Jonathan Walters

Blackburn Rovers

Walters was born in Moreton, Merseyside and started his career at Blackburn Rovers having been spotted by playing for Shaftesbury under 16s in the Eastham & District Junior League by Rovers' scout for Wirral and Wales, Mike O'Brien who moved quickly to sign him. He played for Blackburn's youth and reserve teams where he scored prolifically, helping the club reach the FA Youth Cup final in 2001, losing 6–3 on aggregate to Arsenal. However his promising career with Rovers was ended due to a 'serious breach of club discipline' which was described as 'totally out of character' and saw him suspended by the club.

Bolton Wanderers

He then joined Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £50,000 following interest from numerous clubs. He played in four Premier League games for Bolton making his professional debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic, before signing for Hull City on loan in 2003. On his debut for Hull Walters scored twice in a 5–1 win over Carlisle United. Following his loan spell at Hull, Walters returned to Bolton, where he again went out on loan, this time to Crewe Alexandra however he failed to make an appearance for Crewe due to a tooth infection. In the 2003–04 season he joined Barnsley on loan and played eight league games for the "Tykes".

Hull City

Walters signed for Hull City for a second time in 2004, this time on a permanent transfer. In February 2005, he joined Scunthorpe United on a one-month…

Walters qualifies to play for the Republic of Ireland national team through his Irish mother. He made his international debut for Republic of Ireland U21 against Switzerland in October 2003, scoring twice in a 2–0 win. He also played for the Republic of Ireland B team against Scotland B team in 2007. In 2010, Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni stated that he could give Walters a call up to the national side in the future. He was called up in November 2010 for the friendly match against Norway and was brought on as a half-time substitute in that game to make his senior international début. Walters was given the nod ahead of Simon Cox in the crucial Play-off game against Estonia and Walters repaid by scoring his first international goal in the 4–0 victory over Estonia in Tallinn in the first leg of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs. On 26 March 2013, Walters scored two goals against Austria before a late strike from David Alaba gave the Austrians a 2–2 draw. Walters was included in Giovanni Trappatoni’s 23-man squad for Euro 2012. During the tournament Walters made substitute appearances in all three of Ireland’s group games during the tournament as Ireland were eliminated finishing their group with 0 points. Walters scored twice in a UEFA Euro 2016 play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 16 November 2015 to earn Ireland a 2–0 victory and qualification to UEFA Euro 2016.

Walters was named as a part of Martin O’Neill’s 23-man squad for Euro 2016. Walters started…

In May 2021, Walters was invited to join the coaching staff of Republic of Ireland U19s for a three-day training camp based in England. In December 2022, Walters was appointed Technical Director of League One club Fleetwood Town. In addition to this, he would also hold the role at Fleetwood's sister club Waterford. He left these roles after six months at the end of the 2022–23 season. On 22 February 2024, following the departure of Ricky Martin, Walters returned to former club Stoke City in the role of Interim Technical Director. In April 2024 Walters, was appointed as sporting director on a permanent basis.

Walters was brought up in Moreton, Merseyside, and the house in which he lived was opposite a number of community football pitches. He grew up supporting Everton. He is married and has two daughters and a son. One of his daughters, Scarlett was born with gastroschisis. His mother died when he was young and was brought up by his father James, along with his brothers Aidan and James and his sister Samantha.