Lee O'Connor (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Patrick O'Connor[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 July 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Waterford City, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | Villa F.C. | ||
| 2016–2019 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Celtic | 0 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Partick Thistle (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 35 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 31 | (0) |
| 2022– | Tranmere Rovers | 72 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2017 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 14 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 13 | (2) |
| 2019–2022 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 26 | (1) |
| 2019 | Republic of Ireland | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:23, 13 November 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:50, 27 September 2022 (UTC) | |||
Lee Patrick O'Connor (born 28 July 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Tranmere Rovers and the Republic of Ireland national team.[3] He has also spent time on loan at Partick Thistle.
Club career
[edit]Early career
[edit]In 2016, O'Connor moved from Villa F.C. of Waterford to the Manchester United youth team, signing a three-year contract.[4] On 6 August 2019, O'Connor played an EFL Trophy match for Manchester United U21s away to Rotherham United, winning 2–0 at the New York Stadium.[5]
Celtic
[edit]In September 2019, O'Connor joined Celtic, signing a four-year contract until 2023.[6][7]
Partick Thistle loan
[edit]In January 2020, O'Connor joined Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle on loan, joining Ian McCall's side for the second half of the season.[8] He made his debut in senior club football on 25 January 2020, in a 2–1 loss to Arbroath.[9] He made five appearances in all competitions for the club before the season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]
Tranmere Rovers
[edit]O'Connor joined League Two club Tranmere Rovers on 17 August 2020 on a season-long loan.[11] He made 42 appearances over the course of the season and returned to Celtic for pre-season.[12] O'Connor returned to Tranmere Rovers on another season long loan on transfer deadline day, 31 August 2021.[13] The transfer was made permanent in January 2022.[14]
International career
[edit]O'Connor made his international debut, and recorded an assist, for the Republic of Ireland on 14 November 2019 in a friendly match against New Zealand.[15][16][17] O'Connor was announced as the FAI Under-21 International Player of the Year for 2019 on 4 August 2020.[18] O'Connor holds the record number of underage appearances for the Republic of Ireland with 78 appearances across all underage teams.[19]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 19 August 2023[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United | 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Celtic | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Partick Thistle (loan) | 2019–20 | Scottish Championship | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2020–21 | EFL League Two | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[a] | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2021–22 | EFL League Two | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Tranmere Rovers | 2021–22 | EFL League Two | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | EFL League Two | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | EFL League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 109 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 126 | 0 | |||
| Career Total | 113 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 133 | 0 | ||
- ^ a b c d e Appearances in EFL Trophy
- ^ a b c Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup
International
[edit]- As of match played on 14 November 2019[15]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
[edit]Individual
- FAI Under-15 International Player of the Year: 2015[20]
- FAI Under-19 International Player of the Year: 2018[21]
- FAI Under-21 International Player of the Year: 2019[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Tranmere Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 71. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ Lee O'Connor at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Lee O'Connor". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ McKeegan, Alice (22 April 2016). "New Manchester United signing Lee O'Connor reacts to transfer". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "Rotherham United vs. Manchester United U21 – 6 August 2019 – Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Lee O'Connor joins Celtic on four-year deal from Manchester United". Celtic FC. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Celtic sign defensive duo Lee O'Connor and Jeremie Frimpong". BBC Sport. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ "Loan News: Lee O'Connor joins on loan". Partick Thistle FC. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Arbroath vs. Partick Thistle – 25 January 2020 – Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland – L. O'Connor – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Lee O'Connor and Paul Lewis join Tranmere Rovers". tranmererovers.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Republic of Ireland – L.O'Connor". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ "Lee O'Connor returns on loan for the 2021/22 season". tranmererovers.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Tranmere sign O'Connor on permanent deal". BBC Sport.
- ^ a b "Lee O'Connor". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ "Bright prospects and lesser lights impress as Ireland see off New Zealand in Aviva friendly". The 42. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Celtic's Lee O'Connor sets up Republic of Ireland goal in first cap before club debut". BBC Sport. 14 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Jack Byrne and Celtic's Lee O'Connor among FAI Player of the Year Awards winners". The42. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Crawford praises class of 2022 U21 internationals | Football Association of Ireland".
- ^ Barry, Stephen (20 March 2016). "Walters wins Player of the Year gong at FAI awards". Irish Examiner. Landmark Media Investments. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ Malone, Emmet (17 March 2019). "Shane Duffy named Republic of Ireland Player of the Year". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
External links
[edit]- Lee O'Connor – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Lee O'Connor at Soccerway
