Sean Clare

Sean Clare

Personal information
Full name	Sean James Kweku Clare [1]
Date of birth	(1996-09-18) 18 September 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Hackney, England
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) [2]
Position(s)	Right Back/Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Leyton Orient
Number	28
Youth career
	Charlton Athletic [3]
	Nike Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Sheffield Wednesday	5	(1)
2016	→ Bury (loan)	4	(0)
2017	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	8	(1)
2017–2018	→ Gillingham (loan)	21	(1)
2018–2020	Heart of Midlothian	54	(7)
2020–2021	Oxford United	17	(0)
2021	→ Burton Albion (loan)	20	(1)
2021–2023	Charlton Athletic	76	(2)
2023–2024	Wigan Athletic	33	(1)
2024–	Leyton Orient	10	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:10, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Sean James Kweku Clare (born 18 September 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Leyton Orient. He has previously played for Sheffield Wednesday, Heart of Midlothian, Oxford United, Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic and had loan spells at Bury, Accrington Stanley, Gillingham and Burton Albion.

Club career

Sheffield Wednesday

In February 2016, after leaving the Nike Academy, Clare signed a contract with Sheffield Wednesday until 2017. ^[4] He scored his first goal for Wednesday in a 4–2 defeat to Aston Villa on 24 February 2018. ^[5]

Bury (loan)

In March 2016 he signed for Bury on loan, ^[6] making his professional debut on 5 March against Bradford City.

Accrington Stanley (loan)

On 20 January 2017 he signed a loan until the end of the season with Accrington Stanley. Accrington manager John Coleman stated he was happy to add another attacking option to the squad with the signing of Clare. ^[7] His first appearance for Accrington was part of a 1–1 draw against Carlisle United. ^[8]

Gillingham (loan)

On 31 August 2017, he signed for Gillingham on loan until 3 January. ^[9] He scored his first league goal for the club in his second appearance, against AFC Wimbledon on 12 September 2017. ^[10]

In January 2018 Clare was recalled from his loan spell back to Sheffield Wednesday making his first senior debut in a 0–0 draw against city rivals Sheffield United. ^[11]

Heart of Midlothian

Clare signed a three-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian in September 2018. Clare featured for Hearts in the 2019 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 1–2 to Celtic. ^[12]

Oxford United

On 6 August 2020, Clare signed for League One club Oxford United, for an undisclosed fee, on a three-year deal. ^[13]

Burton Albion (loan)

On 12 January 2021, Clare joined League One side Burton Albion on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. ^[14] He scored his first goal for Burton in a 2–1 defeat to Shrewsbury Town on 23 March 2021. ^[15]

Charlton Athletic

On 20 July 2021, Clare joined League One side Charlton Athletic on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. ^[16]

On 13 May 2023, it was announced that Clare would leave the club when his contract expired in June. ^[17]

Wigan Athletic

On 11 July 2023, Clare joined Wigan Athletic on a three-year deal. ^[18]

Leyton Orient

On 21 July 2024, Clare signed for fellow League One side Leyton Orient on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. ^[19]

Personal life

Born in England, Clare is of Ghanaian descent. ^[20]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 October 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sheffield Wednesday	2015–16 [21]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17 [22]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2017–18 [23]		5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
	Sheffield Wednesday total		5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Bury (loan)	2015–16 [21]	League One	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2016–17 [22]	League Two	8	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
Gillingham (loan)	2017–18 [23]	League One	21	1	3	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	26	1
Heart of Midlothian	2018–19 [24]	Scottish Premiership	28	3	6	3	1	0	0	0	35	6
	2019–20 [25]		26	4	3	2	7	0	0	0	36	6
	Heart of Midlothian total		54	7	9	5	8	0	0	0	71	12
Oxford United	2020–21 [26]	League One	17	0	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	20	0
Burton Albion (loan)	2020–21 [26]	League One	20	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	1
Charlton Athletic	2021–22 [27]	League One	36	1	3	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	43	1
	2022–23 [28]		40	1	3	0	4	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	49	1
	Charlton Athletic total		76	2	6	0	5	0	5	0	92	2
Wigan Athletic	2023–24 [29]	League One	33	1	3	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	38	1
Leyton Orient	2024–25 [30]	League One	10	1	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	12	1
Career total			248	15	22	5	15	0	12	0	297	20

1. Two appearances in the EFL Trophy
2. Two appearances in the EFL Trophy
3. Three appearances in the EFL Trophy
4. Two appearances in the EFL Trophy
5. Two appearances in the EFL Trophy
6. One appearance in the EFL Trophy

Media work

In June 2020, Clare appeared in a special podcast panel discussing his experiences of racism in football with A View from the Terrace host Craig Fowler. ^[31]

Honours

Heart of Midlothian

• Scottish Cup: runner-up: 2018–19 ^[12]

References

1. "Retained List 2016–17" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
2. "Sean Clare". Charlton Athletic F.C. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
3. Cusick, Aiden (27 February 2018). "Get to know Sean Clare – the Sheffield Wednesday talent being linked with moves to Tottenham, Everton and several others". HITC. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
4. Braithwait, Joe (19 February 2016). "Owls sign Nike Academy midfielder". Access Wednesday. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
5. "Sheff Wed 2–4 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
6. "Owls youngster joins Bury on loan". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
7. "Sheffield Wednesday midfielder joins Accrington on loan". BBC. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
8. "Match Reports for Carlisle United vs Accrington Stanley". BBC. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
9. "Sean Clare: Gillingham sign Sheffield Wednesday midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
10. "AFC Wimbledon 1–1 Gillingham". BBC Sport. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
11. Cusick, Aiden (5 January 2018). "'Everything a Club Would Want in A Loan Signing': Gillingham Fans React as Sean Clare Returns to Sheffield Wednesday". HITC. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
12. "Edouard secures Celtic's treble treble". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
13. Pritchard, David (6 August 2020). "Oxford United sign Sean Clare from Hearts". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
14. "Brewers sign Sean Clare on loan from Oxford". Burton Albion FC. 12 January 2021.
15. "Burton 1–2 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
16. "DONE DEAL: Energetic midfielder Sean Clare signs for Charlton". Charlton Athletic . Retrieved 20 July 2021.
17. "RETAINED LIST : SQUAD UPDATE". Charlton Athletic Official Website. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
18. "SEAN CLARE SIGNS FOR WIGAN ATHLETIC!". Wigan Athletic Official Site. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
19. "Sean Clare joins the O's from Leyton Orient". www.leytonorient.com. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
20. "Kassim, Brimah, Frimpong Win League Titles As Fatau Dauda Picks Red Card In Nigeria". GhanaStar. 30 April 2018.
21. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
22. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
23. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
24. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
25. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
26. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
27. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
28. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
29. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
30. "Games played by Sean Clare in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
31. "The Terrace Podcast – Racism". terracepodcast.net.

External links

• Sean Clare at Soccerbase