Gwion Edwards

Gwion Edwards

Edwards playing for Ipswich Town in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Gwion Dafydd Rhys Edwards [1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-01) 1 March 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Lampeter, Wales
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [2]
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Morecambe
Number	7
Youth career
2004–2007	Aberystwyth Town
2007–2011	Swansea City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2014	Swansea City	0	(0)
2013	→ St Johnstone (loan)	6	(0)
2013–2014	→ St Johnstone (loan)	13	(0)
2014	→ Crawley Town (loan)	6	(2)
2014–2016	Crawley Town	79	(12)
2016–2018	Peterborough United	59	(11)
2018–2021	Ipswich Town	95	(14)
2021–2023	Wigan Athletic	32	(1)
2023	→ Ross County (loan)	5	(0)
2024–	Morecambe	21	(3)
International career‡
2011	Wales U19	2	(0)
2012–2014	Wales U21	6	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:52, 17 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:59, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

Gwion Dafydd Rhys Edwards (born 1 March 1993) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL League Two club Morecambe. He is a former Wales Under-21 international.

Edwards joined the Swansea City academy in 2007, having previously spent three years at Aberystwyth Town. He spent seven years at Swansea, having graduated from the club's academy. During his time at Swansea he spent two spells out on loan at Scottish side St Johnstone and one with English side Crawley Town, before joining the later permanently in 2014. He spent two years at Crawley before joining Peterborough United in 2016, where he spent two seasons. In 2018, Edwards signed for Ipswich Town.

He has represented Wales at youth level, winning caps at U19 and U21 levels. He has been called up to the senior Wales squad in 2014 and 2018.

Club career

Swansea City

After spells with clubs including Aberystwyth Town and Cardiff City, Edwards joined Swansea City Football Club as an U15. Rising up through the Swansea youth system, Edwards signed his first professional contract, a 3-year deal, with Swansea City after a successful 2010–11 season. He went on to help Swansea win the FAW Welsh Youth Cup ^[3] and was a permanent fixture in Swansea Reserve team, winning Reserve Team Player of the Year in 2011–12. ^[4]

On 9 May 2012, Edwards signed a new three-year contract with Swansea, keeping him at the club until June 2015. ^[5] He featured on the bench for the first team on 13 May 2012, in a 1–0 win over Liverpool at the Liberty Stadium. He was called by Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers to be subbed on during stoppage time but did not make it onto the field due to the ball not going out of play before the final whistle. ^[6]

St Johnstone (loans)

On 31 January 2013, Edwards moved to Scottish Premier League side St Johnstone on loan for the remainder of the 2012–13 season. ^[7] He made his professional debut by coming off the bench in the 72nd minute in a 2–0 defeat to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup. ^[8] Edwards made his SPL debut by coming off the bench in a 1–1 draw with Celtic on 19 February. ^[9]

Edwards made a return to St Johnstone in July 2013, joining on loan until January 2014. Edwards made his Europa League debut in St Johnstone's 1–0 victory away vs Rosenborg on 18 July 2013 coming on in the 66th minute. ^[10] In the third round of the second leg of the Europa League against Minsk, Edwards was among two players to see their penalty successfully converted, which Minsk won, eliminating St Johnstone from the competition. ^[11] Edwards then scored his first professional goal in a 3–0 win for St Johnstone against Hamilton Academical in the Scottish League Cup. ^[12]

By the end of his second loan spell with St Johnstone, Edwards had made a total of 24 appearances in all competitions, scoring 1 goal. ^[13]

Crawley Town

On 27 March 2014, Edwards joined League One side Crawley Town on a one-month loan. ^[14] On 15 April 2014, Edwards enjoyed a goalscoring-debut for Crawley as a 76th-minute substitute in their 2–0 win against Tranmere Rovers. ^[15] In his second appearance, Edwards scored again for Crawley in their 2–1 victory against Leyton Orient. ^[16] After impressing Crawley manager John Gregory, Edwards' loan was extended to the end of the 2013–14 season. ^[17]

On 11 July 2014, Edwards signed for Crawley Town on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. ^[18] Edwards' first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came in the opening game of the season, as Crawley Town beat Barnsley 1–0. ^[19] He went on to make 93 appearances in all competitions over three seasons at the Broadfield Stadium, scoring 15 goals. ^[20]

Peterborough United

On 24 June 2016, Edwards joined League One side Peterborough United on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. ^[21] He scored the winner on his debut in a 3–2 win over Rochdale on 6 August 2016. ^[22] He won the club's goal of the season award for the 2016–17 season for an individual effort in a 2–0 win over Charlton Athletic on 17 December. ^[23] Edwards made 74 appearances for Peterborough during two seasons at the club, scoring 16 goals, ^[20]

Ipswich Town

On 17 July 2018, he signed a two-year deal (plus an option for a further year) with Ipswich Town, for a reported fee of £700,000. ^[24] Edwards scored his first goal for the club on his debut in a 2–2 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Portman Road, on the opening day of the season. ^[25] Edwards went on to score 6 goals in 34 appearances in his debut season at Portman Road, including scoring in the East Anglian Derby at Portman Road on 2 September 2018. ^[26]

He scored his first goal of the 2019–20 season on 24 August, netting the second goal in a 0–5 away win against Bolton Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium. ^[27] He featured regularly throughout the season, often filling in at right wing-back and right-back due to an injury to Kane Vincent-Young. On 18 May 2020, Ipswich took up the one-year option in his contract, extending his stay at the club until 2021. ^[28]

Edwards scored in the opening game of the 2020–21 season, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 home win over Wigan Athletic. He continued his goal scoring form throughout September and October, scoring 5 goals in the opening 6 games of the season, including a brace in a 4–1 away win over Blackpool on 10 October. ^[29] With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Ipswich reportedly entered negotiations to extend Edwards's deal, but were unable to come to an agreement and he left the club. ^[30]

Wigan Athletic

On 10 June 2021, Edwards completed a move to Wigan Athletic, signing a two-year deal with the club. ^[31] He scored on his debut for Wigan in a 2–1 defeat at Sunderland on 7 August 2021. ^[32]

Edwards was loaned to Scottish club Ross County in January 2023. ^[33]

He was released by Wigan at the end of the 2022–23 season. ^[34]

Morecambe

On 3 January 2024, Edwards signed for Morecambe on a contract until the end of the 2023-2024 season. ^[35]

On 17 May 2024, Edwards signed a new two-year deal with the option for a further year. ^[36]

International career

Edwards has won 2 caps for the Wales under-19 team, featuring in matches against Scotland and Slovenia in 2011. ^[37] In September 2012, he made his Wales under-21 debut in a 5–0 defeat by the Czech Republic. ^[38] He scored his first international goal for the Wales under-21 team on 19 May 2014, in a 3–1 loss to England at the Liberty Stadium. ^[39] Edwards won 6 caps for Wales' under-21 side between 2012 and 2014, scoring 1 goal. ^[40]

He received his first senior international call up in October 2014, being called into the Wales senior squad for the Euro-2016 qualifying matches versus Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus. He was an unused substitute in both matches. ^[41] On 12 October 2018, Edwards was called up by Wales manager Ryan Giggs for the squad to face the Republic of Ireland in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League four days later. He was an unused substitute as Wales emerged 1–0 winners in Dublin. ^[42]

Career statistics

As of end of 2023–24 season

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
Swansea City	2011–12 [43]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2012–13 [44]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2013–14 [44]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
St Johnstone (loan)	2012–13 [44]	Scottish Premier League	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		7	0
	2013–14 [45]	Scottish Premiership	13	0	0	0	1	1	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		17	1
	Total		19	0	1	0	1	1	3	0	0	0	24	1
Crawley Town (loan)	2013–14 [45]	League One	6	2	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	6	2
Crawley Town	2014–15 [46]	League One	37	4	1	0	2	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 2]	1	42	5
	2015–16 [47]	League Two	42	8	1	0	1	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	45	8
	Total		85	14	2	0	3	0	0	0	3	1	93	15
Peterborough United	2016–17 [48]	League One	33	7	4	2	2	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	41	9
	2017–18 [49]	League One	26	4	3	1	1	1	—		3 [lower-alpha 3]	1	33	7
	Total		59	11	7	3	3	1	0	0	5	1	74	16
Ipswich Town	2018–19 [50]	Championship	33	6	1	0	0	0	—		—		33	6
	2019–20 [51]	League One	27	2	3	0	1	0	—		4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	35	2
	2020–21 [29]	League One	36	6	1	0	2	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	40	6
	Total		96	14	5	0	3	0	0	0	5	0	108	14
Wigan Athletic	2021–22 [52]	League One	30	1	5	0	2	0	—		6 [lower-alpha 3]	2	43	3
	2022–23 [53]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	Total		32	1	5	0	2	0	0	0	6	2	45	3
Ross County (loan)	2022–23 [53]	Scottish Premiership	5	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
Morecambe	2023–24 [54]	League Two	21	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	22	3
Career total			315	43	21	3	12	2	3	0	19	4	372	52

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Wigan Athletic

• EFL League One: 2021–22 ^[55]

Individual

• Peterborough United Goal of the Season: 2016–17 ^[23]

References

1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
2. "Gwion Edwards". Wigan Athletic F.C. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
3. "Quartet offered new deals". Swanseacity-mad.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
4. "PLAYER PROFILE". swanseacity.com. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
5. "Gwion Edwards signs new three-year Swansea contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
6. "Gwion Edwards nearly fulfilled his Premier League dream with Swansea... now he returns with Ipswich". East Anglian Daily Times. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
7. "Gwion goes out on loan". swanseacity.com. Retrieved 3 February 2013.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. "St Mirren 2–0 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
9. "St Johnstone 1–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
10. "GWION BACK FOR A SECOND STINT WITH SAINTS". Perth St.Johnstone. 1 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
11. "St Johnstone lose to Minsk on penalties". BBC Sport. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
12. "Hamilton 0–3 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
13. "Edwards benefits from loan spell". Swanseacity.net. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
14. "Reds sign Premier League winger". Crawley Town FC. 27 March 2014.
15. "Crawley 2–0 Tranmere". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
16. "Crawley 2–1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
17. "John Gregory is keen to extend Gwion Edwards' loan". Crawley Observer. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
18. "Gwion is back!". Crawley Town F.C. 11 July 2014.
19. "Barnsley 0 – 1 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
20. "Gwion Edwards at Soccerbase" . Retrieved 22 June 2019.
21. "Gwion Edwards: Peterborough United sign Crawley Town midfielder". BBC Sport. 24 June 2016.
22. "Rochdale 2–3 Peterborough". BBC Sport. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
23. "Bostwick Wins Top Honours At End Of Season Awards". Peterborough United F.C. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
24. "Town Confirm Edwards Signing". TWTD. 17 July 2018.
25. "Ipswich Town 2—2 Blackburn Rovers March Report". Ipswich Town Official Website. 4 August 2018.
26. "Report Card: Grading Hurst's lower league signings following steep Ipswich Town learning curve". East Anglian Daily Times. 15 May 2019.
27. "Bolton Wanderers 0–5 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
28. "Gwion Extends Town Stay". Ipswich Town F.C. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
29. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
30. "Gwion Edwards contract latest as Blues bid to keep Welsh winger". 26 May 2021.
31. "GWION EDWARDS AGREES TO JOIN LATICS!". Wigan Athletic F.C. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
32. "Sunderland 2-1 Wigan". BBC. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
33. "Ross County: Gwion Edwards signs on loan from Wigan". BBC Sport. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
34. "WIGAN ATHLETIC CONFIRM RETAINED LIST AHEAD OF THE 2023/24 CAMPAIGN". wiganathletic.com. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
35. "Gwion Edwards becomes first January arrival!". Morecambe FC.com. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
36. "Edwards extends Shrimps stay!". www.morecambefc.com. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
37. "Under-19 – Gwion Edwards". UEFA.com. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
38. "Edwards's debut for under-21s". thisissouthwales.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
39. "Wales U21 vs. England U21 1 – 3". Soccerway. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
40. "Gwion Edwards at Soccerway" . Retrieved 23 June 2019.
41. "Euro 2016: Gwion Edwards called up for Wales qualifiers". BBC Sport. 8 October 2014.
42. Pritchard, Dafydd (12 October 2018). "Ryan Giggs: Wales boss says his side will learn from harsh 'lesson'". BBC Sport Wales. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
43. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
44. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
45. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
46. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
47. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
48. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
49. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
50. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
51. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
52. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
53. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
54. "Games played by Gwion Edwards in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
55. "Watch: Latics clinch Sky Bet League One title". www.efl.com. Retrieved 3 May 2022.

External links

• Gwion Edwards at Soccerbase