Charles Roger Hughes (born 16 October 2003) is an English 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

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, ...

Career

Hughes is a youth product of

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 ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, and moved to the youth academy of

in 2017 as a U14. He was captain of their U18 side in the 2021-22 season. On 7 September 2021, he signed his first professional contract with the club. He made his professional debut with Wigan Athletic in a 1–0

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 ...

win over the Arsenal U21s on 25 January 2022. Hughes made his League debut on Boxing Day 2022 at the Riverside Stadium against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He remained in the side for the remainder of the season, making 20 league appearances, and scoring his first professional goal on 29 April 2023 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 ...

. Hughes signed a new four-and-a-half year contract in February 2023, and then signed an improved deal a few months later, extending his contract until 2028. Hughes captained the side on August 8, 2023, aged 19, for the Carabao Cup game v Wrexham and again for the league games on September 16th 2023 v Cambridge and on October 21st 2023 v Exeter and also the ELF Cup game v Fleetwood.

Playing style

Hughes is a commanding ball-playing

, who can also play in midfield. He is extremely comfortable in possession with an exceptional passing range. Strong in defence and exhibits strong leadership qualities.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Charlie 2003 births Living people English men's footballers Wigan Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders People from Golborne Footballers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan