Shea Charles, Technical powerhouse (Player profile)

Originally I was going to write about Shea Charles as part of a multi player piece regarding who could potentially partner Idrissa Gueye at Everton but that got a bit long so I made some changes, but I still found myself really wanting to talk about and outline the profile of Shea Charles and for good reason.

A Manchester City academy graduate, Charles is bound to have technical ability as the City academy is one of the best in the world for producing technically gifted players which Charles has clearly been the benefit of when you see some of his touches and the way he can control the ball. Package that technical ability with Charles physical gifts and you have a midfield talent who can go on to be an absolute powerhouse in the middle of the park to run over players and then showcase the elegance of a 5'8 midfielder who can weave away from pressure.

Player information:

• Club: Southampton
• Nationality: Northern Irish
• Age: 21
• Position: CB/DM/CM
• Preferred foot: Right
• Contract expiry: June 30th 2027

How Charles usually lined up on loan at Sheffield Wednesday 24/25

Charles throughout last season was typically used in a midfield two alongside Barry Bannan, providing some necessary size and physicality to the Sheffield Wednesday midfield. Charles himself would usually be the deepest out of the midfield two and would be the one who showed for the defence most often, using his ability to receive to provide a secure option for the back line to pass into whilst also allowing his midfield partner to get into more advanced areas up the pitch, Charles performed this role to a very good standard showing lots of quality. Hence why he has started all of Southampton’s 25/26 Championship games so far, albeit as the LCM in a double pivot.

Physicality:

• +Strength
• +Size
• +Body frame
• +Covering ground
• +Power
• +Agility
• +Balance
• +Aerial duels

Physically you can’t really find any fault with Shea Charles, the absolute definition of an athletic force in the middle of the park, eating up ground with his long stride whether it’s recovering his position to stop a transition or carrying the ball up the pitch, Charles is almost unstoppable at times due to his strength and sheer running power. Then you have to take into account his incredibly deceptive agility, standing at 6'2 Charles should not be able to spin his way out of pressure like a sleek 5'8 Spanish number eight and when you do see Charles take it on the spin like he does, you realise just how physically gifted the midfielder is.

In possession:

Receiving the ball:

Championship 24/25 heat map

Charles patrols that right hand side throughout the game but as you can see there is a deviation in the zones he occupies in the first phase of play, with the central zones getting more occupied, showing that in the first phase he is given responsibility to drop in and take the ball to then move it forwards. This variation in zones shows how frequent his movement is to show for his team mates and the responsibility Charles wants to take when his side have the ball, a great characteristic for a midfielder to have and shows the sort of mentality he has, a mentality you need in the middle. His movement shows his mentality and intelligence whilst the fact he is able to receive from multiple passing angles on either foot shows the scope of his technicality and security in possession when it comes to his touch, agility and use of his body, Charles really possesses some great qualities which I personally love

First phase of play influence:

As I said before, Charles has pretty good movement to show for the backline, dropping into that hole just in front of the defence relatively often and offering himself as the forward ball into the midfield. This confidence to act as a fulcrum point as shown above is the exact sort of mentality I like to see in a midfielder, especially one that is tasked in being the deepest of the pivot. It is crucial that the midfielder has this courage to show for his defence and receive in order to facilitate build up play, if Charles didn’t have this courage to show deep then the team would have been a lot worse off for it and have got into the final 3rd a lot less.

It’s not just the mentality I like about Charles in the build up phase, it’s the pretty consistent execution of fundamentals and understanding of when to play forward or to just circulate the ball. Here, his scanning and awareness helped the build up and got Sheffield Wednesday out, his body language to ask for the ball to let the keeper know he has that easy forward option is so important as it encourages the keeper to play and not just go long. The scanning is good as well, checking his blind side which allowed him to assess his options and decide his next move before he even receives the ball, which is a sign for me of a smart midfielder. Followed up by the understanding to know he doesn’t need to do anything flashy and to just feed the LCB who’s in a better position to progress as they’re facing forwards, a very good decision to make and the fact he does it in one touch is even better as it doesn’t let opposition readjust. A good reading of what’s necessary in certain game states like the one above ,where it’s 0–0 in the first half so there’s no rush to get the ball forwards, is great to see from a player who is trying to exert influence in build up and shows an understanding of tempo, which is terrific.

You need midfielders who can play at different tempos and then be able to change that tempo, which Charles is definitely capable of doing, this is probably a bi-product of his academy days at City and I have to say, a very positive one, having this tool already there meaning he has the chance to develop it is a great mental attribute to have built into his hardware as a central midfielder. If he can refine his decision making and be more consistent with it so that he cuts out some of the forced passes he attempts further up the pitch, then he can certainly be a sides main midfielder in build up.

Now this is all pretty basic in concept from a technical standpoint, but bringing it together and having the decision making to just play simple at times and not do anything flashy is what will get him far.

