Flynn Downes

Flynn Downes

Downes with West Ham United in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Flynn Downes [1]
Date of birth	(1999-01-20) 20 January 1999 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Brentwood, England
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) [3]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Southampton
Number	4
Youth career
2005–2006	Ongar Town
2006–2017	Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2021	Ipswich Town	92	(3)
2018	→ Luton Town (loan)	10	(0)
2021–2022	Swansea City	37	(1)
2022–2024	West Ham United	21	(0)
2023–2024	→ Southampton (loan)	33	(2)
2024–	Southampton	10	(0)
International career
2017–2018	England U19	5	(0)
2018–2019	England U20	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:12, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Flynn Downes (born 20 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Southampton.

A product of the Ipswich Town academy, which he joined in 2006, Downes made his debut for the club in 2017. After spending some time on loan at Luton Town in 2018, Downes returned to Ipswich and firmly established himself in the first team for the next few seasons. After much speculation surrounding his future starting in summer 2020, Downes joined Swansea City in August 2021, moving on to West Ham United the following year. In his first season at West Ham, he won the 2023 Europa Conference League title, before spending the 2023–24 season on loan at EFL Championship club Southampton.

Club career

Ipswich Town

2017–18 season

Downes playing for Ipswich Town in 2017

Downes was born in Brentwood, Essex and attended Brentwood School. ^{[4] [5]} He joined Ipswich Town at the age of seven, ^[2] after joining from Ongar Town, ^[6] signing a two-year scholarship in May 2015. ^[7] Downes signed a one-year professional contract with the club on 29 June 2017, with the option of a further year. ^[8] However, after impressing manager Mick McCarthy during pre-season, he signed a new three-year contract with Ipswich on 19 July to keep him at the club until the summer of 2020. ^[9] He made his professional debut on the opening day of 2017–18, coming on as a substitute for the injured Andre Dozzell in first-half stoppage time in a 1–0 home victory over Birmingham City. ^[10]

Luton Town (loan)

On 31 January 2018, Downes joined League Two leaders Luton Town on loan until the end of 2017–18. ^[11] He made his debut three days later, starting in Luton's 1–0 home win over Exeter City. ^[12] Following the match, manager Nathan Jones said "He was outstanding. It's as if he lives here in terms of the way he went about the pitch, the confidence he played with, the security and everything he had". ^[13] Downes finished the loan with ten appearances, ^[14] as Luton were promoted to League One after finishing second in League Two. ^[15]

2018 to 2020

Following his return from loan, Downes played regularly for the first team during the 2018–19 season, making 30 appearances across all competitions – ending in the team being relegated to League One. ^[16] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in March 2019, with the option of a further year, and scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 home victory over Leeds United on the final day of the season. ^{[17] [18]}

Downes remained a regular player for Ipswich following relegation to League One during the 2019–20 season. He scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 home win over Shrewsbury Town on 31 August. ^[19] On 1 December 2019, Downes captained Ipswich for the first time in a FA Cup second round tie against Coventry City, which ended as a 1–1 draw. Aged 20, he became the club's youngest ever captain. ^[4]

2020–21 season

Following his impressive performances for the Blues, Downes was linked with a move away from the club during summer 2020. On 1 September, the club confirmed that it had rejected two bids for Downes from a Premier League club, widely reported to be Crystal Palace. ^[20] After the second bid was rejected, Downes reportedly handed in a transfer request and subsequently was left out of the squad for the club's opening three games. ^[21]

Downes returned to the first-team on 16 September, coming on as a second-half substitute in an EFL Cup second round tie against Fulham. He continued to feature from the bench for the next few matches, before suffering a knee injury in a 1–1 draw with MK Dons on 3 October, with the injury expected to rule him out of action for two months. ^[22] Downes made 25 appearances during an injury hit 2020–21 season. ^[23]

During the summer of 2021, Downes was told by new manager Paul Cook that he was not in his plans for the upcoming season, and was told to train with the club's U23s. ^[24] He was subsequently not allocated a squad number for the 2021–22 season and continued to be linked with a move away from the club, with Championship clubs such as AFC Bournemouth, Barnsley and Swansea City being reportedly interested. ^[25]

