Lee Evans (footballer)
{{short description|Welsh footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Lee Evans
| image = Lee Evans (Wolves) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Evans playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2014
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|7|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = Newport, Wales
| height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}}{{cite news |title=Lee Evans profile |url= https://www.itfc.co.uk/teams/first-team/midfielder/lee-evans/ |publisher=Ipswich Town |access-date=9 July 2021}}
| position = Midfielder
| currentclub = Blackpool
| clubnumber = 7
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = Malpas FC
| youthyears2 =
| youthclubs2 = Bristol Rovers
| youthyears3 = 2009–2012
| youthclubs3 = Newport County
| years1 = 2012–2013
| clubs1 = Newport County
| caps1 = 25
| goals1 = 3
| years2 = 2013–2018
| clubs2 = Wolverhampton Wanderers
| caps2 = 59
| goals2 = 3
| years3 = 2015–2016
| clubs3 = → Bradford City (loan)
| caps3 = 35
| goals3 = 4
| years4 = 2017–2018
| clubs4 = → Wigan Athletic (loan)
| caps4 = 20
| goals4 = 1
| years5 = 2018–2019
| clubs5 = Sheffield United
| caps5 = 21
| goals5 = 2
| years6 = 2018–2019
| clubs6 = → Wigan Athletic (loan)
| caps6 = 20
| goals6 = 0
| years7 = 2019–2021
| clubs7 = Wigan Athletic
| caps7 = 67
| goals7 = 5
| years8 = 2021–2024
| clubs8 = Ipswich Town
| caps8 = 52
| goals8 = 6
| years9 = 2024
| clubs9 = Portsmouth
| caps9 = 4
| goals9 = 0
| years10 = 2024–
| clubs10 = Blackpool
| caps10 = 16
| goals10 = 2
| nationalyears1 = 2012
| nationalteam1 = Wales Semi-Pro
| nationalcaps1 = 2
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 2013–2016
| nationalteam2 = Wales U21
| nationalcaps2 = 13
| nationalgoals2 = 2
| nationalyears3 = 2017–
| nationalteam3 = Wales
| nationalcaps3 = 4
| nationalgoals3 = 0
| club-update = 01:04, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
| ntupdate = 21:53, 20 March 2019 (UTC)
}}
Lee Evans (born 24 July 1994) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for {{English football updater|Blackpoo}} club Blackpool and the Wales national football team.
Evans started his senior career at hometown club Newport County, having previously spent time in the youth systems at Bristol Rovers and Malpas FC. He made his debut for Newport in March 2012 at the age of 17. During his time at Newport, he helped the club to the 2012 FA Trophy Final and promotion to the Football League through the Conference Premier play-offs in 2013. He joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2013, making his Football League debut in August 2013. He helped Wolves to win the League One title during his first season at the club in 2013–14. He spent five years at Wolverhampton Wanderers, spending time on loan at Bradford City and Wigan Athletic, helping the later to win the League One title in 2017–18. In January 2018 he joined Sheffield United. He joined former club Wigan Athletic on loan in August 2018, before signing permanently for the club in January 2019. He spent the following three seasons at Wigan before joining Ipswich Town in June 2021. On 1 March 2024, he signed for Portsmouth of League One on a deal until the end of the season. He made his debut for Portsmouth on 29 March 2024, coming off the bench in a 3-1 win for Pompey away at Wycombe Wanderers.{{cite web|url=https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2024/march/pompey-sign-evans/|title=Pompey Sign Evans|website=www.portsmouthfc.co.uk|accessdate=2 March 2024}}
He featured for Wales at Semi-Pro level in 2012, whilst also winning caps for the Wales U21 team between 2013 and 2016. In November 2017, Evans made his debut for the senior Wales national team.