Progressing the ball:

There’s plenty to like about Charles when it comes to ball progression as well, whether its line breakers or that powerful ball carrying I have spoke about, Charles has plenty of tools and methods to get his team up the pitch after he has helped the team beat the press in the first phase

As you can tell from just pure numbers alone, Charles is a forward thinking player that likes to get the ball forwards and his team advanced up the pitch, which makes him such an all round talent in that central midfield, the perfect sort of archetype for a double pivot. Whilst Charles certainly has the capabilities to go it alone with a marauding run due to his physical capabilities to cover ground and muscle past players, his use of combination play with teammates helps him out massively and allows his abilities to truly flourish.

[embed]

The one above is an example of how these give and go’s are a good tool for Charles to utilise his running power and exploit space to then advance the team up the pitch. This combination play dragged the Portsmouth player forward onto the receiver which opened up the space for Charles to enter and then get the return. It’s nothing eye catching but it’s just one of those small things that I like to see players utilise in order to generate space, if you can shuffle opposition players around then space will open which can be exploited, it’s something Charles does well. The most important thing is that he isn’t static after passing like some players would be, waiting for it back into their feet, he immediately gets moving and that's the key as he doesn’t get picked up and the space is there to be exploited before it can get filled. Like I say, simple but effective.

[embed]

Whilst Charles has these mental aspects to his game to smartly manipulate opposition players to create space he has the explosive ball carrying which I mentioned earlier and can be seen in the clip above, it’s easily one of his best attributes. The above is easy for him and isn’t anything that makes you go wow but there’s a couple things in there which are subtle but important on those occasions where he wants to be more expansive and just get his team up the pitch

Firstly, the taking it on the turn, this is very important for a midfielder in order to be as progressive as possible because the ability to take it on the half turn allows him to face forwards so much easier and get going, rather than being closed off and easier to press because he would have to take more touches to face forwards. Secondly, you can see Charles making a point of getting his body across the ball, very smart and also why he is so good at drawing fouls, Charles baits the contact a lot of the time because his main goal is always to get between ball and man in order to protect it and stop himself from getting dispossessed. These two things greatly contribute to his ability to carry as well as his deceptive agility, running power and touch variations depending on the amount of space he has, large touches for bigger areas and then tight ball control in small spaces. All this rolled into one and you’ve got an extremely powerful problem running your way which can break the block and create space for team mates, Charles ball carrying has the capability to create plenty of chances for his side.

[embed]

When it comes to his progressive passing Charles is a bit inconsistent with his output, he definitely has the capabilities to play those line breakers and find a team mate but there’s moments where he will force the pass and give away the ball, by either overhitting or playing passes that aren’t there. The clip above is an example where his passing looks good and it has purpose with Charles actively searching for that forward ball to get Wednesday on a dangerous attack and he executes to a decent level and they get on the attack. Even in this instance where he has successfully broke the lines there’s something small which can be worked on and that’s how bouncy the pass is. The technique has caused a bit of bobble which could make it harder for his team mate to control, this is a bit nitpicky I know but if Charles were to hit the ball cleaner he could generate some proper zip on his passes and break lines even easier.

[embed]

This next clip is a good example of what I mean with Charles sometimes forcing his passes and needing to be more consistent with his tempo control to become a true top tier first phase contributor. Bannan is telling Charles to play it wide but Charles forces it forward into Bannan who clearly doesn’t want it and isn’t ready to receive the ball, combine it with the fact Bannan has two men on his back, he was bound to lose it. Just a poor and rushed decision from Charles which he is guilty of and could do with cutting it out of his game, but that’ll come as he matures as a player.

This eagerness does have a benefit though when it comes to Charles game, because of how eager he is to play forwards with his passing sometimes he doesn’t hesitate to hit space in behind and send team mates down the line. For me that’s a big bonus when it comes to transitional moments because if you have a midfielder who will play with the handbrake off and not hesitate to hit those spaces in behind in one or two touches then you give the opposition less time to regroup and stop the transition. Like I say, there’s some negatives to his passing but it can simultaneously make him a transition threat, especially alongside his ball carrying capabilities, it’s just about choosing his moments on when to play forwards.

Attacking contributions:

Charles does actually have creative threat in the final 3rd, especially in the wide areas last season for Sheffield Wednesday, contributing with 6 G/A which for a struggling Championship side isn’t too bad in my opinion and supports the viewpoint that he can be a very effective box to box midfielder who can chip in every now and then.

[embed]

I compiled a quick video of how Charles contributions came about last season and there’s a good reason why he’s on set pieces/ allowed to back up attacks. His delivery is typically good from these wide areas, being able to hit the ball in deep or get a flat delivery for someone to glance on. From open play he’s definitely more dangerous from those wide areas, jumping on loose balls and then looking to drive to the byline and cutback for a team mate, if he was allowed to get in those positions frequently you’re looking at someone who can get 5-10 assists over the course of a season in my opinion.

