Darren Lok Yee Deng (; born 14 December 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Malaysia Super League club Sabah. Born in England, he plays for the Malaysia national team.
Early life Born in Hailsham, East Sussex, Lok is of Chinese Malaysian and English descent. His father is from in Malacca.
Club career Eastbourne Borough Lok began his career with the Eastbourne Borough Academy. Later, he was promoted to the senior squad in 2012. Darren Lok was working shifts in an NHS psychiatric hospital as a psychiatric support worker, Minute 3:15. in the south of England while also playing part-time football for Eastbourne Borough of the National League South, the sixth tier overall of the English football league system.
Horsham (loan) At the start of the 2012–13 season, he was loaned to Horsham. He impressed at Horsham, but was recalled by Eastbourne after 2 games, due to a player shortage at the club.
Early in his Borough career, Lok gained a reputation as a 'super-sub' due to the late goals he would score after coming off the bench.
Johor Darul Ta'zim At the end of the 2015-16 season, Lok left Eastbourne to sign for Johor Darul Ta'zim II in the Malaysia Premier League. His registration was delayed, due to having to apply for a Malaysian passport. In September 2016 he received his Malaysian passport, which enabled him to play for JDT II as well as the Malaysia national football team. Darren Lok only managed to appear twice for the JDT II team before the season ended.
For the 2017 Malaysia Super League, JDT Coach Mario Gómez announced that Lok would be promoted to the JDT first team for the 2017 season.
Terengganu In January 2020, Terengganu has signed Lok to be with the team for the 2020 Malaysia Super League season. He only managed to make 4 league appearances for the team.
Petaling Jaya City Petaling Jaya City announced the signing of Lok from Terengganu in December 2020. He cited a lack of playing time as one of the reasons for his decision to join PJ City after a one-year stint with Terengganu.
Sabah In December 2022, Lok signed with Sabah.
International career Born in England, Lok was eligible to play either for England or Malaysia through his father.
Lok made his international debut against Singapore on 7 October 2016 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
He scored his first international goal against Syria on 22 August 2017 at the Hang Jebat Stadium.
Lok was also part of the Malaysian team that qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and scored the fourth goal in their last qualifier, his second international goal. Lok also represented the nation at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Career statistics Club DARREN YEE DENG LOK - Malaysian Football League.
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsEastbourne Borough2012–13Conference South31532—203672013–14Conference South38631—304472014–15Conference South38851—4147102015–16National League South33431—84449Total14023145—17517133Horsham (loan)2012–13Isthmian League Division One South2100—0021Johor Darul Ta'zim II2016Malaysia Premier League20—20Johor Darul Ta'zim2017Malaysia Super League30—52—822018Malaysia Super League20202050110Total91207250233Johor Darul Ta'zim II2018Malaysia Premier League138—702082019Malaysia Premier League81—41122Total219—1113210Terengganu FC2020Malaysia Super League400010—50Terengganu FC II2020Malaysia Premier League30—30Petaling Jaya City2021Malaysia Super League93—63—1562022Malaysia Super League20102220—2412Total36132283—4618Sabah2023Malaysia Super League19611316629142024–25Malaysia Super League1841000—1952024–25Malaysia Super League101300—23Career Total244562111206381232286
International
National team Year Apps GoalsMalaysia20165020174120221022023113202440Total 34 6
International goals Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first.
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 22 August 2017 Hang Jebat Stadium, Malacca, Malaysia 1–2 1–2 Friendly 2. 14 June 2022 Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 4–1 4–1 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification 3. 14 December 2022 Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1–0 3–0 Friendly 4. 3 January 2023 Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1–0 4–1 2022 AFF Championship 5. 6 September 2023 East Town Sports Park Stadium, Chengdu, China 2–2 2–2 Friendly 6. 21 November 2023 Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan 1–0 1–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia Cup: 2017 Malaysia Super League: 2017, 2018
Johor Darul Ta'zim II Malaysia Challenge Cup: 2019
Malaysia King's Cup : 2022 runner up Pestabola Merdeka : 2024
See also List of Malaysia international footballers born outside Malaysia
References
External links