Shea Charles

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 Charles was born in Manchester, where he started playing football, joining the sky blues academy as a 7 years old. He is of Northern Irish descent through his mother.

Progressing through the Citizens youth teams, he became a key player of the under-23 squad during the 2021–22 season, winning the Premier League 2, whilst still playing with the under-18, as they also won the national competition. During that season, the young player was also first called by Pep Guardiola to train with the Premier League squad.

Shea Charles was capped by Northern Ireland from the U16 to the U21: playing two games with the under-16, he later became a key player with the under-19—after the covid pandemic had halted junior competitions for most of 2020 and 2021—, winning two friendlies against Faroe Islands in 2021, before playing the Euro qualifiers. With the under-21, he played two games against Slovakia and France in March 2022.

First called to the senior team by Ian Baraclough in May 2022, Shea Charles made his international debut for Northern Ireland on the 2 June 2022.