Swansea City

On 10 August 2021, Downes joined Swansea City on a four-year deal, for a fee reportedly around £1.5 million. This ended his 15-year association with Ipswich Town. ^[26] In the 2021–22 season, Downes completed 92.6% of his 2,465 attempted passes achieving the highest pass-completion rate in the top four divisions in English football for 2021–22. ^[4]

West Ham United

On 7 July 2022, Downes signed for West Ham United on a five-year contract, with a further one-year option, for an undisclosed fee, reported by the BBC to be around £12 million. ^{[27] [28]} On 7 August 2022, Downes made his Premier League debut as a 92nd-minute substitute for Jarrod Bowen in a 2–0 home defeat to Manchester City. ^[29] On 7 June 2023, Downes was part of the squad in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final, against Fiorentina in Prague. West Ham won their first trophy in 43 years with a 2–1 victory. ^[30]

Southampton

On 21 August 2023, Downes joined Southampton on a season-long loan. ^[31] Downes made his debut for the club on 26 August 2023 in a 2–1 victory against Queens Park Rangers, coming on as a substitute for Jack Stephens in the 25th minute. ^[32] On 20 January 2024, he scored his first goal for Southampton in a 1–3 victory against Swansea City. ^[33] At the end of the season Downes' performances for Southampton were praised by United Kingdom Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, himself a Southampton supporter. ^[34] Downes ended the season having made 37 appearances in all competitions. He scored two goals and made three assists and on 26 May was a member of the team which won promotion back to the Premier League having beaten Leeds United 1–0 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley. ^[35]

On 16 July 2024, Downes joined Southampton permanently on a four-year contract for a fee undisclosed by the clubs but reported to be an initial fee of £15 million. ^{[36] [37]}

International career

Downes was called up to the England under-19 team on 24 August 2017 for two friendly matches against Poland and Germany. ^[38] He made his debut on 5 September against the latter, starting in a 3–1 defeat, in which he was substituted in the 60th minute. ^[39] He was capped five times by England at under-19 level. ^[40] Downes was named on standby for the England under-20 team on 9 November 2018 for a match against Germany. ^[41] He was called into the squad three days later ^[42] and earned his first cap as an 89th-minute substitute in a 2–0 victory the following week. ^{[43] [44]}

Personal life

He attended Brentwood School, Essex following in the footsteps of former Hammers midfielder Frank Lampard. ^[45] Downes supports West Ham United, his family and friends all supporting the club. ^{[6] [46]}

Career statistics

As of match played 2 November 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ipswich Town	2017–18 [14]	Championship	10	0	0	0	2	0	—		12	0
	2018–19 [16]	Championship	29	1	1	0	0	0	—		30	1
	2019–20 [47]	League One	29	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	32	2
	2020–21 [23]	League One	24	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	25	0
	Total		92	3	3	0	4	0	0	0	99	3
Luton Town (loan)	2017–18 [14]	League Two	10	0	—		—		—		10	0
Swansea City	2021–22 [48]	Championship	37	1	1	0	1	0	—		39	1
West Ham United	2022–23 [49]	Premier League	21	0	2	0	1	0	11 [lower-alpha 1]	0	35	0
Southampton (loan)	2023–24 [50]	Championship	33	2	1	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	37	2
Southampton	2024–25 [51]	Premier League	10	0	0	0	1	0	—		11	0
Career total			203	6	7	0	7	0	14	0	231	6

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
2. Appearances in Championship play-offs

Honours

West Ham United

• UEFA Europa Conference League: 2022–23 ^[52]

Southampton

• EFL Championship play-offs: 2024 ^[53]

Individual

• Ipswich Town Young Player of the Year: 2017–18 ^[54]
• Southampton Southern Daily Echo Player of the Year: 2023–24 ^[55]

