External links
- Profile at the Manchester City F.C. website
- Profile at the Irish Football Association website
- Shea Charles – UEFA competition record ( archive )
Southampton F.C. – current squad | |
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Awards | |||||
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shea Emmanuel Charles | ||
| Date of birth | 5 November 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Southampton | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2023 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023 | Manchester City | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Southampton | 36 | (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 | 27 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:05, 30 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 09:32, 11 June 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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
His younger brother Pierce, is also a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. [38]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City U21 | 2021–22 [39] | — | — | — | — | 2 [a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2022–23 [40] | — | — | — | — | 3 [a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Manchester City | 2022–23 [40] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Southampton | 2023–24 [41] | Championship | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 [b] | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 [42] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 [43] | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2024–25 [42] | Championship | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| Career total | 80 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 94 | 1 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 0 | |
Southampton
Individual