Shea Charles

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Shea Charles
Personal information
Full name Shea Emmanuel Charles
Date of birth (2003-11-05) 5 November 2003 (age 21)
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*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2023 Manchester City 1 (0)
2023– Southampton 44 (0)
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 16:16, 25 October 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 03:49, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

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.

Contents

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]

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. [17] Charles made his debut starting against Millwall in the 3–0 defeat on 31 August 2024. [18] He scored his first professional goal in the 93rd minute to beat Coventry City 2–1 on 5 October 2024. [19] The same month he won Wednesday's player of the month award. [20] 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. [21] On 24 January 2025, it was confirmed that Charles had returned to Wednesday for the remainder of the season. [22] He received a nomination for the EFL Championship Young Player of the Year in April alongside Jobe Bellingham and CJ Egan-Riley. [23] He was presented with Sheffield Wednesday's Player of the Year at the final home game of the season. [24]

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. [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] With the under-21 side, he played in matches against Slovakia and France in March 2022. [32] [33]

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] [34] [35] He made his first start three days later on 5 June, in another Nations League match against Cyprus. [36]

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] [37]

Personal life

His younger brother Pierce, is also a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. [38]

Career statistics

Club

As of 25 October 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup EFL Cup EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City U21 2021–22 [39] ————2 [a] 020
2022–23 [40] ————3 [a] 030
Total————5050
Manchester City 2022–23 [40] Premier League 100000000010
Southampton 2023–24 [41] Championship 3204010—1 [b] 0380
2024–25 [42] Premier League000000——00
2025–26 [43] Championship1200031——151
Total4404041—10531
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2024–25 [42] Championship4311000—00441
Career total881504100601032
  1. 1 2 Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearance in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 13 October 2025 [44]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Northern Ireland 202240
202390
2024100
202581
Total311
List of international goals scored by Shea Charles
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.4 September 2025 Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 2–13–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Southampton

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Shea Charles". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "Updated Premier League squad lists for 2022/23". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. ↑ "Shea Charles: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 Archer, Kenny (31 May 2022). "NI boss Baraclough hoping for more from veteran Davis and new boy Shea Charles". The Irish News . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Fullerton, Darren (28 May 2022). "Manchester City teenager at home with NI, says Ian Baraclough". BelfastLive. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Wyatt, Mark (11 July 2023). "Who is Shea Charles? Southampton set to repeat Romeo Lavia transfer trick to sign Man City ace". Hampshire Live. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Bajkowski, Simon (23 May 2022). "Man City captains assemble to celebrate historic year of success". Manchester Evening News . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Guardiola 'happy with what he's seen' of Charles". BBC Sport. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  9. ↑ Gooseman, Adam. "City clinch Under-18s Premier League National title with victory against Southampton". Man City . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "RB Leipzig vs Man City LIVE updates". 22 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Brentford miss out on Europe despite beating Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "Shea Charles is a Saint". Southampton F.C. 12 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Gillingham 3–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Southampton 4–4 Norwich City". BBC Sport. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  15. ↑ "Queens Park Rangers 0–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  16. ↑ Rees-Julian, George (24 December 2023). "Southampton's Martin has no issue with Charles' sending off at QPR". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  17. ↑ "Shea Charles join Owls on loan". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  18. ↑ "Shea Charles debuts at The Den". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  19. ↑ "Coventry 1-2 Wednesday". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 5 October 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  20. ↑ "Shea Charles is your Player of the Month!". Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  21. ↑ "Sheffield Wednesday owner drops Shea Charles transfer bombshell ahead of Leeds United clash". Yorkshire Evening Post. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  22. ↑ "Shea Charles returns to Wednesday". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  23. ↑ "EFL Awards 2025: Shortlists & how to watch". EFL. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  24. ↑ "Shea Charles wins SWFC Player of the Year award". Sheffield Wednesday FC. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  25. ↑ "Northern Ireland Under 16 Schoolboys settle for draw away to Poland". IFA . 27 November 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  26. ↑ "U16 Schoolboys find the going tough against Poland". IFA. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  27. ↑ "McGuckin and Conaty on target as U19s defeat Kazakhstan". IFA. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  28. ↑ "Match report and photos: NI U19s defeat Faroes in friendly". IFA. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  29. ↑ "Northern Ireland U19s secure second 1-0 win against Faroes". IFA. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  30. ↑ "U19s edged out by Denmark in opening Euro qualifier". IFA. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  31. ↑ "Northern Ireland U19s lose to hosts Czech Republic". IFA. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  32. ↑ "Northern Ireland U21s lose to Slovakia in Euro qualifier". IFA. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  33. ↑ "France prove too powerful for Northern Ireland U21s". IFA. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  34. ↑ Sterling, Mark (2 June 2022). "NI lose to Greece as Nations League woes continue". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  35. ↑ Gray, Andy (1 June 2022). "Greece beat Northern Ireland in Nations League - as it happened". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  36. ↑ Sterling, Mark (5 June 2022). "NI go 12 without Nations League win after Cyprus draw". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  37. ↑ Fullerton, Darren (31 May 2022). "Conor Washington hails "frightening" ability of NI young guns". BelfastLive. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  38. ↑ Beacom, Steven (26 November 2023). "I'm dreaming of playing for Northern Ireland alongside brother Shea". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  39. ↑ "Games played by Shea Charles in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  40. 1 2 "Games played by Shea Charles in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  41. ↑ "Games played by Shea Charles in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  42. 1 2 "Games played by Shea Charles in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  43. ↑ "Games played by Shea Charles in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  44. ↑ "Charles, Shea". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  45. ↑ "Leeds United 0–1 Southampton: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
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