Shayne Lavery
Northern Irish footballer
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Shayne Francis Lavery (born 8 December 1998) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Cambridge United. He has also represented the Northern Ireland national team. He has previously played for Everton, Falkirk and Linfield.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shayne Francis Lavery[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 December 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Aghagallon, County Antrim, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cambridge United | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Oxford Sunnyside | |||
| Portadown | |||
| –2015 | Glenavon | ||
| 2015–2019 | Everton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | Everton | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Falkirk (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Linfield | 56 | (33) |
| 2021–2024 | Blackpool | 95 | (15) |
| 2024– | Cambridge United | 39 | (11) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Northern Ireland U17 | 3 | (2) |
| 2016 | Northern Ireland U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2016– | Northern Ireland U21 | 14 | (5) |
| 2018– | Northern Ireland | 19 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:51, 17 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:22, 19 June 2023 (UTC) | |||
Early and personal life
Lavery attended St Michael's Grammar School in Lurgan.[2] His older brother Conor played youth football for Manchester United.[2]
Club career
Lavery played youth football for Oxford Sunnyside, Portadown and Glenavon.[2] He was an unused substitute for Glenavon's first team in December 2014.[3]
In March 2015, Lavery moved to Everton following a successful trial.[2] On 6 December 2017, Lavery was named in Everton's first-team squad for the Europa League match away to Apollon Limassol but was an unused substitute.[4]
Lavery moved on loan to Scottish Championship club Falkirk in January 2019.[5] Following the end of his loan, Lavery departed Everton at the end of the 2018–19 season.
On 31 May 2019, it was announced that Lavery had joined Linfield on a one-year deal.[6] His deal was then extended by another year in May 2020.[7]
Lavery signed for Blackpool on 1 July 2021 on a two-year contract, with an option of a further 12 months. He scored, deep into injury time, on his debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw at Bristol City on 7 August.[8]
On 7 May 2024, Blackpool announced the player would be leaving the club in the summer when his contract expired.[9]
On 1 July 2024, Lavery joined League One side Cambridge United on a two-year deal.[10] He scored his first goals for the club on 24 August, in a 4–4 draw with Blackpool in League One.[11]
International career
Lavery played for Northern Ireland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 youth levels.[2][12][13]
He received his first call up to the Northern Ireland senior team in March 2018,[14] and made his senior debut against Panama in May 2018.[15]
Lavery's first international goal came on 2 September 2021 against Lithuania in Vilnius, in a 2022 World Cup qualifier which Northern Ireland went on to win 4–1.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Glenavon | 2014–15[13] | NIFL Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Everton | 2015–16[16] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[17] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18[18] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[19] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Everton U23 | 2017–18[18] | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19[19] | — | — | — | 3[a] | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Falkirk (loan) | 2018–19[19] | Scottish Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Linfield | 2019–20[13] | NIFL Premiership | 25 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8[b] | 4 | 35 | 14 |
| 2020–21[13] | NIFL Premiership | 31 | 23 | 4 | 7 | — | 3 | 0 | 38 | 30 | ||
| Total | 62 | 33 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 84 | 45 | ||
| Blackpool | 2021–22[20] | EFL Championship | 37 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | 40 | 10 | |
| 2022–23 | EFL Championship | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | EFL League One | 31 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 6 | |
| Total | 95 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 106 | 18 | ||
| Cambridge United | 2024–25[21] | EFL League One | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 5 |
| 2025–26[22] | EFL League Two | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 | |
| Total | 39 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 196 | 59 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 233 | 74 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 8 September 2024[23]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lavery goal.[23]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Cap | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 September 2021 | LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 8 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 9 June 2022 | Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo |  Kosovo | 14 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
| 3 | 27 September 2022 | Georgios Kamaras Stadium, Athens, Greece |  Greece | 17 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 2022-23 UEFA Nations League C |
Honours
- Linfield
- Individual
- Ulster Footballer of the Year: 2020–21[24]
- NIFWA Player of the Year: 2020–21[24]