Dylan Lawlor celebrates his goal(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
For 48 hours now, Dylan Lawlor hasn’t just been the talk of south Wales, he’s gone global.
Clips of the 20-year-old’s jaw-dropping solo goal in Cardiff City’s 4-0 win over Doncaster Rovers have racked up views across France, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Indonesia, the United States, Nigeria and Finland. Big social media accounts with followings in their hundreds of thousands have shared it. Analysts have broken it down. Fans have replayed it on loop.
And you can see why.
Two minutes into the second half in South Yorkshire, Lawlor collected the ball deep inside his own half and simply decided the game was his. He shrugged off Brandon Hanlan, powered beyond another challenge and surged into open grass. As the Doncaster defence retreated in panic, he opened his body on the edge of the area and arrowed a low strike into the bottom corner.
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Those choosing to ignore Lawlor’s stunning solo effort, instead opting to criticise the Doncaster defence, are wilfully missing the point. The four players who were defending against Lawlor — Hanlan, Robbie Gotts, Owen Bailey and Neill Byrne — have 1,409 club appearances to their name.
Lawlor has 37.
It was outrageous. A centre-back doing that. In a promotion race. Away from home. It effectively ended the contest.
If Alex Robertson’s opener was special, Lawlor’s was breathtaking.
Yet what perhaps got lost amid the global reaction was the fact Lawlor had already shaped the game long before that moment of individual brilliance.
His assist for Robertson’s goal was sublime, a clipped diagonal from near halfway that dropped perfectly over the Australian’s shoulder. The technique. The vision. The weight.
Robertson was glowing afterwards. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
“He turns into Messi!” he smiled.
“He is an unreal player. He’s got a very big future in the game. He has a really level head, he’s so humble. I love playing with him. He’s got it all.”
This isn’t new, either.
At the start of the season, Lawlor scored a stunning solo effort against Leyton Orient — arguably an even better run, albeit with a tamer finish.
Across the campaign, he has separated himself from almost every defender in the English pyramid at his age.
Composure. Swagger. Confidence in possession. A willingness to drive through midfield with purpose. In an era where progressive centre-backs are gold dust, Lawlor fits the modern template perfectly.
And let’s not do his defending a disservice, either. He single-handedly stopped Rovers taking the lead on Saturday with a wonderful, last-ditch sliding tackle which blocked Hanlan’s one-on-one attempt with Nathan Trott.
It’s little wonder the interest is mounting.
WalesOnline reported last month that three Premier League clubs, three Championship sides and three MLS teams have all shown varying levels of interest in the 20-year-old.
There has also been attention from Belgium, Germany and Italy. Austrian outfit RB Salzburg were strongly keen last year, while clubs in La Liga and Denmark tracked him closely. Stoke City and Rangers, during Russell Martin’s tenure, were serious suitors.
Scouts from Championship leaders Coventry City were in attendance last month when Cardiff beat Wigan, with Lawlor and Ronan Kpakio both on their radar.
The level of interest is staggering.
And yet, when Lawlor spoke to S4C just a couple of weeks ago, he delivered the words Cardiff fans have been desperate to hear.
“It does give me confidence,” he said when asked about huge clubs and their reported interest. “I’m not sure if they are true! It’s nice to hear but I don’t pay much attention to it. The focus is on myself and on Cardiff.
“Promotion is the goal at the moment, not another club!”
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He’s so grounded. So mature for his age. Above all else, he is focused and unfazed.
Inside the club, his attitude is said to be exemplary.
He is thriving under Brian Barry-Murphy in a system which encourages bravery on the ball and rewards intelligent defenders who can step into midfield. Crucially, Cardiff’s appetite to sell is low and from the player’s side, there seems to be little rush.
Social media calls for a £20million price tag are growing louder. The reality, of course, is that League One players do not command those sums.
What Cardiff will hope is that promotion to the Championship gives Lawlor another platform here first, another year to grow, to dominate at a higher level, and perhaps take the club somewhere special.
Because that is the immediate ambition. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.
The world might be watching Dylan Lawlor right now. But his eyes are fixed firmly on getting Cardiff City out of League One.
In a joyful season, packed with young players — Rubin and Joel Colwill, Cian Ashford, Ollie Tanner, Kpakio, Robertson among them — who are destined to reach higher heights, it’s now becoming increasingly undeniable that Lawlor is the City’s next superstar.
