 Lockyer withWales in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Alun Lockyer[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-12-03)3 December 1994 (age 30)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back[4] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Luton Town | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Radyr Rangers | |||
| 2006–2011 | Cardiff City | ||
| 2011–2012 | Bristol Rovers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2019 | Bristol Rovers | 255 | (6) |
| 2019–2020 | Charlton Athletic | 43 | (1) |
| 2020– | Luton Town | 102 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2016 | Wales U21 | 7 | (0) |
| 2017– | Wales | 16 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:10, 15 December 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:33, 21 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
Thomas Alun Lockyer (born 3 December 1994) is a Welsh professionalfootballer who plays as acentre back forEFL Championship clubLuton Town and theWales national team.
Lockyer played for Radyr Rangers,Cardiff City andBristol Rovers at youth level before making his senior debut for Bristol Rovers in 2013. He joinedCharlton Athletic in 2019, before departing the club a season later for Luton Town. Having been Luton'scaptain since the2022–23 season, he was part of the squad that won Luton the first promotion to the Premier League in the club's history. During a Premier League match on 16 December 2023, Lockyer suffered acardiac arrest on the pitch; he was resuscitated and was later fitted with animplantable cardioverter-defibrillator.
Lockyer was born and raised inCardiff.[5] Lockyer started his career at Radyr Rangers.[6] He joinedCardiff City as a youth aged 11, but was released aged 16, as Cardiff deemed him to be too small to play his preferred position ofcentre back.[7] Lockyer then signed a scholarship forBristol Rovers in 2011[8] and went on to make his debut on 12 January 2013, replacingEllis Harrison, 85 minutes into a 3–0 win overFleetwood Town atHighbury Stadium.[9] He made his home debut two months later on 12 March 2013, replacingOliver Norburn in the 74th minute in a 2–0 win overPort Vale.[10] He signed his first professional contract in May 2013, after making his previous appearances whilst still a youth team player.[11]
Lockyer scored his first league goal in a 1–0 win for Bristol Rovers overNorthampton Town on 31 August 2013.[12]
On 17 March 2014, Lockyer signed a new two-year contract extension with Rovers.[13] After Rovers wererelegated out ofLeague Two in the2013–14 season, Lockyer became a very important part of a very successful season after seeing the club get promoted first time of asking. In that season he managed to score one goal vsGrimsby Town.[14] As Rovers returned to League Two, he was a first-team regular and was rewarded by being named theFootball League Young Player of the Month for December 2015 after consistent good performances.[15]
He made his 200th appearance for Rovers on 19 August 2017, in a 3–2 victory overBury, in which he scored the opener.[16]
He departed Bristol Rovers following the expiration of his contract at the end of the2018–19 season.[17]
Lockyer joinedCharlton Athletic, who were newly promoted to theChampionship, on 28 June 2019 on a two-year contract.[18] His first and only goal for the club was the equaliser in a 2–2 home draw withWest Bromwich Albion on 11 January 2020.[19] After playing every minute of 43 league appearances in the2019–20 season and missing only three matches due tosuspension, Lockyer triggered a relegation release clause in his contract in August 2020, allowing him to join another club for free.[20]
Lockyer signed for another Championship club,Luton Town, on 1 September 2020 on afree transfer.[21] His debut came two weeks later in a 1–0EFL Cup second round victory overReading.[22] In January 2022, Lockyer scored his first goal for the club with his side's first in a 2–1 win overBristol City,[23] saying after the match that he had dreamed of scoring against his old rivals.[24]
During the2022–23 season, Lockyer continued to grow as a player, earning the captaincy following an injury toSonny Bradley. As the season developed, he earned comparisons from his management team to legendary defendersFranco Baresi[25] andFranz Beckenbauer.[26] On 23 April 2023, Lockyer was named in the EFL Championship Team of the Season.[27] At Luton's end of season awards, he took home five awards, most notably thePlayer of the Season award.[28] On 16 May 2023, he scored Luton's all important second goal to defeatSunderland and send the club toWembley Stadium for theChampionship play-off final.[29]
Lockyer was in the starting line-up for the2023 Championship play-off final againstCoventry City, but was stretchered off the pitch after collapsing in the 11th minute of the first half and taken to hospital. During Luton's victory celebrations following the penalty shoot-out, the Luton players paraded a Lockyer named playing shirt as they received the trophy and the club posted a photo of Lockyer celebrating in his hospital bed. Luton's managerRob Edwards admitted after the game that it felt wrong to celebrate and his thoughts were primarily with Lockyer.[30] On 31 May, it was confirmed by the club that he would be leaving hospital the following day,[31] with a follow-up report a week later stating that Lockyer had sufferedatrial fibrillation of the heart, but he was given the all clear to resume his playing career following surgery. On 6 July 2023, it was confirmed that Lockyer had renewed his contract with Luton Town, one week after his previous contract ran out.[32]
On 12 August 2023, Lockyer captained Luton in the club's firstPremier League match as they lost 4–1 toBrighton & Hove Albion on the opening day of the2023–24 season.[33] On 30 September, Lockyer scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–1 win atEverton[34] – Luton's first win in the competition and first top division win in 31 years.[35]
During a match againstAFC Bournemouth on 16 December 2023, Lockyer was stretchered off the pitch after collapsing in the second half, having suffered acardiac arrest.[36] Bournemouth playerPhilip Billing was the first person to summon assistance to the defender before the arrival of the medical staff,[37] who managed to resuscitate him in two minutes.[38] The match was subsequently abandoned with the scoreline at 1–1. Luton later released a statement confirming that Lockyer was in a stable condition.[36] After being discharged from the hospital, having had animplantable cardioverter-defibrillator fitted, he began a period of rehabilitation at home.[37][38]
On 13 August 2024, Luton Town announced that Lockyer had returned to the club's training ground to begin the next phase of his rehabilitation.[39] In December 2024, just one week before his scheduled return to development squad action, he suffered ankle ligament damage in training, requiring surgery.[40]
In October 2015, Lockyer made hisWales under-21 debut in a 0–0 draw againstDenmark.[41]
Lockyer was called up to theWelsh senior team in June 2017, remaining an unusedsubstitute during a 1–1 draw withSerbia.[42] He received his second call-up for the senior squad on 25 August 2017, for the upcoming qualifiers againstAustria andMoldova.[43] He made his debut for the senior team on 14 November 2017 as a half-time substitute during a 1–1 draw withPanama.[44] In May 2021 he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayedUEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[45]
On 9 November 2022, more than a year since he last played for his country, Lockyer was called up to the Wales squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup.[46] On 21 November 2023, Lockyer played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw againstTurkey, his first competitive game for his country in over three years.[47]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bristol Rovers | 2012–13[48] | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2013–14[49] | League Two | 41 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
| 2014–15[50] | Conference Premier | 44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 49 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16[51] | League Two | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[52] | League One | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[53] | League One | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 2018–19[54] | League One | 40 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 48 | 4 | |
| Total | 255 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 285 | 7 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2019–20[19] | Championship | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 43 | 1 | |
| Luton Town | 2020–21[55] | Championship | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[56] | Championship | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 2022–23[57] | Championship | 39 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3[d] | 1 | 46 | 5 | |
| 2023–24[58] | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25[59] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 102 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 117 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 400 | 12 | 19 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 445 | 15 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | |
Bristol Rovers
Luton Town
Individual
Wales squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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