Lloyd Kelly: The Tale of the Unlikely Englishman Abroad

Lloyd Kelly: The Tale of the Unlikely Englishman Abroad

While all the headlines are rightly focused on Juventus after their stunning late comeback against Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League opener on Tuesday night, many are overlooking the decisive goalscorer, former Bristol City, Bournemouth and Newcastle centre back Lloyd Kelly.

A player with such a humble career background, the Englishman has seemingly overnight become a cult hero for Juventus fans - netting an equaliser in the sixth minute of added time against the UCL finalists of two years ago will do that for you.

⚡️ Ex-Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly has had a crazy past 12 months or so

🆕 Jul 2024: Joins Newcastle United on free transfer
🔄 Feb 2025: Moves in a loan with obligation deal to Serie A giants Juventus
🤝 July 2025: Signs permanently for Juve in a €20m transfer
⚽️ Sept… pic.twitter.com/65S6TW48fG

— FourFourTwo (@FourFourTwo) September 17, 2025

His diving header, which sparked wild celebrations, was the eighth goal of a breathless second half, which saw the Old Lady trail 1-0, 2-1 and 4-2 as Dortmund seemed to have an iron grip on all three points. However, a Dusan Vlahovic finish four minutes into added time saw the tension bulge to an all time high, before Kelly glided in at the far post to even the score at an astonishing 4-4.

The first Englishman to score in a Champions League for the Italian giants - and only the second Briton, after Aaron Ramsey in 2019 - Lloyd Kelly has gone from zero to hero in Turin and certainly has a story worth telling.

Low-Key Beginnings

Like the majority of footballers, Kelly’s career started at a youth intake - he graduated from the youth programme at Championship side Bristol City and made 45 appearances for The Robins, before Premier League side Bournemouth swooped in to acquire his services for a touch over £13 million.

Random Bristol City player of the day: Lloyd Kelly#BristolCity pic.twitter.com/IJoNskT9k4

— No context Bristol City (@bcfcnocontext) March 3, 2025

One would think that with a jump from the Championship to the Premier League would kick-start a young player's career, in Lloyd Kelly’s story, this was not the case. Despite playing regularly for the club - he made 141 appearances in total - he failed to impress regularly, with his best season coming not in the top flight, but in the second tier, as Bournemouth were promoted in 2022.

After two more seasons of infrequent Premier League football, which saw him play in just over half of his sides league games in both 2022/23 and 2023/24, Kelly still could not nail down his own starting spot, and with his contract in its last couple of months, a move became imminent.

i still can’t believe that lloyd kelly went from being on bournemouth’s bench to being a regular starter at juventus

— ray (@tempocontroller) September 13, 2025

At the age of 24, Kelly’s mind would likely have wandered to assessing his options: a return to the Championship would have been attractive, a league in which he had proven himself, and in which his arrival would strengthen almost any team; a move abroad would have appealed too - perhaps he could thrive in a different system with a different style of football.

In the end, neither occurred, as in the summer of 2024, Champions League hopefuls Newcastle United came knocking.

Kelly’s Time on the Tyne

Picked up on a free transfer, Newcastle’s signing of Kelly was clearly not an improvement to their squad. Ex-Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe likely signed his former centre back to instead meet homegrown player quotas, as well to relieve pressure on the club's well publicised PSR issues.

Lloyd Kelly's departure from Bournemouth has now been officially announced.

You'd imagine his move to #NUFC will be formalised and made public in the coming days.

First signing in what is set to be a busy summer for the club (given we don't have another Tosin moment 😬) pic.twitter.com/PL7LkJUIQf

— TomTalksToon (@TomTalksToon) June 5, 2024

Very much a back-up option, Kelly played in the club two opening fixtures of the Premier League season, but quickly found himself usurped by higher quality options such as Fabian Schar and Dan Burn - he would make just 12 more appearances for the club.

There were highlights - Kelly did manage an assist for Harvey Barnes as Newcastle defeated Tottenham 2-1 at St. James’ Park in September 2024, but this would prove to be his only goal involvement in his year at the Magpies, and once the halfway point in the season was reached, it was clear Kelly had no long-term future up north.

Then, in the January transfer window, an unusual suitor started to register an interest in the defender…

The Englishman In Italy

Juventus do not typically have a reputation for signing players from the UK. The 36 time Serie A winners tended to focus their funds on proven, luxury players, preferably those that would strengthen the clubs chances of making a deep run every year in the Champions League.

So when they requested to sign Lloyd Kelly on a loan deal with an obligation to buy, more than a few eyebrows were raised. In truth, there was considerable bit of common sense put into the deal: Bournemouth had signed young starlet Dean Huijsen from Juventus over the summer (an exceptionally poor bit of business: look at him now!), and Juventus needed a replacement.

