Lee Nicholls

For those of a similar name, see Lee Nichols (disambiguation).

Lee Nicholls

Nicholls lining up for Bristol Rovers in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Lee Anthony Nicholls [1]
Date of birth	(1992-10-05) 5 October 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Huyton, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) [2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Huddersfield Town
Number	1
Youth career
2009–2010	Wigan Athletic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2016	Wigan Athletic	9	(0)
2010	→ Hartlepool United (loan)	0	(0)
2011	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	0	(0)
2011	→ Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	0	(0)
2012	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	9	(0)
2012–2013	→ Northampton Town (loan)	46	(0)
2015–2016	→ Bristol Rovers (loan)	15	(0)
2016–2021	Milton Keynes Dons	131	(0)
2021–	Huddersfield Town	100	(0)
International career‡
2011	England U19	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:59, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Lee Anthony Nicholls (born 5 October 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League One club Huddersfield Town.

Early life

Lee Nicholls was born in Huyton, Merseyside.

Club career

Wigan Athletic

Nicholls signed scholarship forms with Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2009. After a series of impressive performances for the reserve team, he appeared for the first-team as a substitute for the first time on 2 January 2010 in a 4–1 FA Cup third round victory over Hull City. ^[3]

Later in the month, he signed a two-and-a-half-year professional contract with the club. ^[4] In January 2012, Nicholls extended his contract at Wigan until 2014. ^[5] In between loan spells, Nicholls made his league debut on 27 October 2013 in a goalless draw away to Charlton Athletic. ^[6]

Loan spells

Between November 2010 and May 2011, Nicholls was sent out on loan to Hartlepool United, Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield Wednesday, but failed to make a single appearance. ^[7] On 24 February 2012, he joined Accrington Stanley on an initial one-month loan deal. Nicholls later made nine appearances for the club. ^[8]

On 6 August 2012, Nicholls signed on loan for League Two side Northampton Town until the end of October 2012, and later re-signed on 6 November 2012 until the end of the 2012–13 season. ^[9]

On 5 May 2013, Nicholls competed for Northampton Town in the League Two play-off semi-final second leg against Cheltenham Town. In total, Nicholls made 51 appearances for Northampton Town, achieving 20 clean sheets before returning to Wigan. ^[10] On 11 September 2015, Nicholls joined League Two side Bristol Rovers on a three-month loan. ^{[11] [12]}

Milton Keynes Dons F.C

On 3 August 2016, following the expiry of his contract with Wigan, Nicholls joined League One club Milton Keynes Dons, signing a two-year deal. ^[13] Nicholls made his debut for the club on 9 August 2016, featuring in a 2–3 EFL Cup first round victory over Newport County. ^[14] In his first season for the club, Nicholls' made a total of sixteen appearances in all competitions, achieving two clean sheets. ^[15]

Following the departure of first choice goalkeeper David Martin, Nicholls took over the number one shirt for the 2017–18 season. ^[16] On 29 December 2017, Nicholls signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until June 2020. ^[17] On 6 May 2021, the club announced Nicholls was one of four players to be released at the end of the 2020–21 season, ending his almost five-year association with MK Dons in which he made over 150 appearances. ^[18]

Huddersfield Town

On 26 May 2021, Nicholls signed for EFL Championship club Huddersfield Town on a two-year deal following the expiry of his contract with Milton Keynes Dons on 1 July 2021. ^[19] He made his debut on 1 August 2021, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless EFL Cup first round draw with Sheffield Wednesday, with Huddersfield progressing to the next round following Nicholls' two penalty shoot-out saves. ^[20]

He went on to have a successful debut season with the club, achieving 19 clean sheets and playing a key role in Huddersfield reaching the 2022 EFL Championship play-off final. ^[21] Nicholls was later named in both the EFL Championship Team of the Season ^[22] and Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year. ^[23]

