Nigel Lonwijk

Nigel Lonwijk
Personal information
Full name Nigel Cello Lonwijk[1]
Date of birth (2002-10-27) 27 October 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Goirle, Netherlands
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Huddersfield Town
(on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Number 23
Youth career
–2020 PSV Eindhoven
2020–2021 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
2021–2022 → Fortuna Sittard (loan) 22 (1)
2022–2023 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 35 (0)
2023 → Grasshopper (loan) 1 (0)
2024 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 8 (2)
2024– → Huddersfield Town (loan) 0 (0)
International career‡
2018 Netherlands U16 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 August 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:38, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

Nigel Cello Lonwijk (born 27 October 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or full-back for Huddersfield Town on loan from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Club career

After playing youth football for PSV Eindhoven, Lonwijk signed for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2020, initially joining their under-18 side.[3] Lonwijk joined the club's under-23 team for the 2020–21 season and appeared on the first-team bench four times, but failed to make his debut.[4][5] On 31 August 2021, Lonwijk signed a new contract with the club, lasting until summer 2023 with the option for an additional year, and also joined Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard on loan.[6] He made his debut for the club on 12 September 2021 as a substitute in a 3–1 Eredivisie defeat to Sparta Rotterdam.[4]

On 29 July 2022, Lonwijk signed for EFL League One club Plymouth Argyle on loan for the 2022–23 season.[7]

Following a successful spell with Plymouth, which saw them become champions of League One, he went on another loan, this time to Grasshopper Club Zürich in Switzerland,[8] where he was joined by fellow Wolves loanee Theo Corbeanu in the Swiss Super League. However, he suffered a hamstring injury during pre-season preparation,[9] which sidelined him until October.[10] He finally made his debut on 28 October 2023 in a 1–3 away defeat to FC St. Gallen, playing the entire second half at right-back, during which he once again injured his hamstring.[11] This injury caused his loan to be cut short on 16 November 2023.[12] Nevertheless, on 1 February 2024 Lonwijk joined Wycombe Wanderers on loan for the remainder of the season.[13]

On 28 August 2024, Lonwijk joined League One club Huddersfield Town on a season-long loan deal.[14]

International career

Lonwijk was born in the Netherlands to a Surinamese father and Dutch mother.[15] He has represented the Netherlands at under-16 level.[16]

Style of play

Lonwijk is right-footed and plays as a centre-back.[3] In January 2020, Wolves' head of academy Scott Sellars stated Lonwijk is "very good physically, a good defender one-on-one, and has strong technical ability".[3]

Personal life

Born in Goirle,[17] Lonwijk grew up in Tilburg.[18] He is the younger brother of Surinamese international Justin Lonwijk, who plays for Danish club Viborg, whilst his younger sister Jayden plays tennis.[19][18][20]

Honours

Plymouth Argyle

Wycombe Wanderers

References

  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". premierleague.com. Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Nigel Lonwijk". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Swarbrick, Rosie (24 January 2020). "Wolves academy boss Sellars happy to seal deal for PSV Eindhoven defender Nigel Lonwijk". Express & Star. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "N. Lonwijk". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Wolves ziet toekomst in Lonwijk: Nederlands talent (18) heeft meer ijzers in het vuur". Algemeen Dagblad. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Lonwijk signs new contract ahead of loan move". wolves.co.uk. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Nigel Lonwijk Signs". www.pafc.co.uk. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  8. ^ "GC Zurich signs Corbeanu and Lonwijk". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Letzter Test vor dem Start". gcz.ch. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Nigel Lonwijk back in training". gcz.ch. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Corbeanu and Lonwijk sidelined due to injury". gcz.ch. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Injury Update | Lonwijk leaves GC Zurich". gcz.ch. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Wycombe loan for Lonwijk". Wolverhampton Wanderers. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  14. ^ "NIGEL LONWIJK JOINS TOWN ON LOAN". www.htafc.com. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  15. ^ "PSV ziet met lede ogen aan: verdediger vertrekt naar Wolverhampton". www.soccernews.nl.
  16. ^ "Wolves secure Lonwijk signing". wolves.co.uk. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Nigel Lonwijk - Soccer player profile & career statistics - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  18. ^ a b Eikenaar, Hein (18 August 2018). "Tilburgse familie Lonwijk: met drie kinderen hard op weg naar een leven als prof". Eindhovens Dagblad. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Nigel Lonwijk uit Tilburg verlengt bij Wolves en is op weg naar Nederland". Brabants Dagblad. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  20. ^ Nanko Boelman (28 September 2022). "War or not, Lonwijk opts for transfer to Kyiv: 'This is really next level'". Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
    "Lonwijk makes a record transfer and exchanges Denmark for Ukraine". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 28 September 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  21. ^ "Plymouth beat Port Vale to win League One title". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  22. ^ Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton crush Plymouth to win Papa Johns Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  23. ^ Harby, Chris (7 April 2024). "Peterborough United 2–1 Wycombe Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2024.