Lee O'Connor (footballer)
Irish footballer
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Lee Patrick O'Connor (born 28 July 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Tranmere Rovers and the Republic of Ireland national team.[3] He has also spent time on loan at Partick Thistle.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Patrick O'Connor[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 July 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Waterford City, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | Villa F.C. | ||
| 2016–2019 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Celtic | 0 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Partick Thistle (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | → Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 49 | (0) |
| 2022– | Tranmere Rovers | 145 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2017 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 14 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 13 | (2) |
| 2019–2022 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 26 | (1) |
| 2019 | Republic of Ireland | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 02:35, 27 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:50, 27 September 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early career
In 2016, O'Connor moved from Villa F.C. of Waterford to the Manchester United youth team, signing a three-year contract.[4] On 6 August 2019, O'Connor played an EFL Trophy match for Manchester United U21s away to Rotherham United, winning 2–0 at the New York Stadium.[5]
Celtic
In September 2019, O'Connor joined Celtic, signing a four-year contract until 2023.[6][7]
Partick Thistle loan
In January 2020, O'Connor joined Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle on loan, joining Ian McCall's side for the second half of the season.[8] He made his debut in senior club football on 25 January 2020, in a 2–1 loss to Arbroath.[9] He made five appearances in all competitions for the club before the season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]
Tranmere Rovers
O'Connor joined League Two club Tranmere Rovers on 17 August 2020 on a season-long loan.[11] He made 42 appearances over the course of the season and returned to Celtic for pre-season.[12] O'Connor returned to Tranmere Rovers on another season long loan on transfer deadline day, 31 August 2021.[13] The transfer was made permanent in January 2022.[14]
International career
O'Connor made his international debut, and recorded an assist, for the Republic of Ireland on 14 November 2019 in a friendly match against New Zealand.[15][16][17] O'Connor was announced as the FAI Under-21 International Player of the Year for 2019 on 4 August 2020.[18] O'Connor holds the record number of underage appearances for the Republic of Ireland with 78 appearances across all underage teams.[19]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 28 October 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United U21 | 2019–20[20] | — | — | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Celtic | 2019–20[20] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020-21[21] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021-22[22] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Partick Thistle (loan) | 2019–20[20] | Scottish Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2020–21[21] | League Two | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| Celtic B | 2021–22[22] | — | — | — | — | 1[d] | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 2021–22[22] | League Two | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Tranmere Rovers | 2021–22[22] | League Two | 18 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23[23] | League Two | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[24] | League Two | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25[25] | League Two | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26[26] | League Two | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 146 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 159 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 196 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 225 | 1 | ||
- Includes Scottish Cup and FA Cup
- Includes Scottish League Cup and EFL Cup
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- Appearance(s) in Scottish Challenge Cup
- Four appearances in EFL Trophy; Two appearances in League Two play-offs
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
