Callum Anthony Reilly (born 3 October 1993) is a professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for club
Banbury United
Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium.
History
The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...
.
A
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
who has also played at
full back, Reilly began his career as a youngster with
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
. He made his first-team debut in January 2012, turned professional later that year, and over the next three seasons made 66 appearances in all competitions. He had a short spell on loan at
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...
in 2015, and joined the club on a two-year contract in June of that year. Unable to establish himself in their first team, he spent the second half of the 2016–17 season on loan to
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
, and then joined
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
. After a loan spell at Gillingham, he signed for them ahead of the 2018–19 season. He was released in 2019, and spent the next two seasons with
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...
in
EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
before signing a one-year contract with
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...
in 2021. He spent much of that season either injured or on loan at
Solihull Moors
Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...
, and joined Banbury United in September 2022.
He has represented the
Republic of Ireland at under-21 level.
Club career
Birmingham City
Reilly was born in
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
, Cheshire, and raised in
Solihull
Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...
, West Midlands,
[ where he attended St Peter's Catholic School. He joined Birmingham City's youth system at the age of seven,] and began a two-year scholarship in July 2010.
He was given a first-team squad number
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...
in January 2012, and his first competitive involvement came when he was named among the substitutes for the third-round FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
-tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
, remaining unused. Reilly made his first-team debut on 28 January, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for Jordon Mutch
Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch (born 2 December 1991) is an English professional footballer who most recently played as a central midfielder for Australian A-League club Macarthur FC.
Mutch joined Birmingham City in 2007 from Derby County's yo ...
in the fourth-round FA Cup-tie against Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
at Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United.
The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...
, with Birmingham already 4–0 ahead.
He signed his first professional contract, of one year, before the 2012–13 season,[ and was given a squad number before the visit to ]Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
in October.
With Hayden Mullins
Hayden Ian Mullins (born 27 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and current manager. He played primarily as a defensive midfielder, but he also played as a sweeper and at right-back. He was most recently the head coach at ...
suspended and Jonathan Spector
Jonathan Michael Paul Spector (born March 1, 1986) is an American former soccer player who played as a defender. In his 16-year career playing first-team soccer he played over 400 games for club and country, and helped the United States win the ...
injured for the visit of Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building
* ...
on 15 December, Reilly made his first start, and first appearance in the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
, alongside Papa Bouba Diop
Papa Bouba Diop (28 January 197829 November 2020) was a Senegalese professional footballer. His preferred position was defensive midfield but he could also play as a centre back, where he previously played at Lens. Diop was considered a strong ...
in central midfield. He played the full 90 minutes as Birmingham came back from 2–0 down to draw. In first-half stoppage time of the visit to Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...
in January 2013, " Chris Burke's cross was headed into the path of Reilly, who smashed the ball into the net" from to score his first senior goal. He was substituted at half-time due to illness, and the match was drawn. In April, the club took up their option to extend Reilly's contract for another year. He ended the season with 18 league appearances, and signed a new two-year contract ahead of the 2013–14 campaign.
Reilly had hoped to be a regular in the first team in the 2013–14 season, but an influx of new players, including midfielders Andy Shinnie and Tom Adeyemi, meant it took until late September and a good performance in the League Cup victory over Premier League club Swansea City
Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
that he made his first league start, against Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. In the following game, a 4–0 win against Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
, manager Lee Clark described the performance of Reilly and Adeyemi in partnership in defensive midfield as brilliant. They played regularly together until January, when new arrivals, including Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
's Emyr Huws
Emyr Wyn Huws (born 30 September 1993) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Wales national team.
He came through the youth systems of Swansea City and Manchester City before turning professional with the latte ...
and the experienced Brian Howard, caused Reilly to fall out of favour. By the end of March, with Birmingham struggling, Reilly returned to the team, playing either in midfield or at left back. On the last day of the season, needing at least a draw at Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
and for other results to go in their favour to avoid relegation to League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
, he started at left back, later moving into central midfield to replace the injured Huws, as the team came back from 2–0 down to equalise in the third minute of stoppage time and maintain their second-tier status.
Eight minutes into his first match of the 2014–15 season, away at league leaders Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, Reilly scored the opening goal, a deflected effort from hit with his weaker right foot from , and in the next match, he made his 50th appearance. But in the face of competition from new signings Stephen Gleeson
Stephen Michael Gleeson (born 3 August 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Hitchin Town.