🚨⚪️⚫️ Juventus confirm obligation to buy clause for Lloyd Kelly has now been activated for €17.5m with add-ons.

It was always a permanent move planned with no chance of return to Newcastle but now formally completed. pic.twitter.com/bS1VYxjioL

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 8, 2025

Kelly, not often needed in the black and white stripes of Newcastle, represented a low budget, low-risk, and perfectly capable option for the black and white stripes of Juventus - upon arriving at the club on loan, club representatives said of the 25 year-old: “Kelly stands out for his speed, ability to set up the action from the back and tactical reading of the game, while also being effective in aerial duels.”

Flattering words for sure, but in truth, Kelly had barely played enough games in recent seasons to validate such a statement, and it was anyone guess at how his spell in Italy would play out.

Playing 19 times in his first season at the Old Lady, Kelly certainly impressed his critics with a string of quality performances, but at the same time failed to convince many that he was a long term solution for a Juventus side in transition. Averaging a rating of 6.8 via Sofascore in 2024/25, Juventus fans didn’t really have any strong opinions on him - Kelly was a good stopgap option, but he was simply not good enough to play for them long-term.

As a result, fans of the Italian outfit were somewhat startled as Kelly survived the summer transfer window, and played all 90 minutes in their first two Serie A games of the season, looking a lot more impressive in both.

Lloyd Kelly's season so far 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚪️⚫️

• 3 games
• 1 goal
• 87% accurate passes
• 2 clean sheets
• 70% aerial duels won
• 58% ground duels won pic.twitter.com/JNOQahFuFG

— Juventus Xtra (@juven_xtra) September 16, 2025

Now, this is where things get interesting - having not scored in 18 months (his last goal came in a FA Cup tie 18 months ago while still at Bournemouth), Kelly netted the first the first top flight goal of his career as Juventus emerged victorious from a mental game with Inter Milan, winning 4-3.

Becoming the first Englishman to score for the club in Serie A, Kelly had suddenly announced himself to the Italian top flight as a household name, with his 14th minute opener and subsequent ruthless defending providing a platform on which Juventus could plot their way to three points.

Lloyd Kelly with two goals in two games against Inter and Borussia Dortmund (last second equaliser). Holy moly someone is gonna make a name for himself this season. pic.twitter.com/tHN2AeNo4h

— 𝕄𝕒𝕩 (𝔹𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕠)ℕ𝕖𝕣𝕠 🦓 (@MaksJuventino) September 16, 2025

The game against Borussia Dortmund proved even more eventful for Kelly - he briefly became the villain when he gifted Der BVB an 86th minute penalty, one which was converted by Ramy Bensebaini to give the Germans a seemingly unassailable 4-2 lead. From hero one week, to zero the next, football is an unforgiving business.

However, one of the overwhelming reasons football is so widely followed and supported is the stories it can create - players have a funny way of avenging past misjudgements in redemption arcs that warm even the coldest, most cynical fan.

And so it was that, in the 96th minute of time, Lloyd Kelly found himself in the right place, at the right time to convert Dusan Vlahovic’s inswinging cross, prompting a roar from the home crowd that likely measured on the Richter scale.

What's this? 👀

Oh, just Lloyd Kelly casually scoring a 96th minute equaliser for Juventus against Dortmund....in an 8-goal thriller.#NUFC
pic.twitter.com/b1zbuHp0e0

— 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘆𝗻𝗲 #NUFC (@ToonMouthTyne) September 16, 2025

And while praised for his attacking impact, Kelly quietly had a masterclass in defence too. Playing on the left side of a back three, he notched eight recoveries (the most of anyone on the field), seven clearances, and two headed clearances, proving his mettle under immense pressure.

Lloyd Kelly is the embodiment of good things come to those who wait.

Spending five years at Bournemouth, he earned promotion to the Premier League establishing himself as a solid centre-back in England's top division.

After half a decade at the Cherries, Kelly experienced a… pic.twitter.com/bUskq0W1RN

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) September 17, 2025

While this season's sample size is relatively small, Kelly’s new found effectiveness has proven equally as important as his presence last season was inconsequential - finally playing regular minutes for a club at the highest level of European competition, the defender still has room to grow; at the age of 26, there still plenty of time for the Bristol-born centre back to hone his skills, and improve his key traits.

With the facilities, funds and reputation at a club such as Juventus, Lloyd Kelly could well be a name we start to hear more and more of in the coming years - and after such an underwhelming start to his professional career, no one can fail to be happy for the unlikeliest of Englishmen abroad.