Luke Freeman

Arsenal Freeman joined Premier League club Arsenal on 30 January 2008, for a fee reported to be in the region of £200,000. He signed a two-year contract as part of Arsenal's youth academy under the club's scholar scheme. During the 2008–09 season, he scored seven goals in 15 appearances for the under-18 team, as well as making one substitute appearance for the reserve team. Freeman signed his first professional contract with Arsenal on 8 April 2009. He also scored one goal in 11 reserve team appearances, most of which came during the latter stages of the season.

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Freeman joined League One club Yeovil Town on a loan agreement until 31 December 2010. On joining the club, Freeman stated that he was now "getting to an age" where he wanted first-team experience, and that he hoped the loan move would help him break into Arsenal's senior team by the end of the season. He scored on his debut against Leyton Orient on 7 August 2010, the winning goal in first-half stoppage time in a 2–1 victory. Freeman made 15 appearances and scored twice during the first half of the 2010–11 season. He made his debut two days later, playing 86 minutes in a 0–0 away draw with Leyton Orient. Freeman scored his first goal for the club in a 6–1 away victory over Colchester United on 26 December, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute and scoring Stevenage's fifth goal with a "powerful close-range strike". He signed for Stevenage on a permanent basis on 10 January 2012 for an undisclosed fee and on a contract until 2014. On signing for Stevenage, Freeman stated: "There were a couple of bids elsewhere, but I really enjoyed my time on loan here, so I am delighted to stay. Now it's time to build a career for myself, it's time to move on and try and make myself a better player". His first appearance after signing permanently came in a 5–1 away victory at Rochdale, in which he scored twice. He made 32 appearances during the season, scoring seven times, as Stevenage reached the League One play-off semi-finals.

Freeman struggled for consistency during the 2012–13 season and was regularly used as a substitute. and scored his first goal in Stevenage's 2–1 extra-time defeat to Premier League club Everton in the League Cup on 28 August 2013. In December 2013, Stevenage confirmed that Freeman had been the subject of transfer interest from Championship clubs ahead of the 2014 January transfer window and stated that they would be willing to listen to offers. No transfer materialised, and Freeman ultimately saw out the season at the club. He ended the season by scoring three goals in the final five league matches in April 2014. Freeman made 54 appearances and scored eight goals during the season, as Stevenage were relegated to League Two. With Freeman's contract due to expire in June, Stevenage exercised a 12-month extension clause to retain him.

Bristol City Despite Stevenage activating the 12-month clause in Freeman's contract, he signed for League One club Bristol City on 26 June 2014, joining for a six-figure fee on a three-year contract. Freeman made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2014–15 season, playing the first 77 minutes in a 2–1 away victory at Sheffield United, and scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw with Rochdale on 23 August 2014. Freeman scored three times across five matches between February and March 2015, with all three goals coming in away victories against Doncaster Rovers, Leyton Orient and Yeovil Town respectively. During the season, Freeman also made five appearances in the Football League Trophy, All seven of Freeman's goals that season came in away matches, playing 56 times in all competitions as Bristol City earned promotion to the Championship, finishing the season as champions by an eight-point margin.

Freeman started in Bristol City's first match back in the Championship at the start of the 2015–16 season, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday. A week later, on 15 August 2015, he received the first red card of his career for a high-footed challenge on Harlee Dean in a 4–2 home defeat to Brentford at Ashton Gate. After serving a three-match suspension, Freeman returned to the first team in September 2015, scoring later that month in a 2–2 away draw against Ipswich Town with his effort deflecting off Tommy Smith. It proved to be Freeman's only goal of the season, making 44 appearances in all competitions as Bristol City consolidated their place back in the Championship. He scored his only goal of the season in Bristol City's 4–0 victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage on 24 September 2016. Manager Lee Johnson stated he was resigned to losing Freeman in the January transfer window after the player rejected a new contract offer. A year after his departure from Bristol City, Freeman claimed the club had not been forthcoming with a suitable deal: "I was waiting over eight months for a contract that was so-called going to be offered to me. When they did it was really nowhere near what anyone else was on. So it was out of my hands. I probably wouldn't have left if they had offered me the contract they said they were going to offer me earlier". Freeman made 121 appearances and scored 10 goals during his two and a half years at the club.

Queens Park Rangers Freeman signed for fellow Championship club Queens Park Rangers on 30 January 2017 for an undisclosed fee, agreeing to a three-and-a-half-year contract. On signing Freeman, QPR manager Ian Holloway stated: "I've been a great admirer of Luke and his creativity is something we'll really feel the benefits of". He scored his first goal for QPR in his next appearance, halving the deficit in an eventual 2–1 home defeat to Huddersfield Town on 11 February 2017. Freeman made 16 appearances during the second half of the season, scoring twice. He scored his first goal of the season on 9 September 2017, firing a low shot from outside the area to double QPR's advantage in an eventual 2–1 home victory over Ipswich Town, a result that preserved their unbeaten start at Loftus Road. He went on to score five times in 48 appearances that season. During the 2018–19 season, he scored eight goals and registered six assists, a contribution that saw him named QPR's Player of the Year at the club's end-of-season awards on 26 April 2019.

Sheffield United Following his most productive season at QPR, Freeman joined newly promoted Premier League club Sheffield United for an undisclosed club-record fee on 3 July 2019. He made his Sheffield United debut in the club's first match back in the Premier League, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw away at Bournemouth on 10 August 2019. Freeman played a peripheral role during the season, making 16 appearances, including seven starts. He debuted for the club in a 1–0 defeat to Barnsley in the EFL Cup on 5 September 2020. Freeman scored once that season, Nottingham Forest's first goal of the league campaign, in a 2–1 defeat to former club Bristol City on 3 October 2020. His season was disrupted by injuries, including hernia surgery midway through the season. He made 25 appearances during the loan spell, with Forest ultimately opting not to make the move permanent. After making nine appearances during the first half of the season, he joined fellow Championship club Millwall on loan for the remainder of the season. Having played just 13 minutes for Millwall as a substitute against Fulham, He was released by Sheffield United upon the expiry of his contract in June 2022.

Luton Town A free agent ahead of the 2022–23 season, Freeman signed for Championship club Luton Town on 4 July 2022. He made his debut in the club's opening match of the season, a 0–0 draw with Birmingham City, and scored his first goal in their 2–1 away victory against Cardiff City. Freeman featured regularly during the first half of the season before sustaining a groin injury in January 2023, which ruled him out for three months. He made 26 appearances during the season, scoring twice, as Luton achieved promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs. Having not featured in the opening month of the 2023–24 season, he left the club by mutual consent on 29 August 2023. He scored one goal in 14 appearances in all competitions for the club. At the season's conclusion, Barnet announced that contract negotiations were ongoing, but Freeman ultimately did not appear on the squad list for the following season.

International career Freeman made his debut for the England under-16 team in the 2008 Montaigu Tournament in France, scoring on his debut in a 3–1 victory against Japan. Having secured six points out of nine, England won their group, and subsequently beat their French counterparts in the final on penalties, Freeman playing 78 minutes of the match.

He was called up to the England under-17 squad for the first time ahead of the 2008 Nordic Tournament, held in Sweden. He played in all three games during the tournament, with England failing to qualify for the final due to Norway's superior goal-scoring record.

Style of play Freeman was initially deployed solely as a winger in the early stages of his career. Left-footed, he has generally been used on the left side for the majority of his career. At Bristol City, he was often given a free role, drifting centrally and attempting shots from distance. During his time at QPR, Freeman was used in more central roles as part of a midfield three under Ian Holloway. Holloway described Freeman as having a "wand of a left foot", and highlighted his creativity and eagerness to receive the ball as key attributes.

Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals Gillingham 2007–08 League One

2007–08 Premier League

2009–10 Premier League

2010–11 Premier League

2011–12 Premier League

0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0 Yeovil Town (loan) 2010–11 League One

2013–14

England U16 Montaigu Tournament: 2008 Stevenage Player of the Year: 2013–14 Queens Park Rangers Player of the Year: 2018–19