Callum Alexander Connolly (born 23 September 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for EFL League One side Stockport County.
He has previously played for Everton, Barnsley, Wigan Athletic, Ipswich Town, Bolton Wanderers, Lincoln City, Blackpool and Fleetwood Town.
A versatile player, Connolly can play across the back line of defence and in midfield.
After playing with Crosby Stuart, Connolly joined Everton at the age of nine.[2] He has earned representation at England under-17 and under-18 level.[3] On 3 March 2016, he joined League One side Barnsley on a one-month loan deal.[4] He made his debut two days later, in a 3–1 win over Walsall at the Bescot Stadium.[5]
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.[6]
On 14 January 2017, Connolly signed on loan for Wigan Athletic until the end of the season,[7] and just hours later made his debut and scored both goals as Wigan beat Burton Albion 2–0.[8]
For the 2017–2018 season, Connolly played on loan for Ipswich Town in the EFL Championship. Used largely in central midfield for the first time in his career,[9] Connolly returned to Everton at the end of the season, having played an impressive 36 matches, scoring four goals.[10]
At the beginning of the 2018–19 season Connolly re-joined Wigan Athletic on loan, initially for the whole of the season[11] but on 31 January 2019 he was recalled by Everton and sent on loan for the second half of the season to Bolton Wanderers[12]
On 29 August 2019, Connolly headed out on loan once more, this time joining League One side Lincoln City on a season-long deal,[13] but he returned to Everton early, after his loan spell was cut short in January.[14]
Connolly signed with Fleetwood Town on 6 January 2020 on a loan deal for the rest of the 2019–20 season.[15]
At the end of the 2020–21 it was announced that Connolly would leave the club at the end of his contract.[16]
Connolly signed for Blackpool in July 2021 after becoming a free agent.[17]
On 7 May 2024, the club announced he would be leaving the club in the summer once his contract expired.[18]
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.[19]
Connolly received his first international call up when he was named in the England under-17 squad for the 2014 Algarve Tournament.[20] Connolly made his debut against eventual winners Germany in the final group stage game, with England finishing runners-up in the tournament.[21] 10 days later, he was named in the squad for the elite round of qualification for the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship,[22] and helped England qualify by starting the wins against Czech Republic and Italy.[23] 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.[24]
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.[25] However, he sustained an injury in the second half of the match, and withdrew from the squad six days later.[26] After also beating the Netherlands[27] and Croatia[28] to top the group, England were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals against Italy.[29]
Connolly was selected for the England under-20 team in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[30] He played in the opening match against Argentina and the second against Guinea,[31][32] but was unused as a substitute in the final that England won, their first win in a global tournament since their World Cup victory of 1966.[33]
Connolly played in four of the five matches as the England under-21 team won the 2018 Toulon Tournament, including scoring against Scotland in the semi-final.[10]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Everton | 2015-16[35] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016-17[36] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017-18[37] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018-19[38] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019-20[39] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020-21[40] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Everton U21 | 2017-18[37] | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Barnsley (loan) | 2015-16[35] | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2016-17[36] | Championship | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | |
| Ipswich Town (loan) | 2017-18[37] | Championship | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2018-19[38] | Championship | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | |
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2018-19[38] | Championship | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 2 | |
| Lincoln City (loan) | 2019-20[39] | League One | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2019-20[39] | League One | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2020-21[40] | League One | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| Blackpool | 2021-22[41] | Championship | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 33 | 3 | |
| 2022-23[42] | Championship | 41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 43 | 1 | ||
| 2023-24[43] | League One | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| Total | 93 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 108 | 4 | ||
| Stockport County | 2024-25[44] | League One | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| 2025-26[45] | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 290 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 324 | 18 | ||
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