International career

In 2010, Nicholls was named in the England U19 squad that reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-19 Championships, ^[24] but did not make an appearance in the tournament. He made his debut for the team in February 2011 in a 1–0 defeat against Germany. ^[25]

Career statistics

As of 7 May 2022.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Wigan Athletic	2010–11 [26]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2011–12 [27]	Premier League	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2012–13 [28]	Premier League	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2013–14 [29]	Championship	6	0	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	9	0
	2014–15 [30]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2015–16 [31]	League One	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	Total		9	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	12	0
Hartlepool United (loan)	2010–11 [26]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2010–11 [26]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	2010–11 [26]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2011–12 [27]	League Two	9	0	0	0	0	0	—		9	0
Northampton Town (loan)	2012–13 [28]	League Two	46	0	0	0	0	0	5 [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3]	0	51	0
Bristol Rovers (loan)	2015–16 [31]	League Two	16	0	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	18	0
Milton Keynes Dons	2016–17 [32]	League One	8	0	2	0	2	0	4 [lower-alpha 2]	0	16	0
	2017–18 [33]	League One	41	0	4	0	1	0	0	0	46	0
	2018–19 [34]	League Two	40	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	43	0
	2019–20 [35]	League One	35	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	38	0
	2020–21 [36]	League One	7	0	3	0	1	0	3	0	14	0
	Total		131	0	11	0	7	0	8	0	157	0
Huddersfield Town	2021–22 [21]	Championship	43	0	0	0	2	0	—		45	0
Career total			254	0	10	0	10	0	17	0	291	0

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League.
2. Appearances in Football League Trophy.
3. 3 appearances in Football League Two play-offs.

Honours

Bristol Rovers

• Football League Two third-place promotion: 2015–16 ^[37]

Milton Keynes Dons

• EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2018–19 ^[38]

Individual

• Huddersfield Town: Hargreaves Memorial Trophy (Player of the Season) 2021–22
• Huddersfield Town: Blue & White Player of the Season 2021–22
• EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2021–22 ^[22]
• PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 Championship ^[23]

References

1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
2. "Lee Nicholls". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
3. "On the Bench ... With Lee Nicholls, a Keeper Tipped for the Top at Wigan". FanHouse UK. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
4. "Keeper earns his stripes". 27 January 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
5. "New Deal For Lee Nicholls". Wigan Athletic F.C. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
6. "Charlton Athletic 0-0 Wigan Athletic". BBC Sport. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
7. "Lee Nicholls". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
8. "Goalkeeper Nicholls joins Accrington Stanley on loan". Lancashire Telegraph. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
9. "Northampton Town sign keeper Lee Nicholls for season". BBC Sport. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
10. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
11. "Lee Nicholls: Bristol Rovers sign Wigan Athletic keeper on loan". BBC Sport. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
12. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
13. "Dons grab goalkeepr Nicholls". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
14. "Report: Newport County 2-3 Dons". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
15. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
16. "MK Dons 2017/18 squad numbers revealed". Milton Keynes Dons. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
17. "Nicholls commits future to the Dons". Milton Keynes Dons. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
18. "Quartet set to depart". Milton Keynes Dons. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
19. "Signing: Lee Nicholls agrees to join Town!". Huddersfield Town. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
20. "Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Huddersfield Town: Terriers through after EFL Cup penalties". BBC. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
21. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
22. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". efl.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
23. "PFA Championship Team of the Year". Professional Footballers' Association. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
24. "Nicholls makes England cut". 15 July 2010. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
25. "Denis proves England's menace". The Football Association. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
26. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
27. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
28. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
29. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
30. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
31. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
32. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
33. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
34. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
35. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
36. "Games played by Lee Nicholls in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
37. Anderson, John, ed. (2016). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2016–2017. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 90–91. ISBN   978-1-4722-3395-0.
38. "League Two: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
    "MK Dons: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.

External links

• Lee Nicholls at Soccerbase
• Profile at TheFA.com