Ryley Towler has committed his long-term future to Lincoln City after signing a new contract that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2030.
The centre-back played a major role during a memorable first season at Sincil Bank, featuring in 40 of our 46 League One fixtures as City secured the title and promotion to the Championship. Having settled quickly after joining from Portsmouth last summer, Towler had no hesitation when the opportunity arose to extend his stay.
“I’m buzzing,” the likeable Towler said. “Since I’ve come in, I’ve loved every minute of it. All the players and staff have been absolutely brilliant with me, so as soon as I knew a new contract could happen, I wanted to get it sorted straight away.
“I don’t think many people on the outside expected us to have the season we did. But after a couple of weeks of training with the lads every day, seeing the quality we had and working with the staff, I knew we were capable of doing something special.”
The 24-year-old began his career with hometown club Bristol City, progressing through their academy before gaining senior experience during loan spells with Frome Town, Taunton Town, Grimsby Town and AFC Wimbledon.
He joined Portsmouth in January 2023 and was part of their League One title-winning squad the following season. Towler also made 12 Championship appearances during the 2024/25 campaign before moving to Lincoln, where he played 48 times in all competitions during his first year.
Towler believes he has made significant progress since arriving at City, with head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw playing an important part in his development.
“They helped me so much last season, both on and off the pitch,” he said. “The little details they focus on make a massive difference to your game.
“Their motivation before matches, the work they do on the training pitch and the extra sessions after training all helped me improve. They were excellent, so I’m pleased to keep working with them.”
The defender already has experience of Championship football from his spells with Bristol City and Portsmouth. He is now looking forward to returning to the division as part of a City side determined to establish itself at the higher level.
“It’s a really tough league, there’s no doubt about that. But we’ve got quality and I think the way we play will really suit us.
“Everyone at this club – the players and the staff – want to be at this level, and we want to stay here. It’s exciting to test ourselves against some top teams.”
City’s preparations have included a demanding pre-season schedule and a warm-weather training camp in Spain. Towler believes the intensity of that work has left the squad ready for the start of the Championship campaign.
“The lads have been at it from day one, especially out in Spain during the training camp.
“The standards have been really high, even in the hot weather, and the intensity and hard work have been brilliant. We can’t wait for the season to start.
“We’ll come up against some top opponents, but we’ve got so much quality, and we’ve got the mentality and passion to do really well.”
Sporting director Jez George highlighted Towler’s influence both on the pitch and inside the dressing room, describing the new agreement as another important step for the club.
“Ryley epitomised everything about the squad last season, always putting the team first, always ready to play and contributed massively to our success,” said Jez. “He is hugely popular within the dressing room and among the staff for his character and mentality, and the selfless way in which he goes about his work in respected by everyone.
“Ryley has all the attributes to become a top centre back at this level and his maturity over the past 12 months is testament to him and our environment. Ryley is 6ft 4in, quick, good technically, left footed and 24 years old, which is some package. And he’s ours! So, we are delighted to extend his contract and look forward to him developing and contributing further to what we want to achieve.”
With two promotions from League One in three seasons, Ryley is surely now in a place to prove his worth in the second tier, hopefully as part of a Lincoln City side that once again confounds the critics.
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