Callum Tyler Whelan (born 24 September 1998) 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

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 club

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. A graduate of the academy at

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, he had a

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

spell at

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in the 2018–19 season, but did not feature in a matchday squad. He signed with

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in August 2019 and featured in two

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 ...

games during the 2019–20 season. He signed with Oldham Athletic in August 2020. After his release by Oldham, he signed for

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

side

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional association football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the Na ...

in July 2022, from where he joined

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 loan in February 2023. The move to Gateshead was made permanent in July 2023. He won the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

with the club in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. He returned to the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

(EFL) with Carlisle United in January 2025, though Carlisle lost their EFL status at the end of the 2024–25 season.

Career

Manchester United

Whelan grew up in the

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 ...

village of Hemingfield and spent the early part of his childhood at the

Academy. He joined

at the age of eight, and went on to become one of three players shortlisted for the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2017. He signed a new

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

with the club in July 2018. On 31 January 2019, he joined League Two side

until the end of the 2018–19 season. He failed to make it into a match-day squad under new

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

John Askey John Colin Askey (born 4 November 1964) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Truro City. Able to play as a winger or as a striker, Askey had pace and intelligence. A former youth team play ...

, who felt he was not yet ready for senior football, and the loan was ended early on 2 April.

Watford

In August 2019, Whelan signed a one-year contract at

, with the option of a further year. He made his first-team debut for Watford in the fourth round of the

on 4 January 2020, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute for Domingos Quina in a 3–3 draw with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of EFL Championship, Championship club Watford F.C., Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, w ...

. He started in the replay 19 days later, which ended in a 2–1 defeat. However, the club confirmed he would not be offered a new contract on 6 August 2020.

Oldham Athletic

On 28 August 2020, Whelan signed a two-year contract at

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

after impressing

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian soccer coach, manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 League. As a player, Kewell represented Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Liverpool ...

during a three-week trial period. His game time and form improved after

Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who was most recently the manager of National League side Hartlepool United. He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Prem ...

replaced Kewell in March. He started 23 league games in the 2020–21 campaign, making a total of 38 competitive appearances. He scored his first career goal on 29 March 2022, in a 2–0 win over

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

. Whelan was released by manager John Sheridan following

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Solihull Moors

On 26 July 2022, Whelan signed a one-year contract with

club

after a trial period, during which he scored a goal in a friendly against

Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...

. He played 20 matches for the club, but lost his first-team place due to injury and increased competition in the midfield, so in February 2023 he moved on loan to league rivals

until the end of the 2022–23 season. He was recalled from his loan on 25 April as manager

Neal Ardley Neal Christopher Ardley (born 1 September 1972) is an English professional football manager and former footballer who played as a right midfielder. He is currently the manager of Woking. Ardley was capped at Under-21 level by England. He sp ...

wanted to use him for Solihull's final two games of the campaign; during his time at the

Gateshead International Stadium Gateshead International Stadium (GIS) is a multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose, all-seater venue in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally known as the Gateshead Youth Stadium, the venue was built in 1955 at a cost of £30,000. It has si ...

he missed just one of 14 possible games to attend the birth of his daughter. He was released by Solihull at the end of the season.

Gateshead

Having impressed during his loan spell in the second half of the previous season, Whelan permanently returned to Gateshead on a two-year contract. He was awarded the National League Player of the Month award for February 2024, having registered two goals and two assists in four matches. Interim manager Rob Elliot said that he was impressed with Whelan both on and off the ball, adding that "he is our leader, he sets traps and both him and

Luke Hannant Luke James Hannant (born 4 November 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Oldham Athletic. Hannant spent his youth with Norwich City and Cambridge United before embarking on a degree at Northumbria Univ ...

are the ones we trust the most to set our structure so well". He scored five goals in 28 league games during the 2023–24 season, however, Gateshead were denied a place in the play-offs due to stadium regulation issues. Whelan and Gateshead instead made it to

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in the

and defeated

on penalties in the final.

Carlisle United

On 3 January 2025, Whelan signed for League Two side

on a two-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee, reuniting with head coach Mike Williamson whom had first brought him to Gateshead. He played 23 games in the second half of the 2024–25 season, which culminated in the club being relegated out of the Football League.

Style of play

Whelan is a

central 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 ...

with good short-range passing skills.

Career statistics

Honours

Gateshead *

: 2023–24 Individual *

Player of the Month: February 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Callum 1998 births Living people Footballers from Barnsley English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Barnsley F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Watford F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Solihull Moors F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players 21st-century English sportsmen