Former Rangers and Derby County star makes contract plea as he nets hat trick after free transfer move
The versatile attacking option made a big transfer call after time at the likes of Rangers and Derby County.
A former Rangers and Derby County star has hit form abroad after his free transfer move across the world.
Tom Lawrence went months without a club after leaving Ibrox and eventually signed for Australian side Perth Glory in October. He has now hit top gear in the A-League with a classy hat-trick during a 3-1 weekend victory over Melbourne City.
Lawrence is capable of playing in several attacking positions, starting his career at Manchester United. He featured 185 times in a five-year stay at Derby County before three years at Rangers, but his deal at Glory is only a year long, and his hope is that it can be extended.
Tom Lawrence on his future
He said on Paramount: "I thought the lads were superb. I think the last two games we were unfortunate not to get a result but we showed what we were about. I am happy for the lads and the club. I love it, I am not going to lie. It's a great place to live and everyone has welcomed me really well. Hopefully I can stay a bit longer."
Lawrence said after signing in October: “I had a call with [Football Director] Stan Lazaridis and the Manager [David Zdrilic] and just listened to their passion for the club and where they want to go. That’s really what settled it in the end. I also spoke with [Glory defender] Scott Wootton and he was very complimentary about the club and Perth as a city.
“He basically said just get here as soon as you can, you’ll love it. I’ve been training every day with a guy back home in the UK and I feel like I’m in good shape. My body feels good, so I don’t think it’ll take long at all and I’ll be raring to go. I’ve come here to score as many goals and contribute as many assists to help the team as I can. I want the team to finish as high as possible and go for whatever we can this season.”
Why Tom Lawrence signed for Perth Glory
Lazaridis added upon the ex Rangers and Derby County man’s arrival: “We are absolutely thrilled to have Tom on board. He has been a proven performer at an extremely high level in the UK for more than a decade and is exactly the kind of experienced and versatile forward we need in our squad. Tom offers us so much flexibility as he can play out wide, down the middle, or in behind as an attacking midfielder.
“He can score and provide pinpoint delivery with both feet and has also banged in a number of stunning free-kicks over the years. We need to take some of the goalscoring burden off Adam Taggart’s shoulders and Tom will do that, as well as helping with the development of our younger attacking players.
“He had been linked to a number of UK and A-League clubs, but after chatting to his former Manchester United teammate Scott Wootton, he wanted to a part of what we’re building here at Glory.“I’m extremely excited to see Tom in action.”