Rhys Sharpe

Rhys Sharpe (born 17 October 1994) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Southern Premier League side Kettering Town, where he plays as a defender.

Rhys Sharpe

Personal information
Full name	Rhys Sharpe[1]
Date of birth	(1994-10-17) 17 October 1994 (age 30)[2]
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Kettering Town
Youth career
0000–2012	Derby County
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2015	Derby County	0	(0)
2012	→ Mickleover Sports (loan)
2015	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	3	(0)
2015–2016	Notts County	5	(0)
2016–2017	Swindon Town	0	(0)
2017–2018	Matlock Town	33	(2)
2018–2019	Tamworth	19	(0)
2019–2020	Nuneaton Borough	32	(0)
2020–2021	Stratford Town	2	(0)
2020–	Kettering Town	76	(1)
International career‡
2013–2015	Northern Ireland U21	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:14, 23 September 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:00, 29 December 2019 (UTC)

Playing career

Derby County

Born in Nottingham, Sharpe was a Derby County youth graduate and in April 2013, Sharpe signed his first professional contract on a two-year after he completed his two-year scholarship programmes.^[3] On 13 March 2015 he was loaned to League Two side Shrewsbury Town on a month's youth loan.^[4] Four days later Sharpe made his professional debut, starting in a 4–1 away win against Morecambe,^[5] with the loan later extended until the end of the season.^[6]

At the end of the season, Sharpe returned to his parent club, and was released.^[7]

Notts County

He joined Notts County on a two-year contract on 2 June 2015.^[8] He was released by mutual consent on 12 August 2016.

Swindon Town

On 6 December 2016, Sharpe joined League One side Swindon Town on a short-term deal.^[9] After appearing once in the EFL Trophy, Sharpe was released at the end of his contract in January 2017.

Matlock Town

On 9 March 2017, Sharpe joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Matlock Town.^[10]

Tamworth

Rhys signed for National League North side Tamworth on 2 February 2018, having spent a period on trial with the club at the beginning if the season, but an injury scuppered any chance of the player earning a contract.^[11] Following some impressive performances, Sharpe signed an extension to his contract on 1 March 2018.^[12]

Nuneaton Borough

Sharpe signed for National League North side Nuneaton Borough on 4 January 2019, on a six-month deal.^[13]

Stratford Town

Sharpe started the 2020/21 season playing for Southern League Premier Central side Stratford Town however due to lockdown regulations put in place because of COVID-19 the league program was halted after 8 games in October 2020 and the season declared void.

Kettering Town

With Stratford Town's season being terminated Rhys signed for Kettering Town on November 27, 2020 making his debut the following day away at Hereford FC^[14]

International career

Northern Ireland U21

Sharpe was called up by Northern Ireland national under-20 football team in July 2013, and made his debut against Denmark, before making two more appearances against USA and Mexico.^[15]

In October 2013, Sharpe was called by Northern Ireland U21.^[16] Sharpe made his national team debut, playing 90 minutes, in a 1–0 loss against Belgium U21.^[17]

Career statistics

As of match played 29 December 2019.

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2014–15	League Two	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Notts County	2015–16	League Two	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Swindon Town	2016–17	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Matlock Town	2016–17	Northern Premier League Premier Division	10	1	—		—		—		10	1
	2017–18	Northern Premier League Premier Division	23	1	1	0	—		2	0	26	1
	Total		33	2	1	0	—		2	0	36	2
Tamworth	2017–18	National League North	13	0	—		—		—		13	0
	2018–19	Southern League Central Division	6	0	0	0	—		—		6	0
	Total		19	0	0	0	—		0	0	19	0
Nuneaton Borough	2018–19	National League North	18	0	—		—		—		18	0
	2019–20	Southern League Central Division	14	0	1	0	—		—		15	0
	Total		32	0	1	0	—		0	0	33	0
Career total			92	2	2	0	0	0	3	0	97	2

References

1. "Professional retain list and free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
2. "Rhys Sharpe". 11v11. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
3. "Rams Hand Professional Deals To Ten". Derby County F.C. 6 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
4. "Shrewsbury Town: Derby County's Rhys Sharpe agrees youth loan". BBC Sport. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
5. "Morecambe 1–4 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
6. "Sharpe Loan Extended Until End Of The Season". Shrewsweb. 17 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
7. "Derby County Confirm End Of Season Retained List". Derby County F.C. 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
8. "Rhys Sharpe: Notts County sign former Derby left-back". BBC Sport. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
9. "Town Hand Sharpe Short-Term Deal". Swindon Town Official Site. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
10. "Gladiators add former Northern Ireland U21 international Sharpe to their squad". Matlock Town Official Site. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
11. "New Recruit". TheLambs.co.uk. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
12. "Sharpe Extends Lambs Stay". TheLambs.co.uk. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
13. "TRANSFER NEWS: Rhys Sharpe Joins The Boro'". Pitchero.com. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
14. "NEW SIGNING Rhys Sharpe". Kettering Town Official Site. 27 November 2020.
15. "Sharpe Nets NI Call-Up". Derby County F.C. 27 July 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
16. "Under 21 Duo Land Call-Ups". Derby County F.C. 8 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
17. "International Rams Review". Derby County F.C. 12 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

External links

• Rhys Sharpe at Soccerbase
• Rhys Sharpe at Soccerway
• Rhys Sharpe – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Northern Ireland profile at NIFG