| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 February 2006 | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | South Shields (on loan from Derby County) | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Notts County | |||
| –2024 | Derby County | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024– | Derby County | 1 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Boston United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2025– | → South Shields (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024– | England U19 | 3 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:41, 30 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:30, 8 April 2025 (UTC) | |||
Lennon Wheeldon (born 16 February 2006) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League North club South Shields, on loan from EFL Championship club Derby County.
Starting his professional career at Derby County Wheeldon had a loan spell at Boston United in 2024, before making his Derby County league debut in April 2025. In November 2025, he joined South Shields on loan.
Wheeldon started his career as a youth player at Notts County, before joining Derby County as an under-16s player. [1] [2] On 8 November 2023, he made his debut for Derby County as a substitute in a 4–1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s in the EFL Trophy. [3] In this game he came on as a 74th minute substitute for James Collins and was able to create a goal scoring chance for Kane Wilson. [4] In August 2024, it was announced that Wheeldon had signed his first professional contract at Derby County. [5]
On 23 November 2024, he joined National League side Boston United on a one-month loan. [6] [2] The loan was ended in January 2025, with Wheeldon making four appearances for Boston, without scoring a goal. [7] On 5 April 2025, he made his league debut for Derby County as a substitute in a 1–0 away loss to Swansea City. [8] [9]
Ahead of the 2025–26 season, Wheeldon was one of a selection of under-21 players who took part in first team activities during pre-season. [10] On 12 August 2025, Wheeldon played in Derby's EFL Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion, as a 63rd minute substitute, a match which Derby won via a penalty shootout. [11] He had an impact in the match as he headed wide in the 69th minute, missing a good goalscoring opportunity. [11] [10] Derby head coach John Eustace praised Wheeldon's impact in the game, as well as he general development. [10]
On 8 November 2025, Wheeldon joined National League North side South Shields on a month-long loan. [12] On 15 November 2025, Wheeldon scored twice in South Shields 6–2 FA Trophy win over Dunston. [13] [14] On 27 November 2025, the loan was extended until early January 2026. [15] On 30 December 2025, Wheeldon scored his first league goal for Shields in a 2–1 win at Darlington. [16] [17] In January 2026, the loan was further extended until February. [18]
In October 2024, Wheeldon was called up by the England under-19 team for friendlies against Portugal, The Netherlands and France. [19]
Wheeldon has been described as playing like an "old fashioned centre forward". [20]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Derby County | 2023–24 [3] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [a] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024–25 [8] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 [21] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Boston United (loan) | 2024–25 [8] [22] | National League | 3 | 0 | — | — | 1 [b] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| South Shields (loan) | 2025–26 [21] | National League North | 15 | 1 | — | — | 2 [b] | 2 | 17 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 3 | ||