Gwion Dafydd Rhys Edwards (born 1 March 1993) is a Welsh professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for club

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

. He is a former Wales Under-21 international. Edwards joined the

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

academy in 2007, having previously spent three years at Aberystwyth Town. He spent seven years at Swansea, having graduated from the club's academy. During his time at Swansea he spent two spells out on loan at Scottish side

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

and one with English side

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

, before joining the later permanently in 2014. He spent two years at Crawley before joining

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

in 2016, where he spent two seasons. In 2018, Edwards signed for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

. He has represented Wales at youth level, winning caps at U19 and U21 levels. He has been called up to the senior Wales squad in 2014 and 2018.

Club career

Swansea City

After spells with clubs including Aberystwyth Town and Cardiff City, Edwards joined Swansea City Football Club as an U15. Rising up through the Swansea youth system, Edwards signed his first professional contract, a 3-year deal, with Swansea City after a successful 2010–11 season. He went on to help Swansea win the

FAW Welsh Youth Cup The FAW Welsh Youth Cup is a competition contested by teams affiliated to the Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; ) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futs ...

and was a permanent fixture in Swansea Reserve team, winning Reserve Team Player of the Year in 2011–12. On 9 May 2012, Edwards signed a new three-year contract with Swansea, keeping him at the club until June 2015. He featured on the bench for the first team on 13 May 2012, in a 1–0 win over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

at the

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium (; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated multi-use sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales, hosting both rugby union and football. The stadium opened in 2005 and was name ...

. He was called by Swansea manager

Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed until h ...

to be subbed on during stoppage time but did not make it onto the field due to the ball not going out of play before the final whistle.

St Johnstone (loans)

On 31 January 2013, Edwards moved to

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

side

on loan for the remainder of the 2012–13 season. He made his professional debut by coming off the bench in the 72nd minute in a 2–0 defeat to St Mirren in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,SPL debut by coming off the bench in a 1–1 draw with

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

on 19 February. Edwards made a return to St Johnstone in July 2013, joining on loan until January 2014. Edwards made his Europa League debut in St Johnstone's 1–0 victory away vs Rosenborg on 18 July 2013 coming on in the 66th minute. In the third round of the second leg of the Europa League against

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Edwards was among two players to see their penalty successfully converted, which Minsk won, eliminating St Johnstone from the competition. Edwards then scored his first professional goal in a 3–0 win for St Johnstone against

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

. By the end of his second loan spell with St Johnstone, Edwards had made a total of 24 appearances in all competitions, scoring 1 goal.

Crawley Town

On 27 March 2014, Edwards joined

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side

on a one-month loan. On 15 April 2014, Edwards enjoyed a goalscoring-debut for Crawley as a 76th-minute substitute in their 2–0 win against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. In his second appearance, Edwards scored again for Crawley in their 2–1 victory against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

. After impressing Crawley manager John Gregory, Edwards' loan was extended to the end of the 2013–14 season. On 11 July 2014, Edwards signed for

on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Edwards' first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came in the opening game of the season, as Crawley Town beat

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

1–0. He went on to make 93 appearances in all competitions over three seasons at the

Broadfield Stadium The Broadfield Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Crawley, West Sussex, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Crawley Town F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. and the Sealand national football ...

, scoring 15 goals.

Peterborough United

On 24 June 2016, Edwards joined League One side

on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He scored the winner on his debut in a 3–2 win over

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

on 6 August 2016. He won the club's goal of the season award for the 2016–17 season for an individual effort in a 2–0 win over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on 17 December. Edwards made 74 appearances for Peterborough during two seasons at the club, scoring 16 goals,

Ipswich Town

On 17 July 2018, he signed a two-year deal (plus an option for a further year) with

, for a reported fee of £700,000. Edwards scored his first goal for the club on his debut in a 2–2 draw with

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

Portman Road Portman Road is a association football, football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one E ...

, on the opening day of the season. Edwards went on to score 6 goals in 34 appearances in his debut season at

, including scoring in the

East Anglian Derby The East Anglian derby is a term used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In recent ...

at Portman Road on 2 September 2018. He scored his first goal of the 2019–20 season on 24 August, netting the second goal in a 0–5 away win against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

at the

University of Bolton Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28,723. Opening in 1997, it was originally na ...

. He featured regularly throughout the season, often filling in at

right wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

and

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

due to an injury to

Kane Vincent-Young Kane Vincent-Young (born 15 March 1996) is a Grenadian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for EFL League Two club Colchester United. Born in England, he plays for the Grenada national team. Vincent-Young progressed through the A ...

. On 18 May 2020, Ipswich took up the one-year option in his contract, extending his stay at the club until 2021. Edwards scored in the opening game of the 2020–21 season, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 home win over

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. He continued his goal scoring form throughout September and October, scoring 5 goals in the opening 6 games of the season, including a brace in a 4–1 away win over

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on 10 October. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Ipswich reportedly entered negotiations to extend Edwards's deal, but were unable to come to an agreement and he left the club.

Wigan Athletic

On 10 June 2021, Edwards completed a move to

, signing a two-year deal with the club. He scored on his debut for Wigan in a 2–1 defeat at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on 7 August 2021. Edwards was loaned to Scottish club Ross County in January 2023. He was released by Wigan at the end of the 2022–23 season.

Morecambe

On 3 January 2024, Edwards signed for

on a contract until the end of the 2023-2024 season. On 17 May 2024, Edwards signed a new two-year deal with the option for a further year.

International career

Edwards has won 2 caps for the Wales under-19 team, featuring in matches against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

in 2011. In September 2012, he made his Wales under-21 debut in a 5–0 defeat by the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He scored his first international goal for the Wales under-21 team on 19 May 2014, in a 3–1 loss to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

. Edwards won 6 caps for Wales' under-21 side between 2012 and 2014, scoring 1 goal. He received his first senior international call up in October 2014, being called into the

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

senior squad for the Euro-2016 qualifying matches versus

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. He was an unused substitute in both matches. On 12 October 2018, Edwards was called up by Wales manager

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; born 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of footba ...

for the squad to face the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

in the

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...

four days later. He was an unused substitute as Wales emerged 1–0 winners in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Career statistics

Honours

Wigan Athletic *

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

: 2021–22 Individual *

Goal of the Season: 2016–17

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Gwion 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Ceredigion Welsh men's footballers Men's association football wingers Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Ross County F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen