Fleetwood Town
Born in Blackpool, [1] Crellin turned professional at Fleetwood Town in the 2016–17 campaign after being invited to train with the first-team squad in Austria by manager Uwe Rösler. [2] He was named on the Fleetwood bench on the last day of the 2017–18 season in what was John Sheridan's last game as head coach. [3] Crellin had previously been linked with a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, though said he was prepared to fight Alex Cairns and Matthew Urwin for a starting place. [4] He had already made history at Highbury by becoming the first Fleetwood Town player to receive a call-up to an England age group, as well as being the first player from the club's new category three academy to sign a professional contract. [5]
On 1 August 2018, he joined National League North club FC United of Manchester on loan. [6] [7] United struggled for form, leading to the departure of player-manager Tom Greaves, though Crellin performed well regardless at Broadhurst Park. [8] He played seven matches, conceding 15 goals and keeping two clean sheets. [9] Crellin was recalled early on 20 September as Fleetwood manager Joey Barton felt that losing games of football would be bad for his development. [10] In July 2019, he was the subject of a failed transfer bid from Premier League club Everton. [11] On 16 August 2019, he moved on loan to National League club Chorley until 3 November. [12] He kept two clean sheets in nine games at Victory Park before being recalled on 27 September. [13]
On 3 August 2020, he signed on loan for Bolton Wanderers. [14] His debut at the University of Bolton Stadium came on 5 September in Bolton's first match of the season, a 2–1 defeat to Bradford City in the first round of the EFL Cup. [15] On 28 September, Crellin was defended by Bolton head coach Ian Evatt after being criticised for perceived errors in games. [16] A month later however, Evatt criticised Crellin, stating that he needed to "man up" and that Bolton could not afford for their goalkeeper to keep making so many mistakes, after Crellin was at fault for two of Barrow's goals in a 3–3 draw and four days later scored an own goal in a 1–1 draw with Cambridge United. [17] In the next match, Crellin saved a penalty to help Bolton beat Bradford City 1–0, [18] and was voted man of the match by the Bolton fans. [19] Evatt praised Crellin for responding to the criticism by putting on the man of the match display. [20] Crellin continued to make mistakes, however, [21] and on 13 November he was dropped to the bench for Bolton's derby match against Salford City. [22] He then spent the rest of the 2020–21 season as a back-up goalkeeper, first to Matt Gilks, and then to both Gilks and January signing Lukas Jensen. [23] Bolton were promoted out of League Two in third place. [24]
Everton
On 31 January 2022, Crellin joined Everton for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal, linking up with their under-23 squad. [25] [26] [27] He had come from an Everton-supporting family and said it was "surreal" to join his boyhood club. [28] In September 2023, shortly after Asmir Begović left Goodison Park, [28] Crellin signed a new two-year contract. [29] However, he was limited to under-21 and under-23 appearances, featuring on the first-team bench only for the last Premier League game of the 2023–24 season. [28]
On 30 August 2024, he joined League Two club Accrington Stanley on loan for the 2024–25 campaign. [30] Manager John Doolan wanted to provide competition for number one Michael Kelly, in addition to Liam Isherwood and James Rogerson. [31] He played a total of 38 games for Accrington. [32] On 9 June 2025, Everton announced that Crellin would be departing the club at the end of the month upon the expiration of his contract. [33] He spent July 2025 on trial at Port Vale. [34]
