Ishé Barrington Samuels-Smith (born 6 June 2006) is an English

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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for Chelsea.

Club career

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Samuels-Smith joined the academy of Everton at the age of nine. He progressed through the academy, and in September 2022 was named by English newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' as the best player of his age group at Everton. On 8 November of the same year, then-manager

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

named Samuels-Smith on the bench as Everton faced

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

in the third round of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. Had he come off the bench, he would've broken Thierry Small's record as the youngest Everton player in history, however he did not feature as Everton lost 4–1. Following Lampard's sacking in January 2023, new manager

Sean Dyche Sean Mark Dyche (; born 28 June 1971) is an English professional football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of Premier League club Everton. During his playing career, Dyche played as a centre-back, making his pro ...

would call Samuels-Smith up to the bench again in April of the same year, though he again failed to feature as Everton lost 3–1 to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. Having initially been linked with Samuels-Smith in July 2022, fellow

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Chelsea were reported to have agreed a three-year deal with Samuels-Smith in July 2023, with a £4 million bid made. This deal was later officially confirmed on 8 July 2023.

International career

Samuels-Smith has represented England from under-15 to under-18 level. He was a member of the squad that finished fifth at the

2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-17 Euro 2023) was the 20th UEFA European Under-17 Championship (39th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth football championship organise ...

and his performances during the competition led to his inclusion in the team of the tournament. On 6 September 2023, Samuels-Smith made his England U-18 debut during a 2–0 defeat to

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 ...

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. On 2 November 2023, Samuels-Smith was included in the England squad for the

2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 19th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football tournament contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was hel ...

. On 4 September 2024, Samuels-Smith made his England U19 debut during a 2–2 draw with

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 ...

Nedelišće Nedelišće (; Kajkavian language, Kajkavian: ''Nedelišče'') is a village in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia, and the seat of the Municipalities of Croatia, Municipality of Nedelišće, which also includes 10 other villages in the south-w ...

Personal life

Samuels-Smith has a twin brother, Odin, who plays for Everton.

Career statistics

Club

. ;Notes

Honours

England U18s *2024 U18 Pinatar Super Cup Individual *UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels-Smith, Ishé 2006 births Living people Footballers from Manchester English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football central defenders Everton F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen