Anderlecht surprises and gets defender Lawrence

TRANSFERS Anderlecht has a new central defender. It is a name that did not appear in the media in recent days and weeks: James Alexander Lawrence. The 26-year-old Englishman comes from the Slovakian club AS Trencin.


Lawrence played as a youngster for Arsenal (2001 - 2003) and Queens Park Rangers (2003 - 2006). In 2008 his parents moved to the Netherlands and joined with Haarlem. A year later, when he was 17 years old, Lawrence went to Ajax. He stayed there for two years.

At the age of 19 Lawrence moved to Jong Sparta Rotterdam. In the 2011 - 2012 season, he was in the selection of the first team for the first time. After Sparta he played at Jong RKC for two season.

Just before his 22nd birthday, Lawrence signed a contract with AS Trencin in Slovakia in August 2014. This club is owned by former Ajax player Tscheu La Ling and is known as a growth club for young talents. In his first two seasons with Trencin, Lawrence commuted between the starting eleven and the bench, but in the past two seasons he was a fixed value.

Last season, Lawrence played 25 games in the Slovakian first division. In it he scored once and got three yellow cards. This season his counter is on three league games and six games in the preliminary round of the Europa League.

At Anderlecht, the left-footed Lawrence has to compete with Antonio Milic.