier League club Hamilton Academical on 25 January 2011 until the end of the season.[9] He made his debut 4 days later in a 1–1 draw with Kilmarock[10] and made 3 more appearances before returning at the end of the season.

On 8 November 2011, he joined League Two side Shrewsbury Town on a loan.[11] He made his debut for the club on 12 November, in a FA Cup match against Newport County. He scored his first goal on 19 November, in a 7–2 win over Northampton Town, however he suffered an ankle injury in the following game, which kept him out for the rest of the month. He extended his loan by an extra month on 8 December.[12] On 17 January 2012, Wildig extended the loan again till the end of the season.[13] Following a late season surge in form, he impressed Shrewsbury boss Graham Turner and following the club's promotion to League One, Turner offered Wildig a contract at Shrewsbury.[14]

On 21 May 2012, Wildig was released by Cardiff along with six of his fellow players.[15] He had spent a total of four years at the club, but he was not part of the future plans of new manager Malky Mackay.

Shrewsbury Town

On 29 May 2012, Wildig agreed a deal to join Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer.[16] He made his debut as a contracted Shrewsbury player on 11 August 2012, in a League Cup match against Leeds United, where he was a substitute for fellow former Cardiff City player Joe Jacobson.[17] He went on to make 21 league appearances that season, scoring once against Bury.[18]

Wildig signed a one-year contract extension on 21 May 2013,[19] and by playing an unspecified number of matches the following season triggered a clause to extend his contract for a further year.[20] However, he went on loan to Kidderminster Harriers in January 2015 having not featured for Shrewsbury that season so far under new manager Micky Mellon.[21]

Following the expiry of his loan, he returned to Shrewsbury Town, finally making his first appearance of the season, coming on as a substitute for Keith Southern in the 2–1 home defeat against Northampton Town.[22] He then joined Morecambe on loan in March 2015.[23]

It was announced on 8 May 2015 that Wildig would be released at the end of the season when his Shrewsbury contract expired.[24]

Morecambe

Wildig joined former loan club Morecambe on a two-year contract on 6 June 2015.[25] He signed a new one-year contract in June 2019.[26]

Newport County

After turning down a new contract with Morecambe, Newport County announced the signing of Wildig on 6 June 2022.[27] He made his debut for Newport on 30 July 2022 in the starting line up for the 1–1 League Two draw against Sutton United.[28] Wildig scored his first goal for Newport on 24 August 2022 in the 3–2 EFL Cup second round win against Portsmouth.[29]

International career

Despite being born in England, Wildig instead chose to play for Wales and represented the Under-16 side.[4][30] It was later discovered, however, that Wildig did not qualify for Wales as his only Welsh relative is a great-great-great-grandfather and the international ruling on familial linkage only allows qualification through a parent or grandparent.[31]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cardiff City 2009–10[32] Championship 11 1 3 0 3 0 0 0 17 1
2010–11[33] Championship 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
2011–12[34] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 13 1 4 0 4 0 0 0 21 1
Hamilton Academical (loan) 2010–11[33] Scottish Premier League 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Shrewsbury Town (loan) 2011–12[34] League Two 12 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 2
Shrewsbury Town 2012–13[35] League One 21 1 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 24 1
2013–14[36] League One 30 2 1 0 1 1 1[a] 0 33 3
2014–15[37] League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 64 5 3 0 2 1 2 0 71 6
Kidderminster Harriers (loan) 2014–15[37] Conference Premier 4 0 — — — 4 0
Morecambe (loan) 2014–15[37] League Two 9 1 — — — 9 1
Morecambe 2015–16[38] League Two 32 2 2 1 1 0 2[a] 0 37 3
2016–17[39] League Two 28 2 2 0 0 0 2[b] 0 32 2
2017–18[40] League Two 31 1 2 0 0 0 1[b] 0 34 1
2018–19[41] League Two 26 1 2 0 1 0 1[b] 0 30 1
2019–20[42] League Two 28 3 1 0 1 0 3[b] 1 33 4
2020–21[43] League Two 37 8 3 0 2 1 4[c] 1 46 10
2021–22[44] League One 22 2 2 1 0 0 3[b] 0 27 3
Total 213 20 14 2 5 1 16 2 248 25
Newport County 2022–23[45] League Two 29 3 0 0 2 1 1[b] 0 32 4
2023–24[46] League Two 14 0 3 0 2 1 2[b] 0 21 1
Total 43 3 3 0 4 2 3 0 53 5
Career total 340 29 25 2 15 4 21 2 401 37
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy
  3. ^ One appearance in the EFL Trophy, three appearances and one goal in the EFL League Two play-offs

Honours

Shrewsbury Town

Morecambe

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Morecambe" (PDF). English Football League. p. 44. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Brilliant Win For City Youngsters". South Wales Echo. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Swans Spot on Against Cardiff". swanseacity.net. 15 April 2009. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Wildig Signs Pro Deal". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. 15 April 2009. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Cardiff 3–1 Dag & Red". BBC Sport. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  6. ^ "West Brom 0–2 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Bristol City 1–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 12 January 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  8. ^ "Newcastle 5–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  9. ^ "Accies To Land Cardiff Starlet". Sky Sports. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Hamilton 1–1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Wildig Joins Shrewsbury on Loan". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Wildig To Stay Another Month". shrewsburytown.com. 8 December 2011. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Wildig To Stay on Loan To Shrews". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Gaffer Interested in Wildig". shrewsburytown.com. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Heaton Heads City Departure List". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  16. ^ "Cardiff City Midfielder Aaron Wildig To Sign For Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  17. ^ "Leeds United 4–0 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  18. ^ "Bury 2–2 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  19. ^ "Aaron Wildig Signs New One-Year Deal". BBC Sport. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  20. ^ "Aaron Wildig Onboard For Next Season". Shrewsweb. 12 May 2014. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  21. ^ "NEW SIGNING: Harriers sign midfielder Aaron Wildig on loan". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 19 January 2015. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  22. ^ "Shrewsbury Town 1–2 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  23. ^ "Morecambe: Danny Ward and Aaron Wildig join on loan". BBC Sport. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  24. ^ "Town budget holds the key to trio's future". Shropshire Star. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  25. ^ "Wildig Signs". Morecambe F.C. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  26. ^ "Aaron Wildig: Morecambe midfielder signs one-year deal". BBC Sport. 6 June 2019.
  27. ^ Wildig joins Newport
  28. ^ Newport debut
  29. ^ "Newport kept up their Carabao Cup giant-killing by beating Portsmouth". BBC.
  30. ^ "Wales Under 16 Football News". dragonsoccer.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  31. ^ "International Blow For Hereford Footballer". Hereford Times. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  32. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  33. ^ a b "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  34. ^ a b "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  35. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  36. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  37. ^ a b c "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  38. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  39. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  40. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  41. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  42. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  43. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  44. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  45. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  46. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wildig in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  47. ^ "A.Wildig". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 April 2023.

External links

Newport County A.F.C. – current squad
Categories