Josh Laurent

Joshua Ishaele Jacob-Heron Laurent (born 6 May 1995), commonly known as Josh Laurent, is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Reading. He is a product of the Queens Park Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers youth systems.

Josh Laurent
Laurent training with Brentford DS in 2015.
Personal information
Full name Joshua Ishaele Jacob-Heron Laurent[1]
Date of birth (1995-05-06) 6 May 1995
Place of birth Leytonstone, England[2]
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Reading
Number 28
Youth career
Redbridge
0000–2012 Wycombe Wanderers
2012–2013 Queens Park Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Queens Park Rangers 0 (0)
2014 → Braintree Town (loan) 16 (0)
2015–2016 Brentford 0 (0)
2015 → Newport County (loan) 3 (0)
2016–2017 Hartlepool United 28 (1)
2017–2018 Wigan Athletic 1 (0)
2017–2018 → Bury (loan) 21 (1)
2018–2020 Shrewsbury Town 73 (4)
2020– Reading 26 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:10, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

Club career

Queens Park Rangers

A midfielder and occasional centre back,[4] Laurent began his career in the youth systems at Redbridge and Wycombe Wanderers and signed a scholarship deal with the latter club in 2011.[5][6] After a trial with Premier League giants Liverpool,[7] he moved into the academy at Queens Park Rangers prior to the beginning of the 2012–13 season.[1] Laurent made 20 appearances in the youth team's victorious 2012–13 Professional U18 Development League 2 campaign and played the full 90 minutes of the 1–0 win over Huddersfield Town in the final.[8][9]

Laurent signed his first professional contract in May 2013, a one-year deal.[10] Laurent continued to play in the Development Squad through the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons.

Laurent signed for Conference Premier side Braintree Town on a one-month loan on 17 February 2014.[11] He made the first senior appearance of his career with a start in a 2–2 draw with Kidderminster Harriers five days later.[12] Laurent won praise for his performances from manager Alan Devonshire and remained at Cressing Road for a second month,[13] before departing after his 16th appearance on 12 April.[12]

He departed QPR on 14 January 2015.[2] The departure of Laurent caused a "reaction" at Loftus Road, with the supporters questioning the club's commitment to its younger players.[14] On 23 January, Rangers' Head of Football Operations Les Ferdinand revealed that he had been unable to convince Laurent that there was a pathway from the Development Squad to the first team.[15]

Brentford

On 14 January 2015, Laurent moved across West London to sign for Championship side Brentford on a one-and-a-half-year Development Squad deal for an undisclosed fee.[2] He made his only first team appearance in the League Cup first round versus Oxford United on 11 August, playing the full 90 minutes of the 4–0 defeat.[16] Laurent failed to feature in another first team squad before his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 1 February 2016.[17] He made 21 appearances and scored five goals for the Development Squad.[17]

Laurent signed for League Two side Newport County on a 28-day youth loan on 19 August 2015,[18] which was later extended to 14 October.[19] He made his debut (the first Football League appearance of his career) as a 74th-minute substitute for Scott Boden in a 3–2 defeat to Leyton Orient three days later.[20] He made his first start for the club on 1 September,[20] playing the opening 73 minutes of the Exiles' shootout defeat to Swindon Town in the Football League Trophy first round.[21] Laurent was left out of incoming manager John Sheridan's first squad on 3 October and was recalled by Brentford five days later,[20][22] having made four appearances.[23]

Hartlepool United

On 1 February 2016, Laurent joined League Two club Hartlepool United on a free transfer.[24] Laurent scored his first and only goal for the club in a 3–1 defeat to Leyton Orient on 22 October 2016 and remained with the club until February 2017,[25] by which time he had made 33 appearances.[23]

Wigan Athletic

On 1 February 2017, Laurent joined Championship club Wigan Athletic on a ​2 1⁄2-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[26] He made just one appearance before the end of the 2016–17 season,[26] at the end of which the Latics were relegated to League One.[27] He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 2–1 EFL Cup win against Blackpool on 8 August 2017.[28]

On 31 August 2017, Bury signed Laurent on loan for the rest of the 2017–18 season.

