Shea Charles
Northern Irish footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shea Emmanuel Charles (born 5 November 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Southampton. Born in England, he represents the Northern Ireland national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shea Emmanuel Charles | ||
| Date of birth | 5 November 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Southampton | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2023 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023 | Manchester City | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Southampton | 54 | (1) |
| 2024–2025 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 43 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Northern Ireland U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021 | Northern Ireland U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2022 | Northern Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2022– | Northern Ireland | 31 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:00, 14 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 03:49, 14 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Shea Emmanuel Charles[2] was born on 5 November 2003[3] in Manchester.[4] He is of Northern Irish descent through his mother.[5] He joined the Manchester City academy as a seven year old.[6]
Club career
Manchester City
Progressing through the City youth teams, he became a key player for the under-23 squad during the 2021–22 season, winning the Premier League 2,[7] whilst still playing with the under-18, as they also won the national competition.[8][9] During that season, the young player was also first called by Pep Guardiola to train with the Premier League squad.[8]
On 22 February 2023, Charles was named as a substitute for City's UEFA Champions League last-16 tie away at RB Leipzig.[10] On 28 May 2023, Charles made his Premier League debut coming on as a substitute in the 63rd minute in the last game of the season against Brentford in a 1–0 defeat.[11]
Southampton
On 12 July 2023, Charles joined EFL Championship side Southampton on a four-year contract.[12] He made his professional debut for the club on 8 August 2023 in a 3–1 defeat to Gillingham in the EFL Cup.[13] On 12 August 2023, Charles made his first appearance in the league for Southampton in a 4–4 draw against Norwich City, replacing Stuart Armstrong in the 65th minute.[14] During a 1–0 away victory against Queens Park Rangers on 23 December 2023, he received a red card following a second bookable offence for a foul on Albert Adomah.[15][16]
On 25 October 2025, in a 2–1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, Charles suffered a hamstring injury which was expected to prevent him playing until “late December”.[17] He returned to action as a substitute on 21 January 2026 in a 1–0 victory over Sheffield United,[18] and scored his first league goal for Southampton on 10 February 2026, a dramatic late winner in a 4–3 victory at Leicester City.[19]
Sheffield Wednesday (loan)
On 27 August 2024, Charles signed for Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on a season-long loan, joining his younger brother Pierce Charles at the club.[20] Charles made his debut starting against Millwall in the 3–0 defeat on 31 August 2024.[21] He scored his first professional goal in the 93rd minute to beat Coventry City 2–1 on 5 October 2024.[22] The same month he won Wednesday's player of the month award.[23] On 15 January, Sheffield Wednesday chairman Dejphon Chansiri confirmed during a fans forum, that Charles was being recalled by Southampton but would still be available for their next two games.[24] On 24 January 2025, it was confirmed that Charles had returned to Wednesday for the remainder of the season.[25] He received a nomination for the EFL Championship Young Player of the Year in April alongside Jobe Bellingham and CJ Egan-Riley.[26] He was presented with Sheffield Wednesday's Player of the Year at the final home game of the season.[27]
International career
Shea Charles was capped by Northern Ireland from the under-16 to the under-21 level.[5][8] He played two games with the under-16 side before becoming a key player with the under-19s.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34] With the under-21 side, he played in matches against Slovakia and France in March 2022.[35][36]
First called to the senior team by Ian Baraclough in May 2022, Charles made his international debut for Northern Ireland on 2 June, coming on as a substitute for George Saville in the 79th minute of the UEFA Nations League match against Greece.[5][8][37][38] He made his first start three days later on 5 June, in another Nations League match against Cyprus.[39]
Style of play
Able to play as a defensive midfielder, a centre-back, a centre midfielder or a full-back,[8] Charles is described as an athletic and technical player, already showing a great mentality from an early age.[4][40]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of 14 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City U21 | 2021–22[42] | — | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2022–23[43] | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Manchester City | 2022–23[43] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Southampton | 2023–24[44] | Championship | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2024–25[45] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26[46] | Championship | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| Total | 54 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 63 | 2 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2024–25[45] | Championship | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| Career total | 98 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 113 | 3 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Appearance in Championship play-offs
International
- As of match played 13 October 2025[47]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 September 2025 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Luxembourg | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Southampton
Individual
