Liam Thompson (footballer)

Liam Thompson

Personal information
Full name	Liam Francis Thompson [1]
Date of birth	(2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Derby County
Number	16
Youth career
2015–2021	Derby County
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–	Derby County	60	(1)
2023	→ Scunthorpe United (loan)	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:18, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

Liam Francis Thompson (born 29 April 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Derby County.

A youth product of Derby County, Thompson would make his Derby debut in 2021, after signing his first professional contract in 2020, he has also had a spell out on loan at Scunthorpe United in 2023 and in 2024, he helped Derby gain promotion to the Championship.

Career

Thompson joined the Derby County youth set-up as a teenager, having played youth football with Nottingham-based Dunkirk. During the 2018–19 Under 18 season, Thompson played an influential role in Derby's title-winning campaign. ^[2] In November 2019, he was named in the League Football Education (LFE) 'The 11' to acknowledge his holistic development on and off the pitch. ^[3]

Thompson signed his first professional contract with the club in 2020. ^[4] He made his professional debut for the first team in a 2–0 FA Cup third round defeat at non-league Chorley on 9 January 2021. The entire Derby County first team squad was forced to self-isolate for the game because of positive COVID-19 cases, meaning The Rams' under-23 squad fulfilled the fixture. ^[5] Thompson continued to work with the first team squad, and appeared on the bench, ^[6] and in pre-season friendlies against teams including Manchester United. ^[7]

Thompson made his Championship debut in a 3–2 victory over AFC Bournemouth on 21 November 2021, playing the whole game. ^[8] He went on to make 23 more appearances throughout the season, as Derby were eventually relegated to League One.

On 2 July 2022, following Derby's takeover by Clowes Developments, Thompson was able to extend his contract with the club until 2024. ^[9] Thompson was mainly used as a substitute player during the season, starting one league game, he did score his first goal in senior football in the FA Cup first round replay against Torquay United on 15 November 2022. ^[10]

On 21 March 2023, Thompson signed for National League club Scunthorpe United on loan until the end of the season. ^[11] However a hip flexor injury restricted Thompson just three appearances for Scunthorpe. ^[12]

Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Thompson impressed head coach Paul Warne in pre-season and hinted at a possible position to change to left-wing back after playing in this role several time in pre-season friendlies. ^[13] Thompson would start the season as a substitute for the first four matches of the season, before making his first start in central midfield in a 1–0 win against Fleetwood Town on 20 August 2023, a man of the match award which earned the praise of Warne post match. ^[14] On 31 August 2023, Thompson tore his quadriceps in training and was ruled out of action for two months, ^{[15] [16]} he picked up the injury with ball getting trapped under his feet, ^[16] this was described as "blow" to Derby County. ^[16] Thompson did not return to action until December 2023 and on his second appearance back he scored his first career senior league goal at Oxford United on 29 December 2023, his goal came a minute after being substituted into the game as Derby came back from 0–2 to win 3–2. ^[17] Thompson proved to be versatile player for Derby in the second half of the season, playing in a multitude of positions as they were fighting for an "amazing" promotion back to the Championship. ^[18] Thompson made 26 appearances during the season, scoring one goal as Derby won promotion to the Championship by finishing runners-up in League One. ^[19]

On 18 May 2024, it was announced that Derby had trigged a one-year clause to extend Thompson's contract at Derby until June 2025. ^[20]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 April 2024

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
Derby County	2020–21 [21]	Championship	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2021–22 [22]	Championship	23	0	1	0	0	0	—		24	0
	2022–23 [23]	League One	13	0	5	1	3	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	24	1
	2023–24 [24]	League One	24	1	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	26	1
	2024–25 [25]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		60	1	7	1	4	0	4	0	75	2
Scunthorpe United (loan)	2022–23 [23]	National League	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Career total			63	1	7	1	4	0	4	0	78	2

1. Appearances(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Derby County

• EFL League One second-place promotion: 2023–24 ^[19]

References

1. "EFL squad list 2021/22 & U21 registered contracted players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
2. "View Liam Thompson - Derby County". www.dcfc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
3. "Thompson Named In LFE The 11 For Achievements On And Off The Pitch". www.dcfc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
4. "First professional deals for Derby County midfielder and right back". DerbyshireLive. 2 August 2020. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 4 August 2021.
5. "'Chorley are on the map': win over weakened Derby makes FA Cup history". The Guardian. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
6. "Only one new signing involved as Derby County face Rotherham". DerbyshireLive. 2 February 2021. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 4 August 2021.
7. "Derby County vs Manchester United - Friendly 18 July 2021 | Manchester United". www.manutd.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
8. "Derby County 3 — 2 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
9. "Midfielder Thompson Pens New Derby Deal". www.dcfc.co.uk. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
10. "Derby County 5 — 0 Torquay United". BBC Sport. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
11. "Iron sign Liam Thompson on loan from Derby County". Scunthorpe United F.C. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
12. "'Won't discuss' - Derby County in fresh double injury concern for Sheffield Wednesday clash". Derbyshire Live. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
13. "Paul Warne makes Liam Thompson admission after filling Derby County role". Derbyshire Live. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
14. "Paul Warne impressed by what he saw from Derby youngster". Derby County News. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
15. "League One latest: new boss, stadium moves, defender rumours". News & Star. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
16. "Paul Warne confirms major Derby County injury blow". Derbyshire Live. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
17. "Oxford United 2 — 3 Derby County". BBC Sport. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
18. "What Paul Warne told Derby County dressing room amid Liam Thompson vow". DerbyshireLive. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
19. "Breaking: Derby County promoted as duo seal it for Paul Warne's side". Derby Telegraph. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
20. "Derby County Retained List: 2023/24 Season". Derby County. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
21. "Games played by Liam Thompson in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
22. "Games played by Liam Thompson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
23. "Games played by Liam Thompson in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
24. "Games played by Liam Thompson in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
25. "Games played by Liam Thompson in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2024.