Luke Woolfenden

Luke Woolfenden
Woolfenden celebrates Ipswich Town's promotion to the Premier League in May 2024
Personal information
Full name Luke Matthew Woolfenden[1]
Date of birth (1998-10-21) 21 October 1998 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Ipswich, England
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[3]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Ipswich Town
Number 6
Youth career
2009–2017 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– Ipswich Town 176 (5)
2017–2018 → Bromley (loan) 20 (1)
2018–2019 → Swindon Town (loan) 32 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:17, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

Luke Matthew Woolfenden (born 21 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Ipswich Town.[4]

Woolfenden is a graduate of the Ipswich Town academy, making his senior debut in 2017. He spent time on loan at Bromley during the 2017–2018 season and Swindon Town during the 2018–2019 season. Primarily a centre back, he can also play as a right back.

Club career

Ipswich Town

Woolfenden playing for Ipswich Town in 2018

Woolfenden joined the Ipswich Town academy at the age of 11.[5] He became a full academy player with Town in July 2015, signing a two-year scholarship. He signed his first professional contract in June 2017, signing a one-year contract with the option of an additional year extension.[6] He went on to make his full senior debut in a 2–0 win over Luton Town in the League Cup first round on 8 August 2017.[7] In September 2017, Woolfenden signed a new contract with Ipswich, signing a two-year contract with the option of an additional one-year extension.[8] On 28 April 2018, Woolfenden made his full Championship debut for Ipswich Town away to Reading. Ipswich went onto win the game 4–0, with Woolfenden playing the full game.[9] He also came on as a substitute in the last game of the 2017–2018 season in a 2–2 home draw against Middlesbrough.[10]

Bromley (loan)

In December 2017 he joined Bromley on a month's loan. He made his debut for Bromley against Macclesfield Town on 23 December.[11] On 27 April 2018, Woolfenden was recalled from his loan spell at Bromley. He made 17 starts and three sub appearances, scoring once, for the Ravens having joined them just before Christmas.[12]

Swindon Town (loan)

On 31 August 2018, Woolfenden joined League Two side Swindon Town on loan until the end of the season.[13] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–2 loss to Bury on 15 September 2018.[14] On 16 February 2019, Woolfenden signed a new 3-year contract with Ipswich, with the option of an additional years' extension.[15] Woolfenden made 36 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell at the County Ground, scoring two goals.[16]

Return to Ipswich

2019–20 season

After returning from loan, Woolfenden became a regular player for Ipswich during the 2019–20 season following relegation to League One the previous season. On 25 January 2020, he scored his first goal for the club, netting the winner in a 1–0 home win against Lincoln City at Portman Road.[17] He made 36 appearances during his first full season in the Ipswich first-team. Woolfenden signed a new four-year contract with Ipswich on 1 July 2020, keeping him at the club until 2024, with the option of an additional year extension.[18]

2020–21 season

Woolfenden was given the number 6 shirt for the 2020–21 season. He made his first appearance of the season in a 3–0 win over Bristol Rovers in an EFL Cup first round tie in the opening match of the season.[19] He suffered a minor injury in training during the early part of the season, keeping him out of the team for the majority of September.[20] He made his first league appearance of the season on 27 October, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 home win over Gillingham.[21] Woolfenden scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 win over Blackpool on 6 February.[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 19 October 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ipswich Town 2017–18[23] Championship 2 0 0 0 2 0 — 4 0
2018–19[16] Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
2019–20[24] League One 31 1 2 0 0 0 3[a] 0 36 1
2020–21[25] League One 25 1 0 0 1 0 2[a] 0 28 1
2021–22[26] League One 31 0 2 0 1 0 4[a] 0 38 0
2022–23[27] League One 41 2 3 0 1 0 2[a] 0 47 2
2023–24[28] Championship 41 1 1 0 0 0 — 42 1
2024–25[29] Premier League 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 4 0
Total 176 5 8 0 5 0 11 0 200 5
Bromley (loan) 2017–18[3] National League 20 1 0 0 — 6[b] 0 26 1
Swindon Town (loan) 2018–19[16] League Two 32 2 2 0 0 0 2[a] 0 36 2
Career total 223 8 10 0 5 0 19 0 257 8
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in FA Trophy

Honours

Ipswich Town

References

  1. ^ "EFL Released and Retained List 2016–17" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  2. ^ Luke Woolfenden at Soccerbase
  3. ^ a b "L. Woolfenden". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Luke Woolfenden". Ipswich Town F.C. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Woolfenden: Our Aim is to Win the League". TWTD. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Trio Sign First Pro Deals". TWTD. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Luton Town v Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Woolfenden Signs New Deal". TWTD. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Woolfenden Buzzing After Big Win on Championship Debut". TWTD. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Ipswich Town 2–2 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  11. ^ Woolfenden Joins Bromley on Loan Those were the Days, 23 December 2017
  12. ^ "Woolfenden Recalled from Bromley Loan – Ipswich Town News".
  13. ^ "Woolfenden Signs for Swindon". Ipswich Town Official Website. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Woolfenden: Today Needs To Be A Blip". Swindon Town Official Website. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Luke Signs New Deal". Ipswich Town. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  16. ^ a b c "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Ipswich Town 1–0 Lincoln City". BBC Sport. 25 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Woolfenden Signs Long-Term Deal". Ipswich Town. July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Ipswich Town 3 – 0 Bristol Rovers". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Wilson Starts as Woolfenden Misses League One Opener Against Wigan". TWTD. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Ipswich Town 1 – 0 Gillingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Ipswich Town 2 – 0 Blackpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  24. ^ "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  25. ^ "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  29. ^ "Games played by Luke Woolfenden in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Fleetwood Town 2 - 2 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  31. ^ "We Are Premier League!". 4 May 2024.