James Carragher
Maltese footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Lee Carragher (born 11 November 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL League One club Wigan Athletic. Born in England, he plays for the Malta national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Lee Carragher[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 November 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.92 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wigan Athletic | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2017 | Liverpool | ||
| 2017–2021 | Wigan Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021– | Wigan Athletic | 44 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | → Oldham Athletic (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | Malta | 4 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:20, 10 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Early and personal life
James Lee Carragher was born on 11 November 2002 in Liverpool, Merseyside.[2] He is the son of the former Liverpool and England footballer Jamie Carragher.[3] He is of Maltese and Irish descent through his paternal grandparents.[4]
In February 2025, Carragher and his father received citizenship of Malta. He was entitled to the nationality through descent from Paul Vassallo of Qormi, his father's maternal grandfather.[5]
Club career
After Carragher began playing football with Liverpool as an under-8 in 2011,[6] he joined the youth academy of Wigan Athletic in 2017.[7] Carragher captained Wigan's under-18s as they won the U18 Professional Development League in the 2020–21 season. He signed his first professional contract with Wigan on 4 August 2021.[8] He made his debut with Wigan Athletic in a penalty shoot-out win over Hull City in the EFL Cup on 10 August 2021.[9] He signed a new two-year contract with Wigan on 27 April 2023.[10]
Carragher joined National League club Oldham Athletic on 16 September 2022 on loan until 1 January 2023.[11] He made 6 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell.[2] On 10 January 2024, Carragher joined Scottish Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle on loan until the end of the season.[12] He made his competitive debut two days later in a 1–0 loss at home to Dundee United.[13] He made a total of 20 appearances in all competitions as the club were relegated via the play-offs.[2]
Carragher made his league debut for Wigan against Crawley Town on 24 August 2024.[14] He scored his first professional career goal on 25 January 2025, heading in Wigan's opener in their 2–0 win against Bristol Rovers.[15]
International career
After Carragher obtained Maltese nationality in February 2025, Malta Football Association president Bjorn Vassallo said that they were considering the player for the national team.[5] On 14 March 2025, Malta called Carragher up for their World Cup qualifiers against Finland and Poland.[16][17]
On 21 March 2025, Carragher made his debut for Malta against Finland in a World Cup qualifying match, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 loss.[18]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played on 3 May 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wigan Athletic | 2021–22[19] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022–23[20] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[21] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024–25[22] | League One | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| Total | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 46 | 2 | ||
| Oldham Athletic (loan) | 2022–23[2] | National League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan) | 2023–24[2] | Scottish Championship | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Career total | 52 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 72 | 2 | ||
- Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in Scottish Championship play-offs
International
- As of matches played 10 June 2025[23]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malta | 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |