At just 16 years and 27 days old, LuaLua would have been the youngest player to play for Newcastle: the record is currently held by Steve Watson.

LuaLua finally made his first-team debut on 6 January 2008, coming on in the 74th minute of an FA Cup third-round game against Stoke City as a substitute for Damien Duff.

[4] LuaLua made his Premier League debut on 19 January 2008, coming on as a substitute again for Duff at St James' Park in a match against Bolton Wanderers and went on to make several appearances for the first team later that season.

It was LuaLua's dangerous run and cut inside around Branislav Ivanović which won Newcastle the corner leading to their late equaliser.

[14] LuaLua scored his first goal as a permanent Brighton player on 14 February 2012, a long-range free kick that tied a home match against Millwall 2–2.

The next Sunday, LuaLua scored a free-kick into the Kop End at Anfield in the FA Cup, against Liverpool as Brighton lost 6–1.

With competition from fellow wingers Craig Noone, Will Buckley and Vicente, LuaLua swapped between starting and coming off the bench as an impact substitute in the following weeks.

[20] After Brighton's promotion to the Premier League, LuaLua was deemed surplus to requirements, and as such he re-joined QPR on a second loan spell until January 2018.

[23] He subsequently joined Sunderland on a free transfer, signing a short term contract with the Black Cats until the end of the 2017–18 season.

[31] His first match of the 2019–20 season came in a 3–1 home win over Ipswich Town in the first round of the EFL Cup on 13 August, in which he was substituted at half-time.

[37] Having spent a year-and-a-half at Greek side, Levadiakos, LuaLua, joined Charlton Athletic on a free transfer on 15 March 2024 on a short-term contract until the end of the 2023–24 season.