Eddie Beach
Welsh footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward James Beach (born 9 October 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City, on loan from Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock. He is a former Wales under-21 international.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward James Beach[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 9 October 2003[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lymington, England[2] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.95 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Derry City (on loan from Kilmarnock) | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Milford on Sea Youth | |||
| 2013–2019 | New Forest Football Academy | ||
| 2019–2022 | Southampton | ||
| 2022–2023 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2025 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Chelmsford City (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Gateshead (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Crawley Town (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2025– | Kilmarnock | 3 | (0) |
| 2026– | → Derry City (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Wales U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Wales U21 | 8 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:27, 22 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 September 2024 | |||
Club career
Early career
Beach started his footballing career as a striker for his local Sunday league teams, Milford Youth and the New Forest Football Academy.[4] At the age of fifteen, his father sent him a Twitter link regarding an open trial exclusively for goalkeepers, and he decided to attend.[5] He was repeatedly invited back, having impressed, and was eventually offered a further trial at professional side Bournemouth.[5] Having only attended the trial for three of the eight weeks, Beach returned to Sunday league level, scoring a hat-trick for his local side.[5]
Fellow professional side Southampton also showed an interest in Beach, and sent scouts to watch him play for his local team in a Hampshire Cup game.[5] He was playing in midfield in the game, with his dad telling scouts that Beach "wasn't a goalkeeper" when asked why.[5] Despite this, he was still invited for an eight-week trial, and as with the Bournemouth trial, this was also cut short. However, unlike the Bournemouth trial, Southampton had offered Beach a place in the academy, and he joined at under-15 level.[5]
He suffered an eleven-month long injury during his first couple of years with Southampton, returning in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom forced football to stop temporarily.[5] He managed to impress during the time he spent in the academy, and signed a scholarship deal with Southampton in August 2020.[6]
Chelsea
Beach's performances in Southampton's 2021–22 campaign, in which they won the Premier League South title and came second nationally to Manchester City, attracted the attention of Chelsea, and he made the move to West London in July 2022.[7][8]
In January 2023, Beach was loaned to National League South side Chelmsford City.[9]
In January 2024, Beach was loaned to National League side Gateshead.[10]
In August 2024, Beach joined newly promoted League One side Crawley Town on a season-long loan deal.[11] However, he returned to Chelsea on 14 January 2025.[12] On 9 June 2025, it was announced that Beach would leave Chelsea after the end of the season.[13]
Kilmarnock
On 11 July 2025, Beach joined Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock on a two-year deal.[14]
Derry City
On 19 February 2026, Beach signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City on loan until the summer, acting as short term cover for injured first choice goalkeeper Brian Maher.[15][16]
International career
Career statistics
- As of match played 21 February 2026[18]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chelsea U21 | 2022–23 | — | — | — | — | 4[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| 2023–24 | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Chelsea | 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chelmsford City (loan) | 2022–23 | National League South | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1[b] | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| Gateshead (loan) | 2023–24 | National League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Crawley Town (loan) | 2024–25 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kilmarnock | 2025–26 | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Derry City (loan) | 2026 | LOI Premier Division | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
