Thomas Lynn James (born 15 April 1996) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for English League Two club Leyton Orient. James has previously played for Cardiff City, Yeovil Town, Hibernian, Wigan Athletic and Salford City.
![]() James playing for Cardiff City in 2014 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Thomas Lynn James[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1996-04-15) 15 April 1996 (age 26) | ||
Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Leyton Orient | ||
Number | 2 | ||
Youth career | |||
2004–2013 | Cardiff City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013–2017 | Cardiff City | 1 | (0) |
2017–2019 | Yeovil Town | 78 | (6) |
2019–2021 | Hibernian | 6 | (0) |
2020–2021 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 20 | (3) |
2021 | → Salford City (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2021– | Leyton Orient | 34 | (6) |
National team‡ | |||
2014 | Wales U19 | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:09, 8 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:01, 27 July 2019 (UTC) |
James grew up in Taff's Well, attending Gwaelod-y-Garth Primary School and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg, Pontypridd.[3] He was playing for Pentyrch Rangers when talent-spotted by Cardiff City.
James joined Cardiff City at under-9 level and signed his first professional contract with the club in April 2014.[4] James made his professional debut for Cardiff against Chelsea on 11 May 2014, coming on as an 89th minute substitute for Fraizer Campbell in a 2–1 home loss.[5]
On 13 January 2017, James signed for League Two side Yeovil Town on a contract until the end of the 2016–17 season, after his contract with Cardiff was cancelled by mutual consent.[6] In January 2018 James signed a contract extension with Yeovil Town until the end of the 2018–19 season.[7] On 1 August 2018, Yeovil accepted a bid of £400,000 from Championship side West Bromwich Albion for James.[8] The move fell through the following day after James failed to agree personal terms with the Championship club.[9]
James moved to Scottish Premiership club Hibernian in June 2019 for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[10][11] He scored his first goal for Hibernian in a 2-0 Scottish League Cup win over Alloa Athletic on 20 July 2019.[12] On 17 September 2020, James moved on loan to Wigan Athletic until January 2021.[13][14] He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 2-1 win away at Portsmouth on 26 September 2020.[15] On 18 January 2021, James moved on loan to Salford City until the end of the 2020–21 season.[16] He was cup-tied for Salford's victory in the 2020 EFL Trophy Final (played in March 2021).[17]
James left Hibernian permanently in July 2021 and signed a one-year contract with Leyton Orient.[18] In May 2022 he signed for a further two years at Orient. [19]
At the end of May 2014, James was called up to the Wales under-19 team for their 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round matches against Belgium, Portugal and Greece[20] James made his under-19 debut in a 3–2 defeat to Portugal.[21]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Cardiff City | 2013–14[22] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2014–15[23] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2015–16[24] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2016–17[25] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Yeovil Town | 2016–17[25] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2017–18[26] | League Two | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 51 | 1 | |
2018–19[27] | League Two | 38 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 42 | 7 | |
Total | 78 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 96 | 8 | ||
Hibernian | 2019–20[28] | Scottish Premiership | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 12 | 1 | |
2020–21[29] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 12 | 1 | |||
Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2020–21[29] | League One | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 24 | 4 |
Salford City (loan) | 2020–21[29] | League Two | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
Leyton Orient | 2021–22[30] | League Two | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 26 | 4 |
2022–23[31] | League Two | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 14 | 3 | |
Total | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 7 | ||
Career total | 141 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 177 | 20 |
Leyton Orient F.C. – current squad | |
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