Roy Syla

Roy Syla (born 20 June 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Woking.

Syla is a product of the Barnet academy, but he failed to break into the first team squad prior to his release in 2020. Following more than a year as a free agent, he transferred to Brentford in 2021. After two seasons of exclusively B team football, Syla's senior career began in earnest with Ayr United in 2023. He transferred to Albanian club Bylis in 2025. In 2026, Syla transferred to Woking. Born in England, Syla was capped by Albania at youth level.

Club career

Barnet A defensive midfielder, Syla began his career with Barnet at the age of 12 and he progressed through the club's academy to sign a professional contract in March 2018. He spent a large portion of the 2018–19 season away on loan at fellow non-League clubs Kings Langley and Hampton & Richmond Borough and remained at The Hive for 2019–20. Syla was released at the end of the COVID-19-affected 2019–20 season. He made two senior appearances for Barnet, both in Middlesex Senior Cup matches. He had spent periods of the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons on trial with the team and was a part of the 2021–22 London Senior Cup-winning squad. Late in the 2021–22 season, he participated in a first team training session.

Syla was re-signed as a free agent on 20 October 2022 and signed a one-year contract, with a one-year option. Despite being a B team player, but by virtue of being overage, Syla was named in Brentford's 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of the 2022–23 season. He was released at the end of the 2022–23 season.

Ayr United On 29 August 2023, Syla signed a two-year contract with Scottish Championship club Ayr United on a free transfer. He made 28 appearances and scored two goals during a mid-table 2023–24 season. Syla appeared sparingly during the first half of the 2024–25 season and his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 16 January 2025. He made 40 appearances and scored two goals during 17 months at Somerset Park. Syla began making appearances for Albanian Kategoria Superiore club Bylis in March 2025. Syla made 11 appearances prior to suffering a season-ending ankle injury in mid-March 2026. He signed a one-year contract extension in May 2026.

International career Syla was capped by Albania at U17, U19, U20 and U21 level. He was a member of the U17 team's 2016 Kazakhstan President Cup squad and captained the U19 team to the final of the 2018 Roma Caput Mundi International Tournament.

Personal life Syla was born in London to Albanian parents. National League 0 0 0 0

1 0 1 0 2019–20 0 20 0 Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) 2018–19 0 6 0

2023–24 Scottish Championship 24 1 3 1

1 0 28 2 2024–25 Scottish Championship 9 0 0 0 2 0 1 National League 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 1

14 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 17 1

71!!2!!5!!1!!3!!0 8 0!!87!!3

Honours Brentford B London Senior Cup: 2021–22