Sean Michael Murray (born 11 October 1993) is a professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

er 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

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

club

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

. He progressed through the academy at

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

from the age of nine, and broke into the first-team in April 2011. He went on to make 85 first-team appearances for the club before being loaned to

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, ...

early in the 2015–16 season. He left Watford at the end of the season to join

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

and then joined

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in January 2017. He left Colchester in summer 2018 and joined

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

side

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...

. In February 2019 he left Vejle Boldklub to sign for Irish side

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. Murray has represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels.

Club career

Watford

Born in

Abbots Langley Abbots Langley is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and was f ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, Murray joined

's youth system in 2002, aged nine. Beginning in 2007, he studied at

Harefield Academy Harefield Academy is a secondary school and sixth form in Uxbridge, London. Located on the site of the former community school, John Penrose School, which closed on 31 August 2005, it reopened as an academy in 2005 and specialises in sports. Amon ...

as part of the initial intake where Watford's youth players are developed. Despite interest from

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 ...

, Murray signed his first professional contract with Watford in July 2010, although due to

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

regulations, it did not take effect until his 17th-birthday. He made his debut for the Hornets as a substitute in a

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

game against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cassi ...

on 30 April 2011, a 2–0 defeat for Watford. Murraystart

On the fringes of the first-team under new

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Sean Dyche Sean Mark Dyche (; born 28 June 1971) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Burnley. During his playing career, Dyche played as a centre-back, making his professional debut in 1990 a ...

, Murray had made just one late substitute appearance in the first half of the 2011–12 season before he was a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up for Watford's

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 ...

third round tie with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on 27 January 2012. He came close to scoring in the game, hitting the post in the second-half before being substituted as his side fell to a 1–0 defeat. Murray retained his place in the team, and scored his first professional goal three weeks later, with a deflected

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

in a 3–2 victory for Watford against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. Murray continued to play regularly for the rest of the season; his good form, scoring four goals in seven games, led to him winning the

Football League Young Player of the Month The EFL Young Player of the Month is an award for young players in all three divisions of the English Football League. To be eligible players must be under-21 or turn 21 during the current season. It was first awarded in December 2009. Victor Mose ...

award for March. He won Watford's Young Player of the Season award at the End of Season Awards Dinner for his great form since his introduction to the first team, after scoring sevens goals in 19 appearances. In August 2012, Murray signed a five-year deal with Watford, but following the Pozzo family takeover of Watford and an influx of new players, Murray was restricted to playing 16 games and scoring one goal during the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. He marked his return to the first-team on 6 August 2013 with two goals in Watford's 3–1

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

victory against

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

, and he went on to make 39 appearances and score a total of six goals across the campaign. Murray was restricted to making just nine first-team appearances during the 2014–15 season, making what was to be his last appearance for the club against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in a 3–0 FA Cup third round defeat on 4 January 2015.

Wigan Athletic loan

On 5 August 2015, Murray moved 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 ...

side

in an initial one-month loan deal, later extended until January 2016. He made his debut as a substitute during Wigan's 2–0 defeat at

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 8 August. Murray scored his first and only goal for Wigan against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in a 4–0 victory in the

Football League 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 Leag ...

on 10 November, before his loan was terminated on 16 December. He had made eight appearances for Wigan.

Swindon Town

League One club

signed Murray on a free transfer on 31 August 2016 on a one-year deal, with the option of a further year. He made his club debut on 3 September as a substitute in Swindon's 2–2 League One draw at

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

. Murray scored his first and Swindon's only goal in their 3–1 home defeat by

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

on 27 September. After 23 games for Town, Murray had his contract terminated by the club on 31 January 2017, having fallen out of favour under new

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

Tim Sherwood Timothy Alan Sherwood (born 6 February 1969) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1987 until 2005, notably as captain of Blackburn Rovers' Premier League ...

Colchester United

Immediately following his release from

, Murray signed a one-and-a-half year contract with

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

on 31 January 2017. Murray made his debut as a replacement for

Craig Slater Craig Slater (born 26 April 1994) is a Scottish professional football player and coach. He plays as a midfielder for Arbroath in Scottish Championship, and is also first team coach at Scottish Women's Premier League team Motherwell. Slater bega ...

in the 65th minute of Colchester's 1–1 draw at Blackpool on 4 February. He was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for the first time in his career for a bad challenge on Blackpool's Jim McAlister in the fifth minute of injury time. He ended the season with 16 League Two appearances to his name. Murray scored his first Colchester goal on 30 September 2017 in their 1–0 win at

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. He required an operation on his knee in October 2017 which would rule him out of action for up to six weeks. He completed the season with 40 appearances and three goals. On 29 June 2018, Colchester manager

John McGreal John Leslie McGreal (born 2 June 1972) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently an U21s coach at Ipswich Town. He began his career at Tranmere Rovers, making his debut in the 1991–92 season. He becam ...

announced that Murray had left the club after failing to agree a new deal.

Vejle Boldklub

On 26 July 2018,

side

announced the signing of Murray on a three-year contract. On 5 February 2019 Vejle announced, that they had mutually terminated the contract of the player.

Dundalk

On the same day as Murray left

, he signed a long-term contract with

. In his first season at the club, he scored three goals in 25 league appearances to help win the Premier Division title and

. In the 2020 Europa league third Qualifying round, He scored Dundalk's equalizing goal against

Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff (russian: ФК Шериф Тирасполь), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnist ...

and eventually won the penalty shootout. He scored the opening goal against KÍ in the 2020 Europa league play-offs helping Dundalk qualify for the

2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage began on 22 October 2020 and ended on 10 December 2020. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. Antwerp, G ...

and scored again in the opening game against

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was originally known as International and changed its name to ...

International career

Although born in England, Murray qualifies to play for the

through his Irish grandparents. Murray twice represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17 level in

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...

, making his debut against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

on 21 March 2010 in a 1–0 win. Murray made his debut at under-19 level on 24 May 2011 in the Ireland's 1–0 win against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He scored his first goal for the side in a 3–0 win against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 29 May 2011, and went on to make twelve appearances for the side in UEFA competitions. Murray scored on his under-21 debut on 10 September 2012 in a 4–2 away win against

. In total, he earned nine caps for the under-21 side.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *2016 Watford Young Player of the Year *March 2012

*October 2020 SSE Airtricity SWAI Player of the Month Award . Sportsfile
/ref> Dundalk *

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

President of Ireland's Cup The President of Ireland's Cup, also known simply as the President's Cup, is an association football super cup featuring clubs from the Republic of Ireland football league system. It is a one-off match between the winners of the previous season' ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

* Champions Cup:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Sean 1993 births Living people People from Abbots Langley English footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Association football midfielders Watford F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Vejle Boldklub players Dundalk F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players Danish Superliga players English Football League players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom