| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luke Kevin Southwood [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 6 December 1997 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Oxford, England | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bristol Rovers | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2015 | Reading | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2023 | Reading | 26 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Bath City (loan) | 42 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Eastleigh (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Hamilton Academical (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Cheltenham Town (loan) | 46 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Cheltenham Town | 46 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Bolton Wanderers | 20 | (0) |
| 2025– | Bristol Rovers | 8 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2016 | England U19 | 1 | |
| 2016–2017 | England U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2021– | Northern Ireland | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:08, 22 September 2025 (UTC) | |||
Luke Kevin Southwood (born 6 December 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League Two club Bristol Rovers. Born in England, he plays for the Northern Ireland national team.
On 11 May 2018, Reading announced that they had offered a new contract to Luke Southwood, [3] with a new two-year contract being confirmed as signed on 2 July 2018. [4]
On 7 May 2021, Reading announced that Southwood had signed a new two-year contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2023. [5]
On 4 August 2017, Southwood joined Bath City on a six-month loan deal, [6] which was extended until the end of the season on 3 January 2018. [7] He was awarded player of the season after an outstanding year.
On 24 December 2018, Southwood joined Eastleigh on an initial one-month loan deal, with the loan being extended until the end of the season on 24 January 2019. [8] Eastleigh managed to get to the semi-finals of the National League play-offs with Southwood playing a key part in that, also getting player of the month in April.
On 1 August 2019, Southwood joined Hamilton Academical on loan until 5 January 2020. [9] On 21 January 2020, Southwood signed a new contract with Reading until the summer of 2021, and then returned to Hamilton Academical on loan until the end of the season. [10]
On 22 July 2022, Southwood joined Cheltenham Town on a season-long loan deal. During that time he kept sixteen clean sheets in league one and helped them to a 16th place finish. [11]
On 17 May 2023, Reading announced that Southwood would leave the club at the end of his contract. [12]
On 11 July 2023, Southwood returned to Cheltenham Town on a permanent one-year deal. [13] On 22 May 2024, the club announced he had rejected a new contract and would be leaving the club. [14]
On 21 June 2024, Southwood signed a two-year contract with EFL League One club Bolton Wanderers. [15] Across the 2024–25 season, he competed with Nathan Baxter for the position of first-choice goalkeeper, [16] breaking into the team in January 2025 where he remained following the appointment of Steven Schumacher as new head coach before once again losing his place in March. [17]
On 6 July 2025, Southwood signed for League Two club Bristol Rovers on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The transfer saw him reunite with manager Darrell Clarke and goalkeeping coach James Bittner, whom Southwood had played under at Cheltenham Town. [18] He was named as the club's vice-captain ahead of the opening match of the season. [19]
Southwood made his debut for the England under-19 team, play the first 45minutes in a 1–0 defeat to Mexico in June 2016. [20]
Southwood was selected for the England under-20 team in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup and was an unused substitute in the final where England beat Venezuela 1–0. [21]
In November 2021, Southwood was called up to the Northern Ireland national team for the first time, for whom he qualified for through a grandmother. [22] He debuted with Northern Ireland in a friendly 3–1 win over Luxembourg on 25 March 2022. [23]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reading | 2015–16 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Championship | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | ||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| Bath City (loan) | 2017–18 | National League South | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 1 [a] | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
| Eastleigh (loan) | 2018–19 | National League | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 0 | ||
| Hamilton Academical (loan) | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 [b] | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Cheltenham Town (loan) | 2022–23 | League One | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [c] | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| Cheltenham Town | 2023–24 | League One | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| Total | 92 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 99 | 0 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 2024–25 | League One | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 [c] | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| Bristol Rovers | 2025–26 | League Two | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Career total | 225 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 249 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | |||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
England U20