James Lawrence (footballer)

James Alexander Lawrence (born 22 August 1992) is a professional footballer who plays for FC St. Pauli and the Wales national team.

James Lawrence
Lawrence with AS Trenčín in 2017
Personal information
Full name James Alexander Lawrence[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-22) 22 August 1992
Place of birth Henley-on-Thames, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre back, defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 FC St. Pauli
Number 3
Youth career
2001–2003 Arsenal
2005–2006 Queens Park Rangers
2008–2009 HFC Haarlem
2009–2011 Ajax
2011–2012 Sparta Rotterdam
2012–2014 RKC Waalwijk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 AS Trenčín 86 (5)
2018–2020 Anderlecht 23 (0)
2019–2020 → FC St. Pauli (loan) 14 (1)
2020– FC St. Pauli 8 (0)
National team‡
2018– Wales 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:20, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:15, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Lawrence has previously played for Anderlecht, AS Trenčín and youth teams at Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers, Ajax Amsterdam and Sparta Rotterdam.

Club career

Early career

Lawrence's early youth career included English clubs Enfield, Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers. In 2008 his family moved to the Netherlands where he joined Haarlem.[3] In 2009 Lawrence left Haarlem to join Ajax with whom he won the Netherlands U19 First Division Championship in 2010–11 and was coached by Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp.[3] Lawrence then had spells with Jong Sparta Rotterdam and Jong RKC Waalwijk whilst he was enrolled at the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam.

AS Trenčín

Lawrence transferred to AS Trenčín on 13 August 2014 aged 21 and scored on his debut the same day in a Slovnaft Cup match against ŠK Strážske.[4] Four days later, Lawrence made his Fortuna Liga debut in a 4–2 win against Košice. On 1 May 2015 Lawrence helped AS Trenčín to a maiden Slovak Cup, beating Senica in the final.[5] In May 2015 AS Trenčín became Fortuna Liga Champions for the first time[6] with Lawrence thus achieving the league and cup double in his first senior season.[7]

The AS Trenčín champions of 2014–15, with an average age of 21.74, were recognised as having been the youngest champions across 31 top division European leagues from 2009–2017 by the CIES Football Observatory.[8]

Lawrence missed the end of the 2014–15 season and the beginning of the 2015–16 season due to an injury sustained in the 2015 Cup Final, returning on 13 October 2015 when he scored in a 3–0 win over Blava Jaslovské Bohunice in the 4th round of the Slovak Cup. A 3–1 win over Slovan Bratislava in the Slovnaft Cup Final on 29 April 2016 secured a second Slovak Cup for Lawrence and AS Trenčín. On 8 May 2016, AS Trenčín beat Slovan Bratislava 4–0 to become Fortuna Liga Champions for the second year in succession.[9]

Anderlecht

On 29 August 2018, Lawrence joined Anderlecht.[10] Lawrence played 23 league matches for Anderlecht during the 2018–19 season with Anderlecht finishing in fourth place in the Jupiler Pro League and in sixth place in the play-offs, missing out on UEFA competition for the first time in 56 years.[11]

FC St. Pauli

On 22 August 2019, Lawrence joined 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli on loan from Anderlecht until the end of the 2019–20 season.[12][13] Lawrence made his debut for St. Pauli on 26 August 2019, scoring in a 2–1 win over Holstein Kiel.

On 1 October 2020, Lawrence made a permanent transfer from Anderlecht to FC St. Pauli.[14][15]

International career

On 5 November 2018, Lawrence was called up for the Wales squad for the first time and he started his first game for the national side in a friendly against Albania on 20 November 2018.[16] His first competitive game for Wales was in a 1–0 win against Slovakia at Cardiff City Stadium on 24 March 2019.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 5 February 2021[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental International Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
AS Trenčín 2014–15 Slovak Super Liga 1807100–251
2015–16 Slovak Super Liga 1515100–202
2016–17 Slovak Super Liga 2534152–346
2017–18 Slovak Super Liga 2512020–291
2018–19 Slovak Super Liga 300061–91
Total 8651831330011711
Anderlecht 2018–19 Belgian First Division A 230003050310
FC St. Pauli (loan) 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 14100––141
FC St. Pauli 2020–21 2. Bundesliga 8000–20100
Total 221000020241
Career total 13151831637017212

Honours

AS Trenčín[18]

References
  1. "European Championship 2020: Booking List before Qualifying Round Matchday 10" (PDF). UEFA. 17 November 2019. p. 5. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. "J.Lawrence". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. "Who is James Lawrence? His heart scare at Ajax and life in Slovakia". Sky Sports. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  4. "www.futbalnet.sk". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  5. "AS Trenčín win maiden Slovak Cup". Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. "Trenčín seal historic Slovakian double". Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  7. "Jamie Lawrence has eyes on Slovakian double after mastering his own destiny". Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  8. "Reports – CIES". CIES. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  9. "Trenčín ... take title". Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  10. "WELKOM JAMES ALEXANDER LAWRENCE!". Anderlecht. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  11. "Anderlecht miss out on Europe ahead of Kompany arrival". Reuters. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  12. "James Lawrence: Anderlecht defender joins Bundesliga 2 side St Pauli". BBC. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  13. "Der FC St. Pauli leiht Innenverteidiger James Lawrence vom Anderlecht aus" (in German). FC St. Pauli. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  14. "FC St. Pauli sign James Lawrence". C St. Pauli. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  15. "Verpflichtung von James Lawrence doch noch gelungen". kicker (in German). 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  16. "Mixed feelings for Wales debutant Lawrence". BBC Sport. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  17. "Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  18. "Brits Abroad: 8 Lesser Known Stars Making a Success of Their Footballing Careers Overseas". 90 Min. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
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