Luke Anthony Freeman (born 22 March 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger.
Freeman spent two and a half years at Bristol City before joining Queens Park Rangers, also of the Championship, for an undisclosed fee in January 2017.
Freeman signed for newly promoted Premier League club Sheffield United for a club-record fee in July 2019.
[7] He made his first-team debut for Gillingham in an FA Cup tie against Barnet on 10 November 2007, aged 15 years and 233 days, replacing Efe Sodje as an 80th-minute substitute.
[9] Three days after his FA Cup appearance, Freeman played in Gillingham's 4–0 home victory against Dagenham & Redbridge in the Football League Trophy, coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute.
[16] During the 2009–10 season, Freeman scored 16 times in 24 games, including two goals in the Academy League Final, a 5–3 victory against Nottingham Forest.
[22] After regaining fitness, Freeman remained at Arsenal, "continuing to impress" regularly for the reserve team, scoring four goals during the season.
[35] It was to be a six-month wait for Freeman to score his next goal, curling a 25-yard free-kick to briefly restore parity in Stevenage's televised 3–1 defeat to Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park on 24 March 2013.
[37] Freeman had to wait almost four months for his next goals, scoring a "stunning brace" in the second-half helped the club secure a 3–2 victory away at Bradford City on 1 March 2014.
[46] Freeman made his Bristol City debut on the opening day of the 2014–15 season, playing the first 77 minutes in a 2–1 away victory at Sheffield United.
[48] Freeman scored twice in Bristol City's 3–0 victory against Peterborough United at London Road on 28 November 2014, taking his tally for the season to three goals.
[49] Freeman scored three times within the space of five games in February 2015 into March 2015,[50] all three goals coming in away victories against Doncaster Rovers, Leyton Orient and Yeovil Town respectively.
[56] A week later, on 15 August 2015, Freeman received the first red card of his career when he was sent-off for a high-footed challenge on Harlee Dean in a 4–2 home defeat to Brentford at Ashton Gate.
[57][58] Freeman served his three-match suspension and returned to the first-team in September 2015,[59] scoring later that month in a 2–2 away draw against Ipswich Town courtesy of a deflected effort off of Tommy Smith.
[62] Bristol City manager Lee Johnson stated he was resigned to losing Freeman in the January transfer window after he rejected the offer of a new contract.
[4] Freeman signed for fellow Championship club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) on 30 January 2017, for an undisclosed fee and on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
[65] On signing Freeman, QPR manager Ian Holloway stated "I've been a great admirer of Luke and his creativity is something we'll really feel the benefits of".
[65] He made his QPR debut two days after signing, on 1 February 2017, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw with Newcastle United at St James' Park.
[66] Freeman scored his first goal for QPR in his next match for the club ten days later, on 11 February 2017, halving the deficit in an eventual 2–1 home defeat to Huddersfield Town.
[71][72] Following his most prolific season at QPR, Freeman joined newly promoted Premier League club Sheffield United for an undisclosed club-record fee on 3 July 2019.
[73] He made his Sheffield United debut in the club's first game back in the Premier League, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw away at Bournemouth on 10 August 2019.
[86] Having secured six points out of nine,[87][88] England won their group, and subsequently beat their French counterparts in the final on penalties, Freeman playing 78 minutes of the match.
[90] He played in all three games during the tournament,[91][92][93] with England failing to qualify for the final due to Norway's superior goal-scoring record.
[100] Freeman was named in England's squad to play in the elite round, the final qualification stage for the 2009 UEFA under-17 Championship.
[113] QPR manager Holloway has described Freeman as having a "wand of a left foot", as well as highlighting his creativity and desire to want the ball as plus-points.