| Lewis Orford | |
| Birth Date: | 18 February 2006 |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | West Ham United U21 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2023 |
| Youthclubs1: | West Ham United |
| Years1: | 2023- |
| Clubs1: | West Ham United |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2022 |
| Nationalteam1: | England U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2023- |
| Nationalteam2: | England U18 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 29 November 2023 00:15 (UTC) |
| Ntupdate: | 12:04, 28 May 2024 (UTC) |
Lewis Orford (born 18 February 2006) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for club West Ham United. He is an England youth international.[1]
Orford joined the academy system at West Ham United at five years old. He worked through the age groups and began playing for the U18s under Kevin Keen during the 2021-22 season. He signed Scholarship terms with West Ham in June 2022.[2] Orford signed his first professional contract with West Ham shortly after his seventeenth birthday in February 2023.[3]
He was included in a West Ham first team match day squad for the first time in November 2022, being an unused substitute as West Ham beat FCSB 3-0 in the UEFA Europa Conference League. That season he was part of the West Ham U18 side that won the final of the FA Youth Cup defeating Arsenal 5–1 at the Emirates Stadium in April 2023.[4] [5]
He was promoted to the West Ham U21 side for the 2023-24 season, despite still being only 17 years old. He scored two goals and was credited four assists from his first ten games in the Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy. He was called up to first-team training in November 2023.[6] He subsequently travelled with the first-team squad for a UEFA Europa League fixture against Serbian side FK TSC on 30 November 2023.[7]
In May 2024, he was called-up to the England national under-18 football team.[8] After winning the U18 Pinatar Super Cup in March 2024, Orford went on to captain the side to another trophy with a 2-1 win over Morocco to lift the U18 Tri-Nations Trophy.[9]
Orford has been compared with former Republic of Ireland international footballer, and current England International Declan Rice.[10] He was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best first-year scholars in the Premier League in September 2022 with John Brewin drawing a comparison with Frank Lampard “in his ability to arrive late on the scene for scoring opportunities.”[11]
His father Mark Orford is a systems support engineer from Upminster. Lewis played for Upminster Park Rovers prior to signing with West Ham Juniors.[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| West Ham United | 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |||
West Ham United U18
2023[15]
England U18s