In August 2026, the Club announced the signing of Shea Charles from Southampton for an undisclosed fee, on a five-year contract, tying him to Craven Cottage until June 2031, with a Club option to extend by a further 12 months.

An athletic presence who reads the game well, Charles primarily operates as a central midfield player, but has played a number of games as a centre-back or right-back, too.

A graduate of the famed Manchester City academy – where he was a teammate of Oscar Bobb – Charles helped the club to back-to-back PL2 titles, the latter one in 2022/23 as captain.

That form caught the eye of Pep Guardiola, who handed him a Premier League debut in May 2023.

A permanent move to Southampton arose that summer, with the youngster playing 38 times across all competitions as the club won promotion to the Premier League via the Play-Offs.

2024/25 was spent on loan with Sheffield Wednesday, and it proved to be a very successful one for the player. In addition to helping them achieve a top-half finish, featuring in all 46 of their league fixtures, Charles was also voted as the Owls’ Player of the Season, and was nominated for EFL Championship Young Player of the Season.

Back at St Mary’s for 2025/26, Charles established himself as a key player for Saints, registering eight goal involvements (6A, 2A) in his 38 matches in all competitions, as they reached the FA Cup Semi-Finals and Play-Off Final (prior to their expulsion from the latter).

He came up with vital goals in those campaigns, too, including a stunner against Oxford United that was nominated for EFL Goal of the Season, and winners against Arsenal and Middlesbrough in the FA Cup Quarter-Final and Play-Off Semi-Final, respectively.

Despite his young age, Charles is already a seasoned international player, with 35 Northern Ireland caps to his name – whom he qualifies to represent through his mother – at the time of signing, leading the side out as captain in four of those fixtures.