Joshua Luke Sheehan (born 30 March 1995) is a Welsh 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

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and the Wales national team.

Club career

Swansea City

Sheehan joined Swansea City academy at the age of 10. On 2 November 2012, he signed a professional contract with the club until the summer of 2015. In April 2014, Sheehan signed a new contract at Swansea until the summer of 2016. Sheehan was included in Swansea's 2014–15 pre-season tour of the United States, and later made his professional debut for the club against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

in the League Cup. On 17 February 2015, Sheehan signed for Yeovil Town on a month's emergency loan which was later extended until the end of the season. Sheehan made 13 appearances for the Glovers as they were relegated to League Two. Upon returning to Swansea, Sheehan captained the Under-21 team to the 2014–15 Professional U21 Development League 2 title. Sheehan subsequently signed a new contract with Swansea. Sheehan rejoined Yeovil on loan in September 2015, returning to Swansea in January 2016. On 8 August 2016, Sheehan joined Newport County on loan until 21 January 2017. He made his debut for Newport on 24 September 2016 in a League Two match versus

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

as a second-half substitute. He scored his first goal for Newport County on 29 October 2016 in a 3–1 League Two win against Accrington Stanley. On 24 January 2017, the loan was extended to the end of the 2016–17 season but he returned to Swansea on 9 March 2017 after being ruled out for the remainder of the season through injury.

Newport County

On 5 January 2018, Sheehan returned to Newport County on a permanent 18-month deal. He was part of the team that reached the League Two play-off final at

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 ...

on 25 May 2019. Newport lost to Tranmere Rovers 1–0 after a goal in the 119th minute. He signed a two-year contract extension with Newport in May 2019. In July 2020 Sheehan was selected as Newport County's Player of the Year for the 2019–20 season. Sheehan played for Newport in the League Two play-off final at

on 31 May 2021 which Newport lost to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

, 1–0 after a 107th-minute penalty. Sheehan was named in the League Two PFA

Team of the year Team of the Year may refer to: * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award * Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year * IRB International Sevens Team of the Year * IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of ...

for the 2020–21 season. Sheehan declined a contract extension at Newport at the end of the 2020–21 season.

Bolton Wanderers

At the conclusion of his contract at Newport, Sheehan joined League One club

on a two-year deal on 7 June 2021. His competitive debut came on 7 August 2021, when he scored a 20-yard

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

in a 3–3 draw against

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

. On 20 November 2021, Bolton confirmed that Sheehan had been ruled out for the remainder of the 2021–22 season with a knee ligament injury. On 2 April 2023, he started in the 2023 EFL Trophy final which Bolton won 4–0 against Plymouth Argyle. Following defeat in the play-offs, he was offered a new contract at the end of the 2022–23 season which he signed on 5 June 2023, extending his stay for two years. In November 2024 Sheehan extended his contract to the end of the 2026-27 season.

International career

In September 2014, Sheehan was called up to the Wales under-21 squad for matches against Finland under-21 and Lithuania under-21. Sheehan made his Wales under-21 debut in a 2–2 draw against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. On 5 November 2020, Sheehan received his first call-up to the Wales senior squad for matches during November against the US, Finland and Republic of Ireland. He won his first senior cap on 12 November 2020 as a half time substitute in the 0–0 friendly match against the USA. On 5 June 2024, it was announced that Sheehan would captain the Wales senior squad for the first time in their friendly against

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. He captained Wales to a 0–0 draw on 6 June 2024.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Bolton Wanderers *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

: 2022–23 Individual * Newport County Player of the Year: 2019–20 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2020–21 League Two, 2023–24 League One * EFL League One Team of the Season: 2023–24 * Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year: 2023–24Bolton Wanderers End of Season Awards: Big night for Sheehan
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References

External links

* *
Newport County profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Josh 1995 births Living people Footballers from Llanelli Welsh men's footballers 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Men's association football midfielders Swansea City A.F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Wales men's international footballers