Callum (Cal) Roberts (born 14 April 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 winger for club

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

Early career

Roberts joined Newcastle United at the age of eight and also played youth football for Whitley Bay Sproggs while attending

Churchill Community College Churchill Community College is a mixed secondary school in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. The College teaches students between the ages of 11-18 and is registered to provide SCITT training. Ofsted Status In 2014, The College obtained "outs ...

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

. While still at school during the 2012–13 season, Roberts scored eight goals in nine league appearances for the Newcastle United Under-18s in the 2012–13 Professional U18 Development League. He officially joined the Newcastle United Academy the following season and made 19 appearances for the Under-18s in the

2013–14 Professional U18 Development League The 2013–14 Professional U18 Development League (League 1 referred to as the Barclays Under 18 Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the second season of the Professional Development League system. There are 96 participating teams in the 201 ...

, scoring four goals. He also made two appearances in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

as Newcastle United reached the Quarter Finals of the competition. He also made the step up to Under-21 level, making ten appearances in the

2013–14 Professional U21 Development League The 2013–14 Professional U21 Development League (League 1 referred to as the Barclays Under 21 Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the Professional Development League system. There were 42 participating teams in the ...

and scoring his first goal at that level in their match against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

Club career

Newcastle United

On 3 January 2015, Roberts made his senior debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

match against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, a match which Leicester City won 1–0. At the end of January 2015, he signed his first professional contract with Newcastle United, committing himself to his hometown club on a long-term deal. On 15 January 2019, Roberts scored his first goal for Newcastle in a 4–2 FA Cup win against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. He was released by Newcastle after the 2018–19 season.

Gateshead (loan)

Shortly after making his Newcastle United debut, on 16 January 2015, it was announced that he joined

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

side and near-neighbours

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

on a month-long loan deal. This deal was later extended to a season-long deal, but he was recalled on 26 February to provide injury cover at Newcastle United, having made three appearances during his spell at Gateshead.

Kilmarnock (loan)

On 9 January 2017, Roberts moved on loan to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

for the remainder of the season, along with Newcastle teammates Freddie Woodman and

Sean Longstaff Sean David Longstaff (born 30 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Newcastle United. Career Longstaff began his career with the youth team of Newcastle United. He moved on loan to Scottish Prem ...

. He made his debut on 21 January 2017, as Kilmarnock lost 1–0 against

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,League Two side

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 level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

on loan for the rest of the season. He made his club debut as a substitute in Colchester's 4–0 win at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

on 2 February. He returned to Newcastle on 13 March 2019.

Blyth Spartans

Roberts joined

Blyth Spartans A.F.C. Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secret ...

initially a non-contract basis in August 2019. An impressive form saw him score nine goals in nine games. This included

hat-tricks A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against Curzon Ashton F.C. during FA Cup qualifying and also against

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

in the

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

. Roberts subsequently secured a contract with Spartans in October 2019 and went on to score a third hat-trick of the season the following month in a 4–4 draw away to Kettering Town F.C in a league tie. He would go on to score goals in back-back

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

matches in the league against

Gateshead F.C. Gateshead Football Club is a professional association football club based in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the , the fifth level of the English football league system, and play their home matches at the Gateshead Inte ...

during a festive double-header league ties where Spartans won 3–2 away on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

and drew 2–2 at home on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

. Roberts left Spartans later in January 2020 moving to

Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club is a professional football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football, following promotion from the National League in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1862, ...

for an undisclosed fee.

Notts County

On 20 January 2020, Roberts joined National League side Notts County. He signed until the 2020–21 season. On 13 November 2020 he signed an extension until 2022–23.

Aberdeen

In July 2022, Roberts signed for

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract.

Scunthorpe United

In June 2023, Roberts joined recently relegated National League North side

for an undisclosed fee. He picked up a

Player of the Month award in October 2024, his first award for the club.

Honours

Individual *

Player of the Month: October 2024 *

Team of the Season: 2024–25

References

External links

* *
Newcastle United profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Callum 1997 births Living people Men's association football wingers English men's footballers England men's semi-pro international footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players National League (English football) players Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Scunthorpe United F.C. players English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen