Killian Phillips

Killian Phillips

Personal information
Date of birth	(2002-03-30) 30 March 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	San Diego, California, United States
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	St Mirren (on loan from Crystal Palace)
Number	88
Youth career
	Kilbarrack United
	Drogheda United
	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–2022	Drogheda United	30	(2)
2022–	Crystal Palace	0	(0)
2023	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	19	(3)
2023–2024	→ Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	24	(1)
2024	→ Aberdeen (loan)	10	(0)
2024–	→ St Mirren (loan)	10	(1)
International career‡
2022	Republic of Ireland U20	1	(0)
2023–2024	Republic of Ireland U21	7	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:10, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

Killian Phillips (born 30 March 2002) is an Irish footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for St Mirren, on loan from Premier League club Crystal Palace. Born in the United States, he plays for the Republic of Ireland U21 national team.

Early life

Phillips was born in San Diego on 30 March 2002 and moved to Kilbarrack, Dublin as a child. ^[1] He began his football career as a youth player with Kilbarrack United before moving to the academy sides of Drogheda United. ^[2]

Club career

Drogheda United

Having been a non-playing substitute in some matches in 2020, Phillips made his debut for Drogheda United in a 1–0 loss at home to Shamrock Rovers on 20 April 2021. ^[3] The first senior goal of Phillips' career came on 8 May 2021, in a 7–0 win away to Waterford at the RSC as the home side fielded their under-19 squad due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the first team. ^[4] On 24 October 2021, he scored the only goal of the game as Drogheda beat Derry City at United Park. ^[5] He made 31 appearances in all competitions during the 2021 season, scoring two goals. ^[6]

Crystal Palace

At the end of the season, Phillips had a trial with Crystal Palace and made a permanent move to the Premier League club in January 2022, ^[7] and spent the rest of the 2021–22 season with the club's under-23 team. ^[1] In March 2022, he was selected for the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad, ^[8] but was only involved as a non-playing substitute. He was part of the Crystal Palace first-team squad that travelled to Singapore and Australia before the 2022–23 season and started in the friendly games against Liverpool and Manchester United. ^[9] Phillips made his senior debut for Crystal Palace on 23 August 2022, starting the Carabao Cup tie against Oxford United. ^{[10] [11]}

Loan to Shrewsbury Town

On 29 December 2022, it was announced that Phillips would join Shrewsbury Town on loan until the end of the season, once the transfer window opened on 1 January 2023. ^{[12] [13]} Despite only featuring for half of the season, Phillips was awarded the Young Player of the Season for his efforts. ^[14] His performances for the Shrews were described as "immense" by the club's manager Steve Cotterill. ^[15]

Loan to Wycombe Wanderers

On 11 August 2023, Phillips signed a new contract with Crystal Palace and on the same day also joined EFL League One club Wycombe Wanderers on a season long loan deal. ^{[16] [17]}

Phillips scored his first league goal for the club in a 2–1 loss against local rivals Reading on 25 November 2023.

Loan to Aberdeen

After it was mutually agreed to cut short his loan at Wycombe Wanderers, Phillips joined Scottish club Aberdeen on 28 January 2024 until the end of the season.

Loan to St Mirren

On 21 August 2024, Phillips joined Scottish Premiership club St Mirren on a season-long loan deal. ^[18]

International career

Phillips' first involvement at international level came in March 2022, when he captained a Republic of Ireland U20 team in a 1–0 friendly match defeat against a team of Ireland Amateurs at Whitehall Stadium. ^[19] His performance earned him a call up to the U21 side for their qualifying fixture away to Sweden U21 the following week. ^[20] He made his debut for the U21 team in a 2–1 friendly win over Iceland U21 at Turners Cross on 26 March 2023. ^[21] On 21 November 2023, he scored his first goal for his country in a 2–2 draw at home to Italy U21. ^[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 November 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup [a]		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Drogheda United	2021 [23]	League of Ireland Premier Division	30	2	1	0	—		—		31	2
Crystal Palace	2022–23 [23]	Premier League	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2022–23 [23]	Premier League	0	0	—		1	0	—		1	0
	2023–24 [23]	Premier League	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		30	2	1	0	1	0	—		32	2
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2022–23 [23]	League One	19	3	1	0	—		—		20	3
Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	2023–24 [23]	League One	24	1	2	1	1	0	3	0	30	2
Aberdeen (loan)	2023–24 [23]	Scottish Premiership	10	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
St Mirren (loan)	2024–25 [23]	Scottish Premiership	10	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	1
Career total			93	7	7	1	2	0	3	0	105	8

1. Includes FAI Cup & FA Cup

References

1. Sneyd, David (29 May 2022). "The start of a journey in football: 'I feel like I'm always chasing, and being chased'". The42. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
2. "'He looked a box-to-box player with a lot of strength' – Kilbarrack youth Killian Phillips catches Patrick Vieira's eye". independent. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
3. "League Report: Drogheda United 0 – 1 Shamrock Rovers". extratime.com.
4. "League Report: Waterford 0 - 7 Drogheda United". ExtraTime.com.
5. Landy, Barry (24 October 2021). "Phillips heads Drogheda to victory over Derry" – via www.rte.ie.
6. "Republic of Ireland - K. Phillips - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
7. "Drogs ace Phillips signs Palace deal". independent. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
8. "Keep track of Palace's Academy internationals as Phillips earns U21s nod – News". Crystal Palace F.C. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
9. AFP (15 July 2022). "Dubliner Killian Phillips starts for Crystal Palace in loss to Liverpool". The42. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
10. "Team news: Three debuts for Palace v Oxford – News". Crystal Palace F.C. June 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
11. "OXFORD UNITED VS CRYSTAL PALACE". Soccerway.
12. "Killian Phillips joins Salop on loan from Crystal Palace". www.shrewsburytown.com. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
13. "Shrewsbury sign Palace midfielder Phillips on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
14. "Gallery | Awards Night 2022/23". www.shrewsburytown.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
15. Westbury, Ollie (22 April 2023). "'Immense' Killian Phillips has been a real loan star for Shrewsbury". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
16. "Killian Phillips signs new contract and joins Wycombe on loan - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 11 August 2023.
17. Kelly, Niall (11 August 2023). "Ireland U21 Phillips agrees new Crystal Palace deal before League One loan". The 42.
18. "St Mirren announce signing of Killian Phillips". www.stmirren.com. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
19. "REPORT | Ireland U20s 0-1 Ireland Amateurs | Football Association of Ireland". fai.ie.
20. "SQUAD UPDATE | Burns, Phillips and McEntee join U21s squad | Football Association of Ireland". fai.ie.
21. "Republic of Ireland 2 – 1 Iceland | 2023 – Under-21 Mens Friendlies | 999948672 | Football Association of Ireland". fai.ie.
22. "Heartbreak for Ireland as Italy claim dramatic late draw in Euro qualifier". 21 November 2023.
23. "Republic of Ireland – K. Phillips – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 August 2022.

External links

• Killian Phillips at Soccerbase
• Killian Phillips at Athletic Updates