Club career
=Newport County=
Having been released by Bristol Rovers as a 15-year-old,{{cite news|url=http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/10225456.FIRST_PERSON__Up_and_coming_Newport_football_talent__Lee_Evans/ |title=First Person: Up and coming Newport football talent, Lee Evans|work=South Wales Argus |date=13 February 2013}} Evans began his professional career at his hometown club Newport County, for whom he made his senior league debut aged 17 on 20 March 2012 in a 1–1 draw at Cambridge United.{{cite news| title=Cambridge 1–1 Newport|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17349180| date=20 March 2012}} After only three Conference Premier appearances, he ended the season playing in the FA Trophy Final on 12 May at Wembley Stadium, where Newport lost 0–2 to York City.{{cite news| title=Wrexham 0–2 Newport|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22335600| date=5 May 2013}}
During the following season, in which the club regained its Football League status after a 25-year absence,{{cite news| title=FA Trophy: Newport County 0–2 York City|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18017573| date=12 May 2012}} Evans became a regular starting player in the Newport team, making 25 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals.
=Wolverhampton Wanderers=
In January 2013, Evans signed a {{frac|2|1|2}}-year deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers, then of the Championship, for an undisclosed transfer fee, reported to be £200,000.{{cite news| title=Wolves sign Newport County youngster Lee Evans|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21275227| date=31 January 2013}}{{cite news| title=The Potential of Youth| publisher=Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C| url=http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/the-potential-of-youth-260613-881188.aspx| date=26 June 2013| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140618095331/http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/the-potential-of-youth-260613-881188.aspx| archive-date=18 June 2014| df=dmy-all}} Having spent the remainder of the 2012–13 season that saw Wolves relegated to League One as part of their youth development squad, he was identified over the summer by new manager Kenny Jackett to become part of his plans for the first-team.{{cite news| title=Evans aims to impress|publisher=Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C| url=http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/evans-aims-to-impress-090713-903259.aspx| date=9 July 2013}}
The midfielder made his club and Football League debut on 3 August 2013 in a goalless draw against Preston North End.{{cite news| title=Preston 0–0 Wolves|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23474880| date=3 August 2013}} He scored his first goal for the club a week later when he netted in a 4–0 win against Gillingham.{{cite news| title=Wolves v Gillingham|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23558680| date=10 August 2013}} He made 28 appearances during his first full season at Wolves, helping the team on to win the 2013–14 Football League One title.
He continued to feature for the Wolverhampton Wanderers first-team following promotion to the Championship. He made his Championship debut on the opening day of the season, starting in a 1–0 win against Norwich City. He scored his first goal of the season on 28 September in a 3–3 draw with Reading. Evans made 21 appearances during the 2014–15 season, scoring once.
After returning from his loan spell at Bradford City, Evans featured for Wolves during the 2016–17 season, making 18 appearances in all competitions over the course of the season. In February 2017, he signed a three-and-a-half-year contract extension at Molineux until 2020.{{cite news| title=Lee Evans: Wolves midfielder signs new three-and-a-half year deal until 2020|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38571659| date=13 February 2017}}
==Bradford City (loan)==
On 20 August 2015, Evans signed for Bradford City on loan from Wolves, initially until 9 January 2016.{{cite news| title=Evans arrives at City|publisher=Bradford City| url=http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/evans-arrives-at-city-2634865.aspx| date=20 August 2015|access-date=20 August 2015}} He made his debut for Bradford in a goalless draw with Barnsley on 22 August 2015. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 October, netting the opening goal in a 3–1 away win against Rochdale. In January, Evans' loan at Bradford was extended until the end of the season.{{cite news| title=Lee Evans extends Bradford loan|publisher=Euro Sport| url=https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/lee-evans-extends-bradford-loan_sto5057037/story.shtml| date=12 January 2016|access-date=9 July 2021}} He scored four goals in 41 appearances in all competitions and helped Bradford to reach the League One play-offs following a fifth-placed finish.
==Wigan Athletic (loan)==
On 31 July 2017, Evans completed a season-long loan to League One side Wigan Athletic.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40783353 |title=Wolves' Lee Evans and Leicester's Callum Elder join Wigan on season-long loans|date=31 July 2017|work=BBC Sport}} He made his debut for Wigan on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 win against Milton Keynes Dons. He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 4–1 win against Bury on 13 August 2017.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40841344|title=Wigan 4–1 Bury|work=BBC Sport|date=13 August 2017 |access-date=14 August 2017}} He went on to make 23 appearances and score 3 goals before being recalled from his loan spell by his parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers at the beginning of the January transfer window.
