7/9/2025

Tobias Lawal Makes Move Abroad

From the academy to the second team and all the way to the senior squad, Tobias Lawal has progressed through every level at LASK. Now it’s time to say goodbye: the 25-year-old goalkeeper, whose contract was originally set to run until the summer of 2027, is transferring to Belgian top-tier club KRC Genk. The details of the transfer fee remain undisclosed.

Lawal joined the Linz Football Academy in the summer of 2014 at the age of 14. His professional debut came four years later, in July 2018, when he guarded the net for LASK’s reserve team in a match against Wacker Innsbruck. He made his Austrian Bundesliga debut in October 2020, starting in an away match against SK Rapid.

With a series of strong performances in the following years, Lawal earned recognition as LASK’s new first-choice goalkeeper, officially taking on the role at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. The Upper Austrian fully justified the club’s trust, recording 14 clean sheets in his first full Bundesliga campaign. He also wore the captain’s armband nine times during the season and played a key role in a remarkable run of form: from matchday 23 to 26, LASK won four consecutive games without conceding a goal – a feat previously achieved only in 1961, 1985, and 2019 in Austria’s top flight.

In total, Lawal made 75 appearances for LASK’s first team. Just a few weeks ago, he celebrated his debut for Austria’s senior national team in a 4–0 victory over San Marino during World Cup qualifying. Now, Lawal is moving on to Belgian top club KRC Genk. The team, coached by Thorsten Fink, finished third in the league last season and will compete in the UEFA Europa League play-offs.

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Tobias Lawal has undergone an outstanding development at LASK, progressing all the way from the academy to the first team. Over the past few years, he has been a defining figure in the squad, evolving into a leader and national team goalkeeper. The offer from KRC Genk was highly attractive for all parties involved, and we are truly happy that Tobias now has the opportunity to fulfill his dream of playing abroad. We would like to sincerely thank him for his remarkable performances, which cannot be valued highly enough, and we are confident that he has a bright future ahead of him.

Dino Buric, Sporting Director