Charlie David Kirk (born 24 December 1997) 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 ...

who plays as a winger for

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 ...

side

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

Playing career

Crewe Alexandra

Kirk came through the

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, earning a call-up to the senior team whilst still a second year scholar. He made his debut in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

on 16 February 2016, in a 2–2 draw with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Spotland Spotland ( ) is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Rochdale ward name is Spotland and Falinge. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 10,805. It lies on the River Spodden, and is the home of Spotland Stadium ...

, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Callum Saunders. He scored his first Crewe goal on 26 December 2017, the second in a 2–0 win at

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. In May 2018, after making 69 appearances and scoring five goals, Kirk signed a new three-year-deal with Crewe through to summer 2021. The following season, he scored 11 goals in 45 first-team appearances. After helping Crewe win promotion to

in 2020, scoring nine goals and providing more assists than any other League Two player, Kirk signed a new two-year deal with the club through to June 2022. In September 2020, Kirk (along with Crewe team-mate Perry Ng) was named in the PFA League Two Team of the Year for the 2019–20 season.

Charlton Athletic

On 12 August 2021, Kirk was announced to have joined fellow League One side

for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal; Charlton had triggered a £500,000 release clause in his Crewe contract; Kirk later said: "I didn't just want to leave and for them

rewe Rewe (stylized as REWE; ) is a supermarket chain in Germany and the main brand of Rewe Group headquartered in Cologne. The name originated from an abbreviation of the original name "Revisionsverband der Westkauf-Genossenschaften" (Audit union ...

not to get anything for me." He made his Charlton debut in the club's 2–1 defeat at

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

on 17 August and two games later played in the club's first win of the season, 2–0 against former club Crewe Alexandra, on 28 August 2021.

Blackpool (loan)

On 27 January 2022, Kirk joined Blackpool on loan for the rest of the 2021–22 season with a view to a permanent transfer. He made his Blackpool debut on 5 February 2022, coming on as a second half substitute for CJ Hamilton in a 3–1 victory over

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...

Return to Charlton

Playing in all of Charlton's opening games of the 2022–23 season, Kirk scored his first Charlton goal in the fifth match, a 5–1

defeat of Plymouth Argyle at The Valley on 16 August 2022. He later scored twice in Charlton's 3–3 League One draw 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 grou ...

on 12 November 2022.

Burton Albion (loan)

On 31 January 2023, Kirk joined Burton Albion on loan for the rest of the 2022–23 season, and made his debut as an 82nd minute substitute and scored the 96th minute winner in Burton's 3–2 win at

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

on 4 February 2023.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20 League Two

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Charlie 1997 births Living people People from Winsford English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Cheshire