=Sheffield United=
On 10 January 2018, Evans joined Championship club Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £750,000.{{cite news|url=https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2018/january/double-swoop/|title=Double Swoop: Evans and Wilson|publisher=Sheffield United Football Club|date=10 January 2018}} He made his debut for Sheffield United on 20 January in a 2–1 win against Norwich City. He scored his first goals for the club on 10 April, netting a brace in a 2–1 win against Middlesbrough. He made 19 appearances for Sheffield United during the second-half of the 2017–18 season, scoring twice.
=Return to Wigan Athletic=
On 10 August 2018, Evans joined fellow Championship club Wigan Athletic on loan. He featured regularly for Wigan during the first-half of the season, making 20 appearances before signing permanently for the club on 1 January 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45141475|title=Lee Evans: Wigan Athletic sign Sheffield United's Wales midfielder on loan|work=BBC Sport|date=10 August 2018|access-date=10 August 2018}} He made a total of 35 appearances for Wigan during the 2018–19 season, scoring once.
Evans continued to feature as a first-team regular during the 2019–20 season, scoring his first goal of the season on the opening day of the campaign, the winner in a 3–2 home win against Cardiff City. He scored two goals in 33 appearances for Wigan throughout the course of the season, as the club suffered relegation to League One due to a points deduction, despite a mid-table league finish in the regular season.
Following Wigan's relegation to League One, the club was placed into administration. Despite this, Evans was one of the few senior players to remain at the Wigan. He started the season as a regular in the first-team, before suffering a knee injury in December which required surgery.{{cite news | url = https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/football/wigan-athletic-star-could-be-out-months-3072985 | work = Wigan Today | access-date = 9 July 2021 | date = 18 December 2020 | title = Wigan Athletic star 'could be out for months'}} He returned from injury in March, going on to score two goals in 24 appearances over the course of the season to help Wigan avoid relegation.
=Ipswich Town=
On 4 June 2021, Evans joined Ipswich Town on a three-year deal, reuniting with his former manager Paul Cook.{{cite web | url = https://www.itfc.co.uk/news/2021/june/lee-evans-joins-town/ | publisher = Ipswich Town F.C. | access-date = 4 June 2021 | date = 4 June 2021 | title = Lee Evans joins Town}} He made his debut for Ipswich on the opening day of the 2021–22 season in a 2–2 home draw against Morecambe at Portman Road.{{cite news|title=Ipswich Town 2 – 2 Morecambe|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58035991|date=7 August 2021|access-date=7 November 2021|website=BBC Sport}} On 28 September 2021, Evans scored his first career hat-trick in a 6–0 home win against Doncaster Rovers.{{cite news|last=Warren|first=Andy|date=28 September 2021|title='This means a lot to me' – Hat-trick hero Evans savours Doncaster treble|url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/itfc-star-lee-evans-on-doncaster-hat-trick-8372618|access-date=29 September 2021|website=East Anglian Daily Times}} He captained Ipswich during the early months of the season, before his former teammate Sam Morsy took the armband full-time after being named as club captain in October.{{cite news |url = https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/sam-morsy-confirmed-as-club-captain-8432686 | title = 'It was always going to be' – Cook confirms Morsy as Town's club captain | website = East Anglian Daily Times | access-date = 22 October 2021 | date = 22 October 2021}}
Evans departed on 2 February 2024.{{cite web|url=https://www.itfc.co.uk/news/2024/february/02/lee-evans-departs/|title=LEE EVANS TO DEPART|date=2 February 2024|publisher=Ipswich Town FC|accessdate=2 March 2024}}
=Portsmouth=
On 1 March 2024, Evans joined Portsmouth on a deal until the end of the season.{{cite news| title=Lee Evans: Portsmouth sign former Ipswich Town midfielder|work=BBC Sport| url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68449651| date=1 March 2024|access-date=5 March 2024}} On 1 May 2024, the club said he would be released in the summer, when his contract expired.{{Cite web |title=Pompey Retained List: Summer 2024 |url=https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2024/may/pompey-retained-list-summer-2024/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=www.portsmouthfc.co.uk |language=en-gb}}
=Blackpool=
On 8 July 2024, Evans joined League One side Blackpool on a two-year contract.{{cite web|url=https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2024/july/08/seasiders-sign-lee-evans/|title=Seasiders Sign Lee Evans|website=www.blackpoolfc.co.uk|date=8 July 2024|accessdate=8 July 2024}} He scored his first goal for the club on 13 August 2024, the final goal in a 4–0 victory at Burton Albion in the EFL Cup.[https://www.skysports.com/football/burton-albion-vs-blackpool/510637 Burton Albion 0–4 Blackpool] – Sky Sports, 13 August 2024
International career
Having previously played two matches for the Wales Semi-pro team in 2012, Evans made his debut for the Wales under-21 team on 6 September 2013 against San Marino.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/23994414|title=San Marino U21 1–0 Wales U21|accessdate=2 March 2024|work=BBC Sport}} On 5 September 2014, Evans scored his first goal for Wales under-21 in a 2–2 draw with Finland.{{cite news| title=Finland & Wales Draw 2–2|publisher=FAW| url=http://www.faw.org.uk/news/Finland-and-Wales-Draw-2-2-/97536/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906133604/http://www.faw.org.uk/news/Finland-and-Wales-Draw-2-2-/97536/| url-status=usurped| archive-date=6 September 2014| date=5 September 2014}}
On 1 October 2014 Evans received his first call-up to the Wales senior national team along with five other uncapped players.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/29435500|title=Allen & Ramsey miss Wales qualifiers|accessdate=2 March 2024|work=BBC Sport}} He made his senior debut for Wales on 14 November 2017 as a second-half substitute during a 1–1 draw with Panama at the Cardiff City Stadium.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41884895 |title=Wales 1–1 Panama |work=BBC Sport |date=14 November 2017 |access-date=14 November 2017}} He made his first start for Wales on 20 March 2019 in a 1–0 win against Trinidad and Tobago at the Racecourse Ground.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47549392 |title=Wales 1–0 Trinidad and Tobago |work=BBC Sport |date=20 March 2019 |access-date=9 July 2021}}
Career statistics
=Club=
{{updated|end of 2023–24 season}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
=International=
{{updated|match played 20 March 2019}}{{NFT player |id=69380|name=Lee Evans |accessdate=14 January 2021}}
| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=3|Wales
|2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total | 4 | 0 |
Honours
Newport County
- FA Trophy runner-up: 2011–12{{cite news |title= FA Trophy: Newport County 0–2 York City |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18017573 |work=BBC Sport|date=12 May 2012}}
Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Football League One: 2013–14{{cite news |title=Wolves crowned League One Champions|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2014/04/21/wolves-crowned-league-one-champions/|work=Express & Star|date=22 April 2014}}
Wigan Athletic
- EFL League One: 2017–18{{cite book |editor-first=John |editor-last=Anderson |title=Football Yearbook 2018–2019 |year=2018 |publisher=Headline Publishing Group |location=London |isbn=978-1-4722-6106-9 |pages=382–383}}
Ipswich Town
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.itfc.co.uk/teams/first-team/midfielder/lee-evans/ Lee Evans profile] at the Ipswich Town F.C. website
- {{UEFA player}}
- {{NFT player}}
- {{Soccerbase}}
{{Blackpool F.C. squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Lee}}
Category:Footballers from Newport, Wales
Category:Welsh men's footballers
Category:Wales men's under-21 international footballers
Category:Wales men's international footballers
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Newport County A.F.C. players
Category:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Category:Bradford City A.F.C. players
Category:Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Category:Sheffield United F.C. players
Category:Ipswich Town F.C. players
Category:Portsmouth F.C. players
Category:Blackpool F.C. players
Category:National League (English football) players