Lloyd Casius Kelly (born 6 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. Mainly a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he can also play as a left-back.

Club career

Bristol City

Kelly joined Bristol City at the age of 12 after he was spotted playing for local side Bristol Central. In 2015–16, he was included in City's pre-season squad that visited Portugal. On 8 August 2017, Kelly made his debut for Bristol City in a 5–0 victory against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. Kelly made his first league start on 23 December 2017 against Queens Park Rangers, and scored his first league goal against Reading just three days later. At the end of the 2017–18 season, he was named the Senior Reds' Young Player of the Year. On 19 March 2018, he was named in the EFL "Team of the Week" for gameweek 38. He was praised for his 'maturity in defence' as well as providing the assist for the only goal of the game against Ipswich Town.

AFC Bournemouth

On 18 May 2019, Kelly signed for Premier League club

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

for an undisclosed fee, reported as £13 million, after eight years at Bristol City. He made his debut for Bournemouth in an

tie against Burton Albion on 25 September 2019. His league debut followed in June 2020 when he played as a substitute against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for the club on 17 April 2021 in a 3–1 win against Norwich City. For the 2021–22 season, Kelly began to captain Bournemouth in the absence of club captain

Steve Cook Steve Anthony Cook (born 19 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Nottingham Forest. Club career Brighton & Hove Albion Born in Hastings, East Sussex, Cook made his first-team debut for Brighton & Hove A ...

, beginning with the opening fixture of the campaign; a 2–2 home draw against West Bromwich Albion. Kelly started the first 14 games of the season, playing a pivotal role in the Cherries' unbeaten start. This 14-game unbeaten run equalled a club record dating back to 1961. Kelly scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 home win against Huddersfield Town. Kelly was later confirmed as the Cherries' club captain after the departure of previous captain Steve Cook. On 5 June 2024, the club announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.

Newcastle United

On 13 June 2024,

announced the signing of Kelly on a free transfer, joining the club from 1 July under his former coach Eddie Howe.

International career

In August 2017, Kelly made his debut for England U20, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 win over the Netherlands. On 12 November 2018, he received his first call-up to the under-21 side and made his debut as a third minute substitute during a 2–1 win over Italy in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

on 15 November 2018. Kelly was a member of England's 23-man squad for the

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2019) was the 22nd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (25th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ch ...

and

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021) was the 23rd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (26th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ch ...

Personal life

Born in England, Kelly is of Jamaican descent. From the age of six, Kelly spent twelve years in foster care alongside his siblings.

Career statistics

Honours

AFC Bournemouth * Championship runner-up: 2021–22 Individual * EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2021–22 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: 2021–22 Championship

References

External links

Profile
at the AFC Bournemouth website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Lloyd 1998 births Living people Footballers from Bristol English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Bristol City F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Newcastle United F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers English people of Jamaican descent Black British sportsmen Sportspeople of Jamaican descent