Callum Alexander Connolly (born 23 September 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 lea ...

who plays as a defender or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for side Stockport County. He has previously played for Everton,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, Ipswich Town,

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, Lincoln City and Fleetwood Town. A versatile player, Connolly can play across the back line of defence and in midfield.

Career

Everton

After playing with Crosby Stuart, Connolly joined Everton at the age of nine. He has earned representation at England under-17 and under-18 level. On 3 March 2016, he joined League One side

on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut two days later, in a 3–1 win over

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, currently known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in the area of Bescot, Walsall, West Midlands, England, and is the current home ground of Walsall Football Club and Aston Vill ...

. Connolly made his first Everton teamsheet on 16 April 2016, when he was named as a substitute for the 1–1 draw with Southampton, coming on as a second-half substitute for injured right-back Seamus Coleman to make his Premier League debut. On 14 January 2017, Connolly signed on loan for

until the end of the season, and just hours later made his debut and scored both goals as Wigan beat Burton Albion 2–0. For the 2017–2018 season, Connolly played on loan for Ipswich Town in the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

. Used largely in central midfield for the first time in his career, Connolly returned to Everton at the end of the season, having played an impressive 36 matches, scoring four goals. At the beginning of the 2018–19 season Connolly re-joined

on loan, initially for the whole of the season but on 31 January 2019 he was recalled by Everton and sent on loan for the second half of the season to

On 29 August 2019, Connolly headed out on loan once more, this time joining League One side Lincoln City on a season-long deal, but he returned to Everton early, after his loan spell was cut short in January. Connolly signed with Fleetwood Town on 6 January 2020 on a loan deal for the rest of the 2019–20 season. At the end of the 2020–21 it was announced that Connolly would leave the club at the end of his contract.

Blackpool

Connolly signed for Blackpool in July 2021 after becoming a free agent. On 7 May 2024, the club announced he would be leaving the club in the summer once his contract expired.

Stockport County

On 15 June 2024, Connolly agreed to join newly-promoted League One side Stockport County on a two-year deal on 1 July 2024 after the expiry of his contract at Blackpool.

International career

Connolly received his first international call up when he was named in the England under-17 squad for the 2014 Algarve Tournament. Connolly made his debut against eventual winners

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the final group stage game, with England finishing runners-up in the tournament. 10 days later, he was named in the squad for the elite round of qualification for the

2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 13th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, an annual football competition between men's under-17 national teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament was hosted for the first time ...

, and helped England qualify by starting the wins against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Connolly was not named in the squad for the final tournament, which England went on to win after beating the Netherlands on penalties in the final. Connolly was part of the England squad for the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, and started the first game, a 2–1 win against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. However, he sustained an injury in the second half of the match, and withdrew from the squad six days later. After also beating the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

to top the group, England were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals against

. Connolly was selected for the England under-20 team in the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

. He played in the opening match against Argentina and the second against Guinea, but was unused as a substitute in the final that England won, their first win in a global tournament since their

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

victory of 1966. Connolly played in four of the five matches as the England under-21 team won the

2018 Toulon Tournament The 2018 Toulon Tournament (officially ) was the 46th edition of the Toulon Tournament. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 26 May to 9 June 2018. England won the tournament for the third successive year beating Mexico 2–1 i ...

, including scoring against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the semi-final.

Career statistics

Honours

England U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

England U21 *

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

England profile
at The FA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Callum 1997 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Everton F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players 21st-century English sportsmen