Jack O'Connell

Jack William O'Connell (born 29 March 1994) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

O'Connell began his career at Blackburn Rovers and came to prominence after captaining Rochdale to promotion from League Two in the 2013–14 season. He joined Championship club Brentford in February 2015, and remained there until July 2016 when signing for Sheffield United of League One. O'Connell was capped by England at under-18 and under-19 level, captaining the latter team.

Early and personal life O'Connell was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, and was raised by his mother along with his three brothers. He moved to Málaga, Spain, with his family during his childhood, where he lived for four years before returning to England. He was a boyhood fan of Liverpool O'Connell is in a relationship with women's footballer Alex Greenwood, the two having met at Cardinal Heenan High School where O'Connell was attending sixth form.

Club career Early years O'Connell began his career with the youth team at Liverpool County Premier League Premier Division club REMYCA United at the age of 16. He made seven appearances in the first team before being named their Youth Player of the Year for the 2010–11 season.

Blackburn Rovers After having trials with Premier League clubs Everton and Blackburn Rovers, O'Connell was signed by the academy of the latter on a two-year contract in the summer of 2011. A left-sided centre-back and left-back, O'Connell signed a two-year professional contract with Rovers in May 2012.

After impressing on loan away from Ewood Park during the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, O'Connell signed a new two-year contract in the summer of 2014. O'Connell received his maiden call into the first team squad on 12 August 2014, being named in the starting line-up for a League Cup first round match versus Scunthorpe United. He played the full 90 minutes of the 1–0 defeat. He was called into the squad for the club's next two Championship matches, before departing on loan. after making just one first team appearance in three and a half years at Ewood Park. He made 49 appearances and scored three goals for the club's reserve and academy teams. O'Connell made the first senior appearance of his career on 24 November 2012, replacing Courtney Cameron in the 89th minute of a 1–0 away win against Exeter City. He made his debut two days later in a 1–1 draw away to Gillingham. O'Connell made 18 appearances for York before returning to Blackburn after his loan expired. Consistently good displays saw manager Keith Hill extend O'Connell's loan until the end of 2013–14 in December 2013. He was also named captain by Hill. O'Connell made 45 appearances

On 1 September 2014, O'Connell rejoined Rochdale on a loan running until 3 January 2015. He scored the first senior goal of his career with a header in a 3–0 win over Yeovil Town on 25 October 2014. O'Connell returned to Blackburn Rovers after his loan expired, having made 19 appearances and scored three goals during his spell with Rochdale. Despite the departure of first-choice centre-back James Tarkowski in January 2016, O'Connell remained as third-choice centre-back after being usurped by Yoann Barbet. He made sporadic appearances through to the end of the season and finished with eighteen appearances and one goal. He made his third debut for the club in a 2–1 defeat to Peterborough United four days later. Earlier in the day he had celebrated the 100th professional appearance of his career with the winner in a 2–1 victory over Yeovil Town. Over the course of his three spells with Rochdale, O'Connell made 76 appearances and scored five goals. He scored his first goal for Sheffield United in an EFL Trophy tie against Grimsby Town on 9 November 2016. O'Connell made 50 appearances, scoring 6 goals, On 15 November 2017, O'Connell signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Sheffield United, keeping him at Bramall Lane until June 2022. On 28 April 2019 he saw his second promotion in three seasons with United, this time to the Premier League. As part of manager Chris Wilder's system, O'Connell would play as an outside centre-back, overlapping the wing-back to get into a crossing position.

Retirement On 21 July 2023, O'Connell announced via his social media accounts that he would be retiring from football at the age of 29. O'Connell cited his knee injuries as the main reason for his retirement, among other complex reasons and decisions, and stated that "Walking away from football will leave a void in my life – but I have made peace with it. And I am grateful for the games I have played, the moments I lived out on the pitch, and to my team-mates – many of whom will be friends for life. It was all a dream come true."

International career O'Connell was capped once by the England under-18 team, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–0 friendly victory over Poland on 7 March 2012. He made his debut for the under-19s in a 3–0 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification win over Estonia on 26 September 2012. including three as captain. He won eight caps at under-19 level. Championship

2014–15 League Two

2014–15 Championship

2015–16 Championship

2016–17 League One

2017–18 Championship

2018–19 Championship

2019–20 Premier League

2020–21 Premier League

2021–22 Championship

Honours Sheffield United EFL League One: 2016–17 EFL Championship second-place promotion: 2018–19