Player Profile: Liam Bridcutt

Name: Liam Bridcutt

Position: Central Midfielder

Born: 8 May 1989 Reading

Former Club: Nottm Forest

Fee: Free

Contract Expires: Unknown 

Lincoln Appearances

2019/20 Appearances 5 Goals 1

2020/21 Appearances 28 (2) Goals 0

2021/22 Appearances 15 (0) Goals (0)

Achievements

Brighton & Hove Albion Player of the Year 2011/12, 2012/13

Stacey West Player of the Month May 2021

Liam Bridcutt started his career with Chelsea, signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2007. He joined Yeovil Town on loan on February 8 2008, and made his Football League debut against Walsall the following day.

After nine appearances for the Glovers, he had a loan spell at Watford under former Chelsea reserves boss Brendan Rodgers,  where he made a further nine appearances. In August 2009, Bridcutt moved to Stockport County on loan for six months and was sent off on his debut as they beat Brighton and Hove Albion. He scored his first professional goal whilst at Stockport during an EFL Trophy game against Port Vale.

Bridcutt left Chelsea in 2010 without making a senior appearance, despite appearing 84 times for the youths and reserves, acting as captain under Rodgers for the second string. He struggled to find a side, having trials with Wycombe and Crystal Palace, as well as with League Two side Torquay United. He eventually signed a short-term contract with then-League One side Brighton in August 2010, earning a contract extension in November after impressing manager Gus Poyet.

He scored his first goal for Brighton in their 4-3 win against Dagenham and Redbridge which ultimately led to promotion to the Championship. In 2011/12, Bridcutt was all named Brighton’s Player of the Season a feat he repeated the following year. In January 2013, after starring for Brighton as they knocked Newcastle out of the FA Cup, Poyet claimed Bridcutt was ‘good enough to play for Real Madrid’.

In early 2014, after having a transfer request turned down by Brighton, Bridcutt signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Sunderland. That deal reunited him with Poyet. The fee was thought to be between £2.5m and £4m, and he made his Sunderland debut in a 3-0 victory against rivals Newcastle United at Saint James’s Park.

Bridcutt played 30 Premier League games for Sunderland over a two-year spell before making a loan move to Championship side Leeds United. His Leeds debut came on November 28, 2015, as they lost 1-0 to Queens Park Rangers. He impressed at Elland Road and his loan was extended in January 2016 with a view to a permanent move.

Then Leeds manager Steve Evans revealed that he wanted to sign Bridcutt permanently at the end of the season and he did so on the 16th of August 2016. He was named Leeds captain in September, but just five days later he broke his foot and missed several months of the season. By the start of the following season, new manager Thomas Christiansen replaced Bridcutt as Leeds captain.

In August 2017, he moved to Nottingham Forest on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £1m. His time at the City Ground was not easy, although he made 25 appearances in the Championship for Forest in his first season. He fell out of favour in 2018/19, with Mark warbuton moving on and Aitor Karanka not fancying him. He appeared just seven times under Karanka as his career stuttered. Even when the Spaniard left the City Ground, Bridcutt still didn’t feature and was completely ignored by Martin O’Neill. The following campaign, he moved to Bolton Wanderers on loan in League One, playing eleven matches but missing the Imps 5-1 win against the Trotters with a head injury.

Bridcutt also has international honours and qualifies to play for Scotland through an Edinburgh born grandfather. In March 2013, he was named in Gordon Strachan’s squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against Wales and Serbia, getting his first Scotland cap in the second game.

Bridcutt regained his place in the Scotland squad for a friendly against Denmark whilst at Leeds, appearing in their 1-0 victory.

Bridcutt joined the Imps on loan in the wake of Tyler Walker’s departure, making his Imps debut on February 7 in our 1-0 defeat at the hands of Rotherham. He appeared five times in total before the season was curtailed early, scoring as we drew 1-1 with MK Dons at Sincil Bank. He was also given the captain’s armband in the absence of club captain Lee Frecklington but returned to Forest after March.

Surprisingly, he returned to the Imps for the start of the 2020/21 season, catching many by surprise. He began the season carrying an injury, so made his debut as a permanent signing in the 5-0 win against Bradford City in the EFL Trophy. His first Football League start as a permanent Imps player came in September as we beat MK Dons 2-1.

Bridcutt’s season has been hit by injury somewhat, he was missing from mid-October to mid-November, then again from November 24th until January 2nd. Most recently, he picked up an injury against Hull City on Feb 9, missing the rest of the month.

He came back into the side in mid April and helped turn around our late-season fortunes, with a series of eye-catching displays, not least in the 2-0 win against Sunderland in the play-off sem-final first leg.

These profiles will evolve into a full set of squad profiles which can be found here. When a player arrives at Sincil Bank, or departs the club, we will update their profiles and move them to our former player’s pages. We will also update any major absences, injuries or events as they happen on the player’s page.