| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dylan Rhys Lawlor[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2006-01-01) 1 January 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Caerphilly, Wales | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cardiff City | ||
| Number | 48 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013-2025 | Cardiff City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024– | Cardiff City | 20 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2023 | Wales U17 | 9 | (1) |
| 2023–2025 | Wales U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2025– | Wales U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | Wales | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:55, 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Dylan Rhys Lawlor (born 1 January 2006) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Cardiff City and the Wales national team.
Club career
A central defender, he was born in Caerphilly, Wales and attended Ysgol Gyun Cwm Rhymni (a Welsh-medium secondary school).[2] He joined Cardiff City at the age of seven.[3][4] He was one of a number of young Welsh players at Cardiff City name-checked by Cardiff U21 boss Darren Purse in May 2024 as having high potential.[5] That season, he had captained the Cardiff City U21 team.[6]
He made his senior debut for Cardiff City under manager Omer Riza, starting their 2-0 FA Cup defeat on 28 February 2025 against Aston Villa, as a 19 year-old.[7][8]
Having established himself as a starting centre-back under new manager Brian Barry-Murphy in the early weeks of the 2025–26 season, he was named EFL Young Player of the Month for August 2025.[9] He continued to impress over the first few months of the season, reportedly drawing interest from Bundesliga club Bayern Munich ahead of the January transfer window.[10]
International career
Born in Wales, Lawlor is of partial Irish descent and could have qualified to play for Ireland.[11] He has captained Wales at under-16 and under-19 level.[6] In March 2023, he scored a late header to ensure Wales Under-17s qualified for the European U17 Championships for the first time, in a 2–2 draw with Montenegro U17.[12] On 6 June 2025 Lawlor made his Wales under-21 debut in a friendly match against Norway.[13]
Lawlor was called up to the Wales senior squad for the first time for the World Cup qualifying match against Belgium on 9 June 2025.[14] On 4 September 2025 he made his international debut for Wales in the starting line-up for the World Cup qualifying match 1-0 win against Kazakhstan.[15] Lawlor was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award for his performance.
Career statistics
- As of match played 1 January 2026
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cardiff City | 2024–25[16] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025–26[17] | League One | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 23 | 1 | |
| Career total | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
- ^ Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
International
- As of match played 18 November 2025[18]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 2025 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
Individual
- EFL Young Player of the Month: August 2025[9]
External links
- Dylan Lawlor at Soccerbase
- Dylan Lawlor at Soccerway
References
- ^ "EFL - Squad List 2024/25" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ "Craig Bellamy: 'Dim eistedd nôl' yn erbyn Gwlad Belg". Newyddion S4C. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ "LAWLOR'S PRIDE AT MAKING HIS CITY BOW". The League Paper. 2 March 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ Francis, Bryana (23 April 2024). "Cardiff City's exciting crop of young talent ready to bang the door down next season". Walesonline. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ "Cariff future in a good place - Purse". BBC Sport. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ a b Francis, Bryana; Williams, Glen (25 April 2024). "Tonight's Cardiff City news as another player out for the season and Liverpool star reveals 'excitement' over youngster". Walesonline. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ Williams, Glen (28 February 2025). "Cardiff City player ratings as star plays out of his skin and teenage debutant impresses at Aston Villa". Wales online. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ "New crop of youngsters, "good for Cardiff and good for Wales" - Riza". BBC Sport. 28 February 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ a b "Dylan Lawlor named EA Sports FC Young Player of the Month". www.efl.com. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ Pritchard, Dafydd (26 December 2025). "Bayern target Lawlor 'should stay at Cardiff to play'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ Williams, Glen (23 May 2025). "Cardiff face battle to keep hold of rising talent as top clubs show interest". Wales Online.
- ^ "Cymru U17 Come From Behind to Seal Place in #U17EURO Finals". Faw.cymru. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ "Wales Football - dragonsoccer - Welsh International Football". dragonsoccer.co.uk.
- ^ "Neco Williams out of Belgium World Cup qualifier as Wales call up Dylan Lawlor". BBC Sport. 6 June 2025.
- ^ "Kazakhstan 0-1 Wales: Kieffer Moore goal gives visitors World cup qualifying win". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Games played by Dylan Lawlor in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ "Games played by Dylan Lawlor in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ "Dylan Lawlor". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