Out of possession:

Duel monster:

To put it simply, Shea Charles is very good at this duelling stuff and his physicality certainly helps with that. There are moments where Charles can be initially broken away from with a feint because of an issue he has from time to time which I’ll get onto in a minute, but despite this because of Charles power and size he is able to adjust quickly and stick a leg in with a strong challenge to authoritatively regain possession.

A thing that certainly helps him with this 1v1 defending is the stance he takes up when he gets into these positions to prevent himself from getting too square on and completely beat by a quick change of direction. The bladed crouch stance allows him to be more explosive when he needs to be and also allows him to turn easier if the player changes direction quickly which makes Charles much harder to beat since he is able to adapt to any changes to the situation he’s in and snuff out whatever the player is attempting.

However, I’d say his true duelling prowess shows itself best when he’s defending opposition transitions, either stopping them from materialising or recovering to make a challenge. His physicality really shines in these moments since he can cover ground so quickly in order to get back, Charles won’t hesitate to go off his feet either in these scenarios and I suppose it could be exploited if he is drawn in and skipped past but I do like the commitment to this defending and think overall it’s a net positive when he’s recovering.

[embed]

The weakness I was referring to with Charles defending is actually referring to his stance and how in general he distributes his weight, on the face of it I think he sets himself up well to defend 1v1s but there is something I saw which may be an issue, this thing being the fact he sometimes commits one way too early in his head and therefore puts too much weight on one side causing him to overcommit. Above shows that over commitment a little when he’s trying to come across and pressure the Portsmouth midfielder, he just goes too far in and it makes it easy to bypass him because he isn’t able to readjust quick enough because he has too much momentum one way. It’s not often this happens but it is something he can get caught out with causing him to either be beat or commit an unnecessary foul which can be frustrating at times, but all in all his duelling ability is tremendous.

Positioning/reading of the game:

I’ve spoken about Charles intelligence throughout this piece and I think that really shines off the ball when he is positioning himself to cover space, cut out passes or when he’s tracking runners. Charles just seems to have this understanding of where to be in order to give himself and his team the best chance to shut out the opposition and maintain structure, Charles is multi faceted for me when it comes to OOP being able to cover space, shadow passing lanes, go man to man in a press or be a destroyer, put out any defensive system you want and Charles could do a job.

[embed]

The above interception is a quick snippet of his reading of the game and why having someone like Charles can be so beneficial even if the team is just sat in a block and not really engaging the passer, he is still able to manifest a turnover of position with his positioning, reading of play and quick reactions to intercept. He was initially covering the short inside ball but as soon as he sees the Luton player shape up to play the ball into the striker he immediately readjusts and covers that space quickly to cut it out, these sort of split second decisions that he gets right so often make a block very hard to play through and can actually make up for deficiencies within that block as Charles is capable of plugging those gaps to eradicate the space that had opened.

Backing up attacks:

For all I’ve spoke about his qualities with the ball at his feet, Charles has plenty of qualities without the ball as I've spoke about but one of my favourites is how he is able to sustain attacks through his timing and physicality. This trait is an aggressive one and for me a necessity for one of your midfielders to have if you want to be a front footed side as it allows you to have an almost continual wave of attacks if you never truly leave the final 3rd because you have a CM so good at engaging on loose balls and winning those duels, effectively acting as a blockade and penning the opposition in their box.

This actually lead to him getting an assist because he jumped in after a 50/50 duel caused the ball to become loose and instead of being static waiting to see what happened Charles took it upon himself to take charge and impact the game. Charles mentality is a great quality of his and there’s signs of a burgeoning leader there with how he plays football and also encourages his team mates to play, an underrated aspect of his for me from when I’ve watched him.

Attribute summary:

Positives:

• Covering ground
• Aerial duels
• Strength
• Explosiveness
• Agility
• Balance
• Receiving on the turn
• Drawing fouls
• Showing for the ball
• Communication
• Ball carrying
• Tidy passing
• Attacking threat
• Set pieces
• 1v1 duels
• Positioning
• Reading of the game
• Covering space/tracking runners
• Supporting attacks

Negatives:

• Forcing passes
• Passes can be bouncy at times
• Over commitment causing him to get beat
• Fouls

Conclusion:

To conclude, I rate Charles quite highly and already think he’s at the level to be in a Premier League squad in the mid table region and can go on to be part of Europa League level teams in my opinion due to his physical abilities and mental aspects that can really help him become a bit of a midfield general.

When it comes to profiling I think Charles is best off as a box to box midfielder capable of playing in pivot or the right side of a midfield three in order to get the best out of his attributes and maximise the traits he already possesses when it comes to physicality.

Projection:

Top half Premier League player

Positional future:

An 8 in a pivot or midfield 3

This was a bit long but I hope it gives idea of the type of player Charles is and what he can offer to a side, I am going to try this more regularly from now on.

Follow me on X (Twitter) Cal1878