Lee O'Connor (footballer)

Lee O'Connor
Personal information
Full name Lee Patrick O'Connor[1]
Date of birth (2000-07-28) 28 July 2000 (age 24)
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)
2020–2022 → Tranmere Rovers (loan) 49 (0)
2022– Tranmere Rovers 117 (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 20:32, 4 January 2025 (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

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]

Celtic

In September 2019, O'Connor joined Celtic, signing a four-year contract until 2023.[6][7]

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 27 April 2024[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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 40 0 1 0 0 0 — 0[a] 0 41 0
Total 145 0 6 0 3 0 — 9 0 163 0
Career Total 149 0 6 0 3 0 0 0 12 0 170 0
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup

International

As of match played on 14 November 2019[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2019 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Tranmere Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 71. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  2. ^ Lee O'Connor at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ "Lee O'Connor". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  4. ^ McKeegan, Alice (22 April 2016). "New Manchester United signing Lee O'Connor reacts to transfer". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Rotherham United vs. Manchester United U21 – 6 August 2019 – Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Lee O'Connor joins Celtic on four-year deal from Manchester United". Celtic FC. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Celtic sign defensive duo Lee O'Connor and Jeremie Frimpong". BBC Sport. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Loan News: Lee O'Connor joins on loan". Partick Thistle FC. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Arbroath vs. Partick Thistle – 25 January 2020 – Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Republic of Ireland – L. O'Connor – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Lee O'Connor and Paul Lewis join Tranmere Rovers". tranmererovers.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Republic of Ireland – L.O'Connor". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Lee O'Connor returns on loan for the 2021/22 season". tranmererovers.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Tranmere sign O'Connor on permanent deal". BBC Sport.
  15. ^ a b "Lee O'Connor". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Bright prospects and lesser lights impress as Ireland see off New Zealand in Aviva friendly". The 42. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Celtic's Lee O'Connor sets up Republic of Ireland goal in first cap before club debut". BBC Sport. 14 November 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Jack Byrne and Celtic's Lee O'Connor among FAI Player of the Year Awards winners". The42. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Crawford praises class of 2022 U21 internationals | Football Association of Ireland".
  20. ^ Barry, Stephen (20 March 2016). "Walters wins Player of the Year gong at FAI awards". Irish Examiner. Landmark Media Investments. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  21. ^ 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.