Thomas Morris Lawrence was born on 13th January 1994 in Wrexham, Wales. He began playing football at Everton before joining Manchester United, aged eight, in 2002.
Early Football and Senior Debut
Lawrence progressed through the youth ranks at Manchester United over the next eleven years, and played regularly for the U-18s and U-21s.
He signed his first professional contract in July 2012, and was loaned out to League One side Carlisle United in November 2013. In 11 total appearances for the club, he scored three goals and provided two assists.
In January 2014, Lawrence joined Championship side Yeovil Town on loan, and scored two goals and provided two assists in 19 appearances.
He made his senior debut—also his only first-team appearance—for the Red Devils in May 2014, starting in the 3-1 win against Hull City at Old Trafford.
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Move to Leicester and the Series of Loans
Lawrence joined newly promoted Leicester City in September 2014 on a four year contract. However, he was loaned out to Championship side Rotherham United in November, without having played for the Foxes. In six appearances for the Millers, he scored one goal and provided one assist.
He was finally given his Leicester debut in January 2015—against Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round—and played in three league matches, albeit without any goal contributions.
In August 2015, Lawrence returned to the Championship to join Blackburn Rovers on loan until January. He scored two goals and provided three assists in 23 total appearances.
One day after his return to Leicester, he was loaned out until the end of the season to Cardiff City. He played in 14 matches for the Bluebirds but could only contribute one assist.
For the 2016-17 season, Lawrence joined Ipswich Town on loan, once again in the Championship. He made 36 total appearances in the league and FA Cup, scoring 11 goals and providing 11 assists.
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To Finally Settle Somewhere
In August 2017, after three seasons spent mostly out on loan from Leicester, Lawrence joined Derby County on permanent transfer. He spent five seasons with the Rams in the Championship, during which he contributed 37 goals and 25 assists in 185 matches across all competitions.
He was named club captain in July 2021, only for Derby County to be relegated to League One at the end of the season.
Move to Glasgow and Injury Problems
Lawrence signed for Rangers Football Club in July 2022. He spoke of his excitement at joining the club:
“I am delighted to have joined Rangers and I’m excited to get started.
“The club is known worldwide for its history, successes and fan base and I look forward to being part of that going forward and getting to play in front of the supporters at Ibrox.”
However, his first season with the Light Blues did not go according to plan. An Achilles tendon injury meant he played in only nine matches, scoring three goals and providing two assists.
Last season, in 2023-24, he made 32 appearances across all competitions but offered only six goal contributions—three goals and three assists. A muscle injury prevented him from being part of the League Cup winning squad.
He has scored four goals already this season though, and provided one assist, in eleven matches.
Lawrence has represented Wales at three different age groups—U17, U19, and U21—where he scored four goals in 17 appearances. He made his senior debut for the national team against Andorra in October 2015, and has since scored three goals in 23 appearances.