Gleeson played youth football in his native Dublin before coming to England at the age of 15 to join Wolverhampto ...
and David Davis, and later from loanee Robert Tesche
Robert Tesche (born 27 May 1987) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club VfL Osnabrück.
Tesche played for Arminia Bielefeld, Hamburger SV and Fortuna Düsseldorf before moving to England in 2014 to join Nottingh ...
, he was unable to establish himself in the starting eleven. On 11 March 2015, he joined League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...
on loan until the end of the season. Birmingham manager Gary Rowett
Gary Rowett (born 6 March 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is currently manager of Championship club Millwall.
As a player, he was a defender, and played in the Premier League for Everton, Derby County, ...
intended the loan spell as an opportunity for the player to earn a new contract. Reilly made his Burton debut as a late substitute in a 3–0 win against Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...
. He started the next match, but suffered a hamstring injury after 11 minutes that put an end to his season.[ He was released by Birmingham when his contract expired, and according to the '']Birmingham Mail
The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire ...
s season summary, could consider himself unlucky.
Burton Albion
On 5 June 2015, Reilly agreed a two-year contract with Burton Albion, newly promoted to League One, subject to passing a medical. He scored his first goal for the club against Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
in an EFL Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
tie on 10 August 2016.[
Reilly joined League One club ]Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
on 1 January 2017 on loan until the end of the season, as part of a deal in which Stuart Beavon signed permanently for Coventry and Marvin Sordell
Marvin Anthony Sordell (born 17 February 1991) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Sordell started his career with Fulham prior to joining Watford for a two-year scholarship in 2007. He made his professional deb ...
moved in the opposite direction. He played regularly, making 20 appearances in all competitions and helping Coventry reach the 2017 EFL Trophy Final
The 2017 EFL Trophy Final was an association football match that was played on 2 April 2017 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was played between League One teams Coventry City and Oxford United. The match decided the winners of the 2016–17 EFL Tr ...
, but was unable to take part because of a hamstring injury suffered the previous day. Reilly was released by Burton when his contract expired.
Bury
Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Reilly signed a two-year deal with another League One club, Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
, where he was reunited with manager Lee Clark, who had given him his league debut for Birmingham. He was in the starting eleven for the opening fixture of the 2017–18 season, a 1–0 win at home to Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
, and made 15 league starts in the first half of the campaign as well as scoring his first goal for the club in an EFL Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
tie against Stoke City U21s,[ after which he was loaned to League One club Gillingham.
]
Gillingham
Reilly was a regular in the starting eleven throughout his loan spell,[ and on 3 July 2018 made the move permanent, signing a two-year contract. He was released by mutual consent on 26 July 2019.][
]
AFC Wimbledon
The same day, Reilly signed for another League One club, AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...
. He scored his first goal for Wimbledon in an EFL Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
tie against Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...
on 8 October 2019. He played in 35 of AFC Wimbledon's 41 matches before the season was ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, mostly as a starter, and made a further 35 appearances in 2020–21 before his personal season was ended by an ankle fractured during a match against Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
in March.[ Reilly was released at the end of the season.
]
Leyton Orient
Reilly signed for Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...
on a one-year contract on 31 August 2021. He made his league debut four days later as a substitute, and started in the EFL Trophy against Southampton U21,[ but a recurring groin injury interrupted his progress. He returned to the first-team squad in February 2022, but was then loaned to National League club ]Solihull Moors
Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...
, initially for a month. The deal was extended until the end of the season, and Reilly was a regular in the matchday squad but rarely started.[ He helped Moors reach the ]play-off final
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, in which he was a late substitute as Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
won the match after extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Draw (tie), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is ...
. He was released by Leyton Orient at the end of the season.
Banbury United
Reilly signed for National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
club Banbury United
Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium.
History
The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...
on 16 September 2022.
International career
Reilly received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland under-21 team for a friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 6 February 2013. He was selected in the starting eleven, and played 64 minutes before being substituted, as Ireland won 3–0. On his second appearance, he played the first half of a 2–1 home defeat to Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
in March. He had a chance of scoring on his first competitive appearance for the under-21s, in a European championship qualifier away to the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
, but his shot was well saved; Ireland won 4–1.
Career statistics
Honours
Burton Albion
*Football League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
runner-up: 2015–16[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Callum
1993 births
Living people
Footballers from Warrington
Footballers from Solihull
English men's footballers
Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Birmingham City F.C. players
Burton Albion F.C. players
Coventry City F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Gillingham F.C. players
AFC Wimbledon players
Leyton Orient F.C. players
Solihull Moors F.C. players
Banbury United F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players