Lee O'Connor (footballer)
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.
| 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 | 2 | ||
| 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) | 14 | (0) |
| 2022– | Tranmere Rovers | 60 | (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, 12 September 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:50, 27 September 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early career
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]
Partick Thistle loan
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
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
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
Club
- 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[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Celtic | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 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[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2020–21 | EFL League Two | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2021–22 | EFL League Two | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Tranmere Rovers | 2021–22 | EFL League Two | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 45 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Tranmere Rovers 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 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup
International
- As of match played on 14 November 2019[15]
| Republic of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 |
Honours
Individual
References
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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
- Lee O'Connor – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Lee O'Connor at FootballDatabase.eu
- Lee O'Connor at Soccerway