| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dylan Rhys Lawlor[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2006-01-01)1 January 2006 (age 20) | ||
| Place of birth | Caerphilly, Wales | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cardiff City | ||
| Number | 48 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013-2025 | Cardiff City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024– | Cardiff City | 20 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2023 | Wales U17 | 9 | (1) |
| 2023–2025 | Wales U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2025– | Wales U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | Wales | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:55, 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Dylan Rhys Lawlor (born 1 January 2006) is aWelsh professionalfootballer who plays as adefender forEFL League One clubCardiff City and theWales national team.
A central defender, he was born inCaerphilly, Wales and attendedYsgol Gyun Cwm Rhymni (aWelsh-medium secondary school).[2] He joinedCardiff City at the age of seven.[3][4] He was one of a number of young Welsh players at Cardiff City name-checked by Cardiff U21 bossDarren Purse in May 2024 as having high potential.[5] That season, he had captained the Cardiff City U21 team.[6]
He made his senior debut for Cardiff City under managerOmer Riza, starting their 2-0FA Cup defeat on 28 February 2025 againstAston Villa, as a 19 year-old.[7][8]
Having established himself as a starting centre-back under new managerBrian Barry-Murphy in the early weeks of the2025–26 season, he was namedEFL Young Player of the Month for August 2025.[9] He continued to impress over the first few months of the season, reportedly drawing interest fromBundesliga clubBayern Munich ahead of the January transfer window.[10]
Born in Wales, Lawlor is of partial Irish descent and could have qualified to play forIreland.[11] He has captained Wales at under-16 and under-19 level.[6] In March 2023, he scored a late header to ensure Wales Under-17s qualified for the European U17 Championships for the first time, in a 2–2 draw with Montenegro U17.[12] On 6 June 2025 Lawlor made his Wales under-21 debut in a friendly match against Norway.[13]
Lawlor was called up to theWales senior squad for the first time for the World Cup qualifying match against Belgium on 9 June 2025.[14] On 4 September 2025 he made his international debut for Wales in the starting line-up for the World Cup qualifying match 1-0 win againstKazakhstan.[15] Lawlor was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award for his performance.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cardiff City | 2024–25[16] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025–26[17] | League One | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Career total | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 2025 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Individual