Luca John Connell (born 20 April 2001) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL League One side Barnsley. He started his senior career with Bolton Wanderers before moving to Celtic, from whom he spent two loan spells at Queen's Park.
![]() Connell playing for Bolton Wanderers U18s in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Luca John Connell[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2001-04-20) 20 April 2001 (age 21)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Barnsley | ||
Number | 48 | ||
Youth career | |||
2010–2019 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019 | Bolton Wanderers | 10 | (0) |
2019–2022 | Celtic | 0 | (0) |
2021 | → Queen's Park (loan) | 11 | (3) |
2021–2022 | → Queen's Park (loan) | 27 | (7) |
2022– | Barnsley | 11 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2018 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 4 | (0) |
2018 | Republic of Ireland U18 | 3 | (0) |
2019 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 3 | (0) |
2021 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:03, 28 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:17, 29 September 2022 (UTC) |
He has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17 to under-21 levels.
Connell was born in Liverpool, Merseyside.[2]
Connell joined Bolton Wanderers at the age of nine.[3] He joined the under-18s as a first-year scholar for the 2017–18 season, and was promoted to the under-23s for the 2018–19 campaign.[4]
On 5 January 2019, Connell made his competitive debut in a 5–2 win over Walsall in the FA Cup Third Round as an 89th minute substitute replacing Luke Murphy.[5] Two weeks later, he was named as unused substitute in a 2–0 league defeat to West Bromwich Albion.[6] On 25 January, Connell started his first senior game in a 2–1 defeat to Bristol City in the FA Cup Fourth Round and assisted Mark Beevers' goal.[7] He was rewarded with a league debut four days later in a 1–1 draw against Reading.[8] Connell's scholarship contract was extended for a further year on 21 May 2019.[9]
On 29 June 2019, Connell signed a four-year deal with Celtic for a fee of around £350,000.[10][11]
Connell was loaned to Queen's Park in March 2021 and again in September 2021.[12][13] He helped them achieve back to back promotions during his two loan spells (from League Two to League One and then from League One to the Championship).[14][15]
On 3 June 2022, it was announced that Connell had been released by Celtic, despite having a year left on his contract. He left without having made a senior appearance during his three years with the club.[16]
On 17 June 2022, Connell returned to England to join League One club Barnsley on a three-year contract.[17]
Connell is eligible to represent England and the Republic of Ireland.[18][19]
In August 2017, Connell was invited to train with the Republic of Ireland under-17 squad.[4] On 21 March 2018, Connell made his international debut at under-17 level in a 3–0 win against Macedonia. Three days later, he featured in a 2–0 victory against Georgia. In May 2018, Connell made two appearances in the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship group stages, playing in wins against Denmark and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[20]
He was called up to the under-18s for the first time in November 2018, and made his debut in a 2–1 win against Belgium. In the following days, Connell started in a 3–1 defeat to England and 1–0 win against the Netherlands.[21] In March 2019, he was called up to the under-19s. Connell featured in victories against Romania, Azerbaijan and Russia as Ireland qualified for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[22]
In May 2019 he received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior national team.[23] Connell's first trip with the Republic of Ireland squad ended prematurely though as he was forced to pull out of the squad with a thigh strain.[24]
Connell made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut on the 26 March 2021, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win over Wales U21 in Wrexham.[25]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Bolton Wanderers | 2018–19 | EFL Championship | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
Celtic | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Celtic U20 | 2019–20 | — | — | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
2021–22[27] | — | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
Total | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
Queen's Park (loan) | 2020–21 | Scottish League Two | 11 | 3 | — | — | — | 11 | 3 | |||
Queen's Park (loan) | 2021–22 | Scottish League One | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 31 | 7 | |
Total | 38 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 42 | 10 | |||
Career total | 48 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 57 | 10 |
Queen's Park
Barnsley F.C. – current squad | |
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