Caleb Watts

Caleb Watts
Personal information
Full name Caleb Cassius Watts[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-16) 16 January 2002 (age 22)[2]
Place of birth Essex, England
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Exeter City
Number 17
Youth career
0000–2018 Queens Park Rangers
2018–2021 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Southampton 3 (0)
2022 → Crawley Town (loan) 1 (0)
2022–2023 → Morecambe (loan) 23 (2)
2023– Exeter City 10 (2)
International career‡
2019 Australia U17 7 (1)
2021– Australia U23 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:16, 10 August 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 July 2021

Caleb Cassius Watts (born 16 January 2002) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Exeter City.

Club career

Southampton

Watts signed his first professional contract in July 2019.[4] On 19 January 2021, Watts made his first professional appearance in Southampton's victory over Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup.[5] A week later, Watts made his Premier League debut, replacing Danny Ings in Southampton's 3–1 defeat to Arsenal.[6] Watts became the 52nd Australian to play in the league.[7]

On 12 January 2022, Watts joined Crawley Town for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[8] He made his debut for the club as a 63rd-minute substitute against Carlisle United on 15 January 2022, but came back off 18 minutes later after suffering a hamstring injury.[9]

On 23 June 2022, Watts joined Morecambe on loan for the 2022–23 season.[10]

Watts left Southampton at the end of the 2022–23 season after his contract expired.[11]

Exeter City

On 15 September 2023, Watts signed a short-term contract with League One side Exeter City until January 2024.[12] A day later, he scored on his debut in a 1–0 victory against Cheltenham Town.[13] In January 2024, he extended his contract until the end of the season with the option for a further year.[14] On 18 June 2024, Watts extended his contract until January 2025.[15]

International career

Watts was born in England to an Australian father, and is eligible to represent both England and Australia internationally.[16][17] He was named in the Australia U17 squad for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[18]

Watts qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He was part of the Olyroos Olympic squad. The team beat Argentina in their first group match but were unable to win another match and were therefore not in medal contention.[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 10 August 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton 2020–21[20] Premier League 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2021–22[21] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Crawley Town (loan) 2021–22[21] EFL League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Morecambe (loan) 2022–23[22] EFL League One 23 2 1 0 3 0 3[a] 1 30 3
Exeter City 2023–24[23] 9 1 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 11 1
2024–25[24] 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Total 10 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 12 2
Career total 37 4 2 0 4 0 4 1 47 5
  1. ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

  1. ^ "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  2. ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Squad list - Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Four youngsters sign professional deals". Southampton FC. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Southampton 2–0 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Arsenal fight back to clinch victory". Southampton F.C. 26 January 2021. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  7. ^ Rosengarten, Jake (27 January 2021). "Aussie teen Caleb Watts makes Premier League debut in Southampton's 3-1 loss to Arsenal". sport.optus.com.au. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Watts heads to Crawley on loan". Southampton FC. 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. ^ Crocker, Tom (17 January 2022). "Saints' Caleb Watts suffers injury on Crawley Town debut". Daily Echo. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Watts joins Morecambe on loan". Southampton FC. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Men's retained list published for 2023". Southampton FC. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Caleb Watts joins on short-term deal". Exeter City FC. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Exeter City 1–0 Cheltenham Town". BBC Sport. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  14. ^ "✍️ Caleb Watts and Shaun Macdonald extend City contracts". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Watts agrees new deal at Exeter City". BBC Sport. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  16. ^ Rugari, Vince (27 January 2021). "The promising teenager who doubled Australia's EPL contingent". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  17. ^ "'He's a wonderful talent' - Aussie teen praised after impressive Saints debut". The World Game. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Trevor Morgan names Australia's Brazil-bound boys". Socceroos. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Games played by Caleb Watts in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Games played by Caleb Watts in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Games played by Caleb Watts in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Games played by Caleb Watts in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Games played by Caleb Watts in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2024.