Lewis John Cook (born 3 February 1997) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

. Cook is a graduate of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

's academy. He has represented England at various youth levels. He has won the

2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 13th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, an annual football competition between men's under-17 national teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament was hosted for the first time ...

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

and

2018 Toulon Tournament The 2018 Toulon Tournament (officially ) was the 46th edition of the Toulon Tournament. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 26 May to 9 June 2018. England won the tournament for the third successive year beating Mexico 2–1 i ...

with his country, captaining the team in the latter two tournaments.

Early life

Lewis John Cook was born on 3 February 1997 in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, North Yorkshire, and was raised in the nearby village of Saxton, North Yorkshire. He attended Tadcaster Grammar School, playing for their football teams from under-13 to under-15 level.

Club career

Leeds United

Early career

Cook graduated through the Leeds United Academy and was playing for the under-18s team when he was just 15 years old. Cook scored in a 3–1 loss against Liverpool under-18s on 1 March 2013 at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

for Leeds under-18s in the FA Youth Cup.

2014–15 season

After breaking into the team during the 2014–15 pre-season, Cook made his first-team debut for

in the first match of the season, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. He made his first start for Leeds on 12 August 2014, starting the League Cup match against

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

. He made his first league start on 30 August against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Cook became one of the first names on the teamsheet for Leeds, becoming part of a homegrown contingent in the first team alongside Sam Byram, Alex Mowatt and Charlie Taylor. On 28 March 2015, he picked up an ankle injury on international duty, which ruled him out of the final matches of the season. On 9 April 2015, after rumoured

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

interest in Cook and teammates Sam Byram, Alex Mowatt and Charlie Taylor, head coach

Neil Redfearn Neil David Redfearn (born 20 June 1965) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Farsley Celtic. Redfearn, a midfielder, played 790 matches in the Football League, the sixth highest total of all time, ...

challenged Leeds United's owners to keep a hold of their home-grown talents. On 19 April, Cook won the Championship Apprentice of the Year award for the 2014–15 season. On 1 May 2015, Cook was named as the runner-up to winner Alex Mowatt for the ''

Yorkshire Evening Post The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' (''YEP'') is a regional daily newspaper covering the City of Leeds. Founded in 1890 it is published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, National World. Despite being having coverage and being sold across West Yorkshire ...

'' Player of the Year for the 2014–15 season. On 2 May 2015, he won Leeds' Young Player of the Year Award and also finished as runner-up to Alex Mowatt in the Fans' Player of the Year Award at the club's official end of season awards ceremony.

2015–16 season

Cook signed a new contract at Leeds on 11 May 2015, tying him to the club until June 2017. On 12 August 2015, he scored his first Leeds goal against

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in the League Cup, but was also sent off in the first half for a straight red card, with Leeds eventually losing 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. As a result of this red card, Cook received a three-match suspension. After being subject to bids from Premier League clubs, Leeds manager Steve Evans revealed on 7 January 2016 that they had rejected bids for Cook and that club owner

Massimo Cellino Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd, he was the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of Italian club Cagliari, and English ...

had assured him that the player would not be sold. On 24 February 2016, Cook scored with a 35-yard short to earn his first league goal for Leeds in a 1–1 home draw against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. On 17 April 2016, Cook won the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

Young Player of the Year Award. At the club's annual Player of the Year Awards ceremony on 30 April 2016, Cook missed out on Player of the Year to Charlie Taylor, but was named the Young Player of the Year for the 2015–16 season. In addition to this, he was presented with the award for Goal of the Season for his goal against Fulham. On 15 June 2016, Leeds owner Massimo Cellino stated he had entered into talks with Cook's agent about extending the player's contract.

Bournemouth

On 8 July 2016, Cook signed for Premier League club

on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut when starting in a 3–1 defeat at home to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in their first match of the

2016–17 Premier League The 2016–17 Premier League was the 25th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 118th season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

. Cook made two further appearances in the League Cup before being sidelined until 2017 by a persistent ankle problem. Cook returned to the first team on 15 April 2017, coming on as a 56th-minute substitute in a 4–0 away defeat to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. He scored his first goal for Bournemouth in a 4-2 win against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 21 November 2020. On 31 August 2024, and as captain for the first time, Cook scored his first Premier League goal, an equaliser against Everton, in a game that saw Bournemouth complete a comeback win in injury time from 2 goals down.

International career

In May 2014, Cook was part of the England national under-17 team that won the

, starting three of England's five matches, including the semi-final and the final. In August 2014, he was called up to the under-18 team for a match against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In March 2015, Cook was called up to Sean O'Driscoll's under-19 team to play

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the last three remaining European Under-19 Championship qualifiers. He made his debut on 28 March, playing 79 minutes against Azerbaijan in a 1–0 win for England before being replaced by Charlie Colkett. Cook had to withdraw from the squad having suffered an ankle injury against Azerbaijan, meaning he missed the match against France as the team looked to secure a place at the tournament in Greece. He was withdrawn from the squad for the

2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 15th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (65th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual European international youth association football, football champio ...

by his club manager

Garry Monk Garry Alan Monk (born 6 March 1979) is an English football manager and former professional player who was most recently the head coach of club Cambridge United. Monk, a centre back, began his playing career with Torquay United before joining ...

, who wished to work with the player for a full pre-season. Cook was selected for the under-20 team for the

and was made captain. He played in six of the seven England matches in the tournament, only being rested for the match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. He scored a goal in a 1–1 draw against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, his first goal in an international match. England beat

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

1–0 in the final, which was England's first win in a global tournament since their

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

victory, and Cook became the first England captain to lift a world trophy since

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

. Cook was called up by the senior team for the first time in November 2017 for a friendly against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He was again named in the England squad in March 2018 for pre

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

friendlies against the

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He made his debut against the latter on 27 March as a 71st-minute substitute in the 1–1 draw at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. On 16 May 2018, he was one of five players named on standby for the 23-man England national team squad for the

. Cook received a call up to

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is the national under-21 association football team of England, under the control of the Football Association. It is considered to be the feeder team ...

s by manager

Aidy Boothroyd Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who was most recently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur. At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he ...

on 18 May 2018, with Cook as Captain for the

, with England's group containing fixtures against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, China and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Cook started in the 2018 Toulon Tournament Final against Mexico on 9 June 2018, captaining England to victory in the tournament with a 2–1 win.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Bournemouth *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

second-place promotion: 2021–22 England U17 *

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-17, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain national under-17 football team, ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

England U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

England U21 *

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Individual * Football League Championship Apprentice of the Year: 2014–15 *

Young Player of the Year: 2014–15, 2015–16 * Football League Young Player of the Year: 2015–16 *Toulon Tournament Best XI:

References

External links

Lewis Cook
at

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Lewis 1997 births Living people Footballers from York English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Leeds United F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players English Football League players Premier League players England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers England men's international footballers 21st-century English sportsmen