Torquay United AFC is delighted to announce the signing of Southampton defender Nico Lawrence.

Lawrence arrives at Plainmoor having established himself as a regular member of the Saints’ first-team training sessions under boss Nathan Jones, in addition to being an ever-present in the Club’s Premier League 2 side this term.

The 19 year-old followed up making Football League Trophy appearances against EFL sides Forest Green, Exeter City and Newport County by receiving a call-up to the League Cup squad against Sheffield Wednesday last November, and has now joined up with Gary Johnson’s squad in order to gain further senior experience, whilst increasing The Gulls’ defensive options in the process.

After alluding to the potential signing at Thursday’s Press Call, the Gaffer was clearly delighted to be adding the highly-rated centre-back to his roster for the remainder of 2022/23.

“He’s a centre-back, and Southampton think very highly of him,” said Johnson.

“One of the things we had to wait a little bit for was because him and his agent were negotiating a new contract at Southampton. He’s very pleased with that, so that’s a testament to how much they like him, because they don’t want us to nick him!

“It’s a good Club to work with, they understand what we do, and we’ll have him until the end of the season.”

 

Photo used with kind permission of Southampton FC