Saul Shotton (born 10 November 2000) 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 for

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Division One West club Kidsgrove Athletic.

Club career

Bury

Born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, Shotton started his career with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

prior to his move to Bury in 2017. Having progressed through the club's youth structure, he made his first team debut in September 2018. On 19 September 2017, he made his debut for Bury in their

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 ...

defeat to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, featuring for the entire 90 minutes in the 4–0 loss. Following this, Shotton was an unused substitute on several occasions before making his league debut in April 2018, in a 3–3 draw with

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. Ahead of the forthcoming 2018–19 campaign, Shotton, along with two fellow graduates, signed their first professional contracts. To March 2019, he has not played for the first team in 2018–19 but is an active member of the club's under-18 team.

West Bromwich Albion

He left the club after they were expelled from the Football League in August 2019, signing for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

in September 2019. On 5 January 2020, Shotton made his debut for the club in their third round

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 ...

tie against

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 ...

, replacing

Rekeem Harper Rekeem Jordan Harper (born 8 March 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Barrow. He represented England up to under-19 level. Born in Birmingham, Harper came through the Academy at West Bromwich Albio ...

in the 95th minute during the 1–0 away victory. On 2 October 2020, Shotton 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

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

on loan until January 2021. A day later, he made his debut for the club, playing the full 90 minutes in their

2020–21 National League The 2020–21 National League season, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, was the sixth season under English football's new title of the National League, the seventeenth season consisting of three divisions, and the fort ...

opener against

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 ...

, which resulted in a 2–1 victory for The Cards. Shotton made 18 appearances in all competitions for Woking, before returning to West Bromwich Albion in January 2021. During the 2021–22 campaign, Shotton made his first West Bromwich Albion start during an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

second round tie against

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side,

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 ...

, playing the full 90 in the 6–0 defeat. On 29 October 2021, Shotton joined

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 ...

side,

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 ...

on a three-month loan.

Non-league

Shotton was released by West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2022 when his contract expired and he subsequently dropped back into non-league permanently when he signed for newly-promoted

West Division side Hanley Town, joining up to play with his cousin Ryan. He joined Hanley Town for a second time on 31 August 2023. Shotton joined Kidsgrove Athletic in June 2024.

Personal life

He is the cousin of

Ryan Shotton Ryan Colin Shotton (born 30 October 1988) is an English professional footballer and manager who plays as a defender. He was most recently player-manager of Northern Premier League Division One West club Hanley Town. Shotton progressed through ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shotton, Saul 2000 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent Men's association football defenders English Football League players National League (English football) players Stoke City F.C. players Bury F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Woking F.C. players AFC Telford United players Hanley Town F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen