Reuell Joshua Walters (born 16 December 2004) 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
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
for club
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
.
Early life
Walters was born in
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
,
South London
South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
to father Raphael and mother Aisha, a former British
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
champion.
Club career
Early career
Having briefly played for a "Brazilian soccer school" in London until it shut down, Walters had a spell with Peckham Town at the age of seven. He went on to spend two seasons with Unique FA, before being recommended to trial with both Chelsea and
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
by Unique FA founder Jamie Waller.
He was offered a deal by both, and Walters joined the academy of Tottenham Hotspur in March 2015 at the age of ten, before his family moved to
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. After four years with Spurs, he played his last game with the club in March 2019, with his deal ending in June of the same year.
Following the expiration of his contract with Tottenham Hotspur, he was offered a deal by a number of professional sides, including
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 ...
, who offered him a schoolboy contract. Walters agreed to join Manchester United, rejecting rivals
Manchester City
Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
in the process, however, the Premier League declined Walters' registration, because United had already met their quota as departing players were still registered at the time.
Following his collapsed move to Manchester United, a trial period was arranged with
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Their home ground is ...
, but following the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic in England
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England were NHS England and Public ...
, this did not come to fruition. During this time, he trained on a 1-to-1 basis with Saul Isaksson-Hurst, a footballing consultant who had organised his trial with Manchester United. Isaksson-Hurst would invite Lee Heron, the head of youth development at
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, the club Walters had supported since he was a child, to watch him train, and he was invited to trial with Arsenal in August 2020.
Arsenal
Following an investigation by the Premier League, to ensure he had not been tapped up, Walters joined ''the Gunners'' as an under-16 on 19 October 2020. He was called to Arsenal Under-21s by then coach Kevin Betsy in the 2021–22 season as an inverting and overlapping full-back/ wing-back. He signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2022.
Walters was one of five academy players to travel with the
first team
First team may refer to:
Sports
* First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club
* The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball
* First Team All-A ...
to Germany for a mini training camp at
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
headquarters in
Herzogenaurach
Herzogenaurach (; ) is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to two major international sporting goods companies, Adidas and Puma, and Schaeffler Group, a car parts manufacturer.
Geography
Herzogenaura ...
in July 2022, and started as a right-sided
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
in the friendly to 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg on 8 July. In the same month he was the only academy player taken to the U.S. tour, where he had a cameo at left-back against Premier League side Everton on 16 July. In the 2022–23 season, he played left-sided centre-back in Arsenal's Under-18s
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 ...
run coached by
Jack Wilshere
Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere (born 1 January 1992) is an English Association football, football coach and former professional Association football, player who played as a midfielder. He was most recently the interim head coach of EFL Championshi ...
.
Walters has appeared multiple times as an unused substitute for Arsenal's first team since March 2023, with the first being in the Europa League last-16 first leg match away to
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
at
Estádio José Alvalade
The Estádio José Alvalade (; ') is a Football (soccer), football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the Estádio José Alvalade (1956), older stadium. The stadium is named afte ...
in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Portugal on 9 March.
Luton Town
After turning down a contract extension, on 11 July 2024, Walters signed for
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...
club
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
following the expiry of his Arsenal contract. On 12 August, he made his debut for the club in a 4-1 loss against
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
in the league.
International
Walters is eligible to represent England, Germany or Jamaica at international level.
Having represented England U18s, Walters made his U19 debut on 22 March 2023 during a 1–0 win over
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
at the
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, currently known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in the area of Bescot, Walsall, West Midlands, England, and is the current home ground of Walsall Football Club and Aston Vill ...
during
2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification
The 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-19 football competition that determined the seven teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Malta in the 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tou ...