References

1. "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
2. Watson, Stuart (15 July 2017). "Seven academy graduates trying to catch the eye for Ipswich Town in pre-season". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
3. "Flynn Downes: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
4. "Eight things you need to know about Flynn Downes | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com.
5. "Flynn Downes". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
6. "I have to give my best every day, I don't want any regrets". Swansea City A.F.C. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
7. "Sons of Dozzell and Wright amongst new scholars". TWTD.co.uk. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
8. "Trio sign first pro deals". TWTD.co.uk. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
9. "Downes signs another new deal". TWTD.co.uk. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
10. Watson, Stuart (5 August 2017). "Ipswich Town 1 Birmingham City 0 match report – Joe Garner's debut goal seals gritty win". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
11. "Luton sign Liverpool's Lloyd Jones, Ipswich's Flynn Downes & Plymouth's Jake Jervis". BBC Sport. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
12. Simmonds, Mike (3 February 2018). "Cornick seals vital victory for the Hatters". Luton Today. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
13. Simmonds, Mike (4 February 2018). "Hatters boss hails 'outstanding' Downes". Luton Today. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
14. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
15. "League Two: 2017/18: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
16. "F. Downes: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
17. Warren, Andy (30 March 2019). "Downes signs new Town deal until the summer of 2022". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
18. Warren, Andy (5 May 2019). "Ipswich Town 3–2 Leeds United: Quaner wins dramatic game for Blues as Lambert's men sign off with a victory". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
19. "Ipswich Town 3–0 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
20. "BIDS REJECTED FOR FLYNN". www.itfc.co.uk.
21. "PAUL ON FLYNN SPECULATION". www.itfc.co.uk.
22. "Flynn and Stephen Suffer Injury Blows". Ipswich Town F.C. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
23. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
24. "Six senior players - including Downes - will start pre-season with Under-23s". 23 June 2021.
25. "All change as Ipswich Town announce squad numbers for 2021/22 season". 6 August 2021.
26. "Flynn Downes joins Swansea City". 10 August 2021.
27. "West Ham United sign midfielder Flynn Downes | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
28. "West Ham sign Swansea midfielder Downes". BBC Sport.
29. "West Ham 0-2 Man City: Erling Haaland scores twice as Man City turn on style". BBC Sport. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
30. "Jarrod Bowen strikes at the last to earn Conference League glory for West Ham". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
31. "Saints seal loan deal for Downes". Southampton FC. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
32. "Southampton 2–1 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
33. Vincent, Gareth (20 January 2024). "Swansea City 1–3 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
34. "Rishi Sunak speaks out on West Ham United loanee Flynn Downes". West Ham Zone. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
35. "Loan Watch: Downes ends Saints spell with Play-Off final success". West Ham United F.C. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
36. "Flynn Downes signs permanent deal at Saints". Southampton FC. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
37. "Downes Opts to Rejoin Saints". TWTD.co.uk. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
38. Brammer, Chris (24 August 2017). "Ipswich Town's Tristan Nydam and Flynn Downes get England Under-19 calls for Poland and Germany games". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
39. "Downes wins first cap but England U19s defeated". TWTD.co.uk. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
40. "England's matches: The under 19's: 2010–20". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin, Glen Isherwood & Peter Young. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
41. Watson, Stuart (9 November 2018). "Dozzell and Chalobah in England U20 squad for game at Colchester, with Bramble handed coaching role". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
42. Warren, Andy (12 November 2018). "Downes added to England U20 squad for Germany clash at Colchester". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
43. Warren, Andy (19 November 2018). "Andy's Angles: Captain Chalobah, Andre's display and Downes' debut – observations as England U20s beat Germany". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
44. "England's matches: The under 20's". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin, Glen Isherwood & Peter Young. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
45. "Eight things you need to know about Flynn Downes | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
46. "Downes: It feels like a dream to be a West Ham player". West Ham United F.C. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
47. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
48. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
49. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
50. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
51. "Games played by Flynn Downes in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
52. Stone, Simon (7 June 2023). "Fiorentina 1–2 West Ham United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
53. "Leeds United 0–1 Southampton: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
54. Heath, Mark (2 May 2018). "Bialkowski a double winner at Town's end of season awards as Celina claims best goal". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
55. House, Alfie (22 May 2024). "Flynn Downes named Southern Daily Echo Player of the Year 2023/24". Daily Echo. Retrieved 22 May 2024.

External links

• Profile at the Southampton F.C. website