Former Swansea City and Leicester City winger Nathan Dyer has announced his retirement from football.
Dyer started his career at Southampton, where he spent ten years in the youth teams before earning his first professional contract in 2005.
He had a brief but successful loan spell at Burnley before becoming a regular in the first team at St Mary’s.
Following two seasons of limited playing time, the Englishman had stints on loan at Sheffield United and Swansea City, the latter of whom he would later join permanently. It was in Wales where he would spend the majority of his career.
In his second full season at the Swans, he was a key part of Brendan Rodgers’ side that achieved promotion to the Premier League.
Dyer played all 46 league games and all three play-off matches as the Welsh club reached the top flight for the first time in 28 years.
The winger continued to make an impression in the Premier League, scoring five times in 34 outings in the 2011/12 season – including a strike in a dramatic 3-2 win over Arsenal.
His blistering pace and trickery proved to be a handful for opposing defenders.
The following year featured what was arguably the highlight of his career. Facing League Two Bradford City in the 2013 League Cup final, Dyer bagged a brace as Swansea won their first major trophy in their history.
But this wasn’t the only major piece of silverware that the 33-year-old won in his career. He spent the 2015/16 campaign out on loan at Leicester City, where he was part of Claudio Ranieri’s miraculous title-winning side.
He featured 12 times in total, scoring once – a late winner in a 3-2 victory against Aston Villa.
Dyer has now decided to call time on his playing career, having been without a club since 2020. He plans to begin working with younger players about the mental challenges of professional football.
Speaking to Sky Sports about his decision, Dyer said: “I think if I had one wish, I would have applied myself more and push myself harder.
“But other than that, I’m so happy to look back and reflect on the career that I’ve had.
“I was lucky enough to have Cyrille Regis as my mentor when I was younger, and he helped me massively through a lot of highs and lows.
“I did struggle a few times, and he was always there to lean on and give me advice.
“I’m going to be working with my agency, and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.
“Helping the younger boys, obviously there are a lot of distractions, and the pressures of football – with me being through a lot of it, I’m able to help.”
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