Shrewsbury Town

On 23 July 2018, Laurent joined League One side Shrewsbury Town on a two-year deal.[29] He was a first-team regular during his first season at the club, making a notable contribution in the third-round of the FA Cup, where he both won the penalty that led to Shrewsbury's equaliser and then went on to score the winning goal against Championship side Stoke City.[30] Laurent became a free agent after his contract expired at the end of the 2019–20 EFL League One season.[31]

Reading

On 28 July 2020, Laurent joined Championship club Reading on a two-year contract.[32] He scored his first goal for Reading in a 4–2 win over Blackburn Rovers on 27 October 2020.[33]

Career statistics
As of match played 23 November 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Braintree Town (loan) 2013–14[12] Conference Premier 16 0 — — — 16 0
Brentford 2015–16[16] Championship 000010—10
Newport County (loan) 2015–16[16] League Two 3 0 — — 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 4 0
Hartlepool United 2015–16[16] League Two 3 0 — — — 3 0
2016–17[25] 25 1 2 0 1 0 2[lower-alpha 2] 0 30 1
Total 28 1 2 0 1 0 2 0 33 1
Wigan Athletic 2016–17[25] Championship 10———10
2017–18[34] League One 0000211[lower-alpha 2]031
Total 1000211041
Bury (loan) 2017–18[34] League One 22100——221
Shrewsbury Town 2018–19[35] League One 42272101[lower-alpha 2]0514
2019–20[36] 142210030193
Total 564931040707
Career total 1266113518015010
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

References
  1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  2. Chapman, Mark. "Queens Park Rangers midfield player Josh Laurent joins Brentford on a Development Squad contract". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  3. "Josh Laurent". www.readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  4. Josh Laurent reflects on making his first-team debut against Oxford United in Capital One Cup
  5. "Laurent is a Wanderer – News – Under 17's (EJA Essex) – Redbridge Football Club". www.pitchero.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. "Wycombe Wanderers Youth Team Info [www.CHAIRBOYS.co.uk]". www.chairboys.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. "LIVERWEB – Liverpool FC A to Z". www.liverweb.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2015.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. "Under-21 profiles". 12 August 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  9. Booth, Mel. "Huddersfield Town U18s downed by QPR penalty in play-off final". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  10. "Under-18s pen pro deals". www.qpr.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  11. "Braintree loan Laurent". www.qpr.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  12. "Games played by Josh Laurent in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  13. "Braintree Town boss hails QPR and Watford loanees". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  14. "QPR manager Harry Redknapp must stop playing blame game – if Hoops go down it's nobody's fault but his own". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  15. "Les Ferdinand explains how QPR's reputation will change". www.qpr.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  16. "Games played by Josh Laurent in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  17. FC, Brentford. "Josh Laurent leaves Brentford". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  18. Brentford FC. "Josh Laurent signs for Newport County on loan". brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  19. FC, Brentford. "Josh Laurent extends Newport County loan". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  20. "Joshua Laurent Player Profile – ESPN FC". www.espnfc.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  21. "Newport 1–1 Swindon (6–7 on pens)". BBC. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  22. "Josh Laurent recalled from Newport County loan". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  23. "Josh Laurent | Football Stats | Wigan Athletic | Age 22 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  24. "Josh Laurent Makes Move To Pools". Brentford FC. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  25. "Games played by Josh Laurent in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  26. "First Team – Midfielder – Josh Laurent". www.wiganathletic.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  27. "Football Club History Database – Wigan Athletic". fchd.info. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  28. "Games played by Josh Laurent in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  29. "Josh Laurent: Shrewsbury Town sign Wigan Athletic midfielder". BBC Sport. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  30. "FA Cup third round: Stoke City 2-3 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  31. James, Ben (25 July 2020). "Cardiff and Swansea set to be beaten to Josh Laurent signing by Reading". walesonline. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  32. "🖋️ Josh Laurent is a Royal!". readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  33. "Blackburn 2-4 Reading". BBC. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  34. "Games played by Josh Laurent in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  35. "Games played by Josh Laurent in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  36. "Games played by Josh Laurent in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
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