Lino Gonçalo da Cruz Sousa[2] (born 19 January 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Aston Villa. Born in Portugal, he is a youth international for England.
Born in Portugal, when Sousa was eight-years-old he moved with his family from Lisbon to Wolverhampton. Sousa played for Aspire FC before joining the academy at West Bromwich Albion.[3] He attended Sandwell Academy from ages 11–16.
Lino Sousa played regularly for the West Bromwich Albion team that reached the semi-finals of the 2021 FA Youth Cup despite only being 16-years-old himself at the time.[4]
Sousa joined Arsenal from West Brom in January 2022.[5] There was discussions at Arsenal in the summer of 2022 to fast-track Lino Sousa into first team training.[6][7] Sousa's quick development was reported to be part of the reason Arsenal allowed Joel Lopez's return to his native Spain in the summer of 2022, despite Lopez being a regular for the under-23 side and contributing two goals and five assists from left back.[8]
Sousa was taken on the first team pre-season training camp to Germany in the summer of 2022.[9] In September 2022, he was confirmed as being included in the Arsenal first team training and their travelling party as they prepared for the away UEFA Europa League match against FC Zurich.[10] He made his first Premier League match day squad on 18 September 2022 against Brentford and was then named among the match-day substitutes for Arsenal.[11]
On 1 February 2024, Sousa signed for Premier League club Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee, immediately joining Championship side Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the season.[12][13] On 3 February, Sousa made his Football League debut as a late substitute in a 1–0 victory over Swansea City.[14]
On 14 August 2024, Sousa joined League One club Bristol Rovers on loan until the end of the 2024–25 season.[15] Having initially struggled for game time over the first few months of the season, the appointment of Iñigo Calderón as new head coach in December 2024 saw Sousa break into the starting eleven on a more consistent basis.[16]
Sousa has played for England at age group level but is also still eligible to represent Portugal, the country of his birth.[17] In September 2022 he was called up to the England national under-18 football team for the first time.[18]
On 22 March 2023, Sousa made his England U18 debut during a 2–1 win over Croatia in Medulin.[19] On 10 April 2023, Sousa was called up for Portugal U18 team.[20]
On 6 September 2023, Sousa made his England U19 debut during a 1–0 defeat to Germany in Oliva.[21]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Aston Villa | 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 2023–24 | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Bristol Rovers (loan) | 2024–25 | League One | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| Career total | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 42 | 1 | ||
Arsenal U21
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