James Collins

Aston Villa

Born in Coventry, West Midlands, Collins started his career with Aston Villa. He attended the Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School in Coventry. In his final years at the club's academy and reserve teams, Collins had been a prolific goalscorer for the academy notching up 23 goals. His impact led manager Martin O'Neill to give Collins the opportunity to prove himself on loan the following season. He was loaned out in October 2009 on a three-month deal to Darlington, where he made his professional debut in a 3–0 loss to Barnet. He scored his first goal for Darlington in a 2–1 defeat at Hereford United on 31 October 2009. Three weeks later, on 21 November 2009, Collins scored again, a 35-yard lob, in a 5–2 loss against Chesterfield. Collins' spell at Darlington began successfully, however he found it difficult to remain in the first team and later returned to Aston Villa on 22 January 2010 when his loan spell terminated. On 15 October 2010, Collins joined League Two club Burton Albion on an emergency loan, and immediately made an impact by scoring two goals in his first three matches for the club. His good performance earned Collins a nomination for the League Two Player of the Month award. His good performance led Collins to stay at the club making a permanent move. On 15 November 2010, his loan spell was extended for a second month. After adding two more goals to his tally, his loan spell was extended for the third time. However, manager Paul Peschisolido…

Collins, who was born and raised in England, is also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level through his parents. He has represented Ireland at under-19 and under-21 levels. On 11 October 2011, Collins scored his first hat-trick of his international career, as Republic of Ireland under-21 beat Liechtenstein U-21, with a score 4–1. Upon a move to Hibernian, Collins hoped that his performances would get him a call-up to the senior squad. He received his first call-up to the senior national team in March 2019, when Mick McCarthy named him in a 38-man provisional selection for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia. Collins made his full international debut for Ireland on 10 September 2019, coming off the bench to score the third goal in a 3–1 win against Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium. On 24 March 2021, Collins scored his first competitive goal for Ireland in a 3-2 defeat away to Serbia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Club

As of end of 2025–26 season

International

As of match played 1 September 2021

As of match played 27 March 2021. Republic of Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Collins goal.

Collins's mother was born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, and moved to England at the age of four. Collins became a father for the first time in 2015, and was given paternity leave by Shrewsbury Town. In October 2011, Collins was arrested along with former Aston Villa teammate Barry Bannan after a Range Rover hit the central reservation of the M1 motorway in Nottinghamshire. The following month, Nottinghamshire Police confirmed that he would not face any charges, although Bannan was charged with four offences. On 15 March 2016, whilst attending the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, Collins and Milton Keynes Dons' Samir Carruthers were photographed urinating into a beer glass before Collins poured it over a balcony. The next day, Collins apologised for his behaviour and was fined two weeks' wages.