Tom Lawrence, the midfielder gem born amid the Welsh valleys on 13 January 1994 now at the ripe old age of 31, has decided to grace Rangers with his presence. At a rather middling height of 5ft 10in (1.8m) and a solid 11st 11lb (75kg), you'd hardly describe him as an imposing figure on the pitch. We suppose whoever picks the jersey numbers at Rangers thought it would be rather clever to give him number 11, poignant, isn't it?
His career launched on a dazzling high at Manchester United, the Old Trafford big wigs soon departed with Lawrence on a loan deal to Carlisle United in November 2013. An unforgettable nine appearances and three goals later, Lawrence made the inevitable transition to Yeovil Town just two months later in January 2014, for yet another loan special. He faded into the mediocrity of 19 appearances and two pitiful goals.
The yearning for Lawrence's talents proved too much for Leicester City, who splurged a whole £1.2m in September 2014 only to ship him off to Rotherham United on loan within two months. Six games and one goal later, Lawrence embarked on a journeyman's dream. He featured at Blackburn Rovers then moved to Cardiff City, following which he was palmed off to Ipswich Town, all within the span of two seasons (2015-2017). He must have packed light.
Then came Derby County, throwing £5m at Leicester City's coffers in August 2017. Deciding to give the loan system a miss for a change, Lawrence stuck around Derby for quite the stint. 172 appearances and an impressive 36 goals, Lawrence at least tried to pay back too overeager Rams' fans their expectations. That, or Derby realised they might not recoup their £5m if he kept bouncing around the football league.
Despite all that, Rangers saw fit to bring Lawrence to Scotland in July 2022. Lawrence of Arabia he's not, but his excursion north has seen him stumble through 41 matches in two and a half seasons, with seven goals to show for it. Meanwhile, he's tried his hand at the League Cup, the Scottish Cup, and sent the ball into the net three times between the Champions and Europa Leagues. It's a shock UEFA haven't started engraving his name on any trophies yet, truly a tragedy.
