Nico Lawrence

Nico Lawrence

Personal information
Date of birth	(2003-11-22) 22 November 2003 (age 22) [1]
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position	Centre-back
Youth career
	Fulham
	Crystal Palace
	Sutton United
	Kinetic Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2022	Glebe	6	(1)
2022–2025	Southampton	0	(0)
2023	→ Torquay United (loan)	20	(0)
2023–2024	→ Colchester United (loan)	4	(0)
2024–2025	→ Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	22	(0)
2025–2026	York City	0	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:58, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

Nico Lawrence (born 22 November 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. ^[3]

Career

Early career

Growing up, Lawrence had spells with Fulham, Crystal Palace and Sutton United. ^[4] He later joined London-based Kinetic Academy and combined that with playing for Southern Counties East Football League side Glebe. ^[5] He made six league appearances for Glebe. ^[6]

Southampton

In February 2022, he joined Premier League club Southampton on an 18-month contract following a successful trial. ^[7] In January 2023, he extended his contract with Southampton until June 2025 and joined National League side Torquay United on loan. ^[8] At Torquay, he won the Young Player of the Year award. ^[9]

He joined Colchester United on loan in June 2023. ^[10] On 9 August 2023, he made his professional debut as a half-time substitute in the EFL Cup match against Cardiff City. ^[11] During a 3–0 victory against Gillingham, Lawrence suffered ankle ligament damage and was expected to be sidelined for several months. ^{[12] [13]} On 25 January 2024, he was recalled back to Southampton from loan. ^[14] On 18 April 2024, Lawrence signed a new two-year contract. ^[15]

On 2 August 2024, Lawrence joined Milton Keynes Dons on a season-long loan. ^{[16] [17]} He made his debut for the club on 10 August 2024 in a 2–1 home defeat against Bradford City. ^[18] The loan spell was cut short before the end of the season with Lawrence returning to action for Southampton U21 in April 2025. ^[19]

On 1 September 2025, Southampton announced that Lawrence had left the club to help him facilitate a move back into senior football. ^[20]

York City

On 6 November 2025, Lawrence joined National League side York City. ^[21] On 4 January 2026, he departed by mutual consent having made one appearance in the FA Trophy. ^[22]

Career statistics

As of 4 January 2026

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Glebe	2021–22	Southern Counties East	6	1	0	0	—		—		6	1
Southampton	2022–23 [23]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2023–24 [24]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2024–25 [25]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Torquay United (loan)	2022–23 [23]	National League	20	0	—		—		—		20	0
Colchester United (loan)	2023–24 [24]	League Two	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	2024–25 [25]	League Two	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	0
York City	2025–26 [26]	National League	0	0	0	0	—		1 [a]	0	1	0
Career total			52	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	54	1

1. Appearance in FA Trophy

Honours

• Torquay United Young Player of the Season: 2022–23 ^[27]

References

1. "Club profile: Nico Lawrence". Southampton F.C. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
2. "Nico Lawrence". 11v11. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
3. "England - N. Lawrence - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
4. "Nico Lawrence". Southampton . Retrieved 11 August 2023.
5. "Nico Lawrence signs for Southampton". kinetic-foundation.org.uk. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
6. "Glebe defender signs for Southampton". Southern Counties East Football League. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
7. "Southampton announce signing of centre-back Nico Lawrence". dailyecho.co.uk. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
8. "Nico Lawrence signs new deal and departs on loan". Southampton. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
9. "Saints defender wins young player of the year award just months into loan". Daily Echo. 16 April 2023.
10. "Southampton's Lawrence joins Colchester on loan". BBC Sport. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
11. "Cardiff City 2-2 Colchester United". BBC. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
12. Waldron, Jonathan (31 August 2023). "Colchester United defender Nico Lawrence out with injury". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
13. "Nico Lawrence: Colchester United defender out for months with ankle injury". BBC Sport. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
14. "Nico Lawrence recalled from loan". Southampton FC. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
15. "Nico Lawrence signs contract extension". Southampton FC. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
16. "Lawrence heads to MK Dons on loan". Southampton FC. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
17. "Nico Lawrence: Southampton defender joins MK Dons on loan". BBC Sport. 2 August 2024.
18. "Milton Keynes Dons 1–2 Bradford City". BBC. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
19. "Lawrence makes early return to Premier League parent club Southampton". miltonkeynes.co.uk. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
20. "Academy confirm transfer deadline day movements". Southampton FC. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
21. Kennedy, Emma (6 November 2025). "York City sign Nico Lawrence and Craig Hewitt on permanent deals". The York Press. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
22. "Nico Lawrence departs by mutual consent". yorkcityfootballclub.co.uk. 4 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
23. "Games played by Nico Lawrence in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
24. "Games played by Nico Lawrence in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
25. "Games played by Nico Lawrence in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
26. "Games played by Nico Lawrence in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
27. "Loan Watch: Lawrence wins Young Player of the Season at Torquay". Southampton. 2 August 2024.