_c.jpg) McCarthy playing forCrystal Palace in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex Simon McCarthy[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-12-03)3 December 1989 (age 35)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Guildford, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Southampton | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wimbledon | |||
| –2006 | Wycombe Wanderers | ||
| 2006–2007 | Reading | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2014 | Reading | 70 | (0) |
| 2007 | →Woking (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2008 | →Cambridge United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2008 | →Team Bath (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2009 | →Aldershot Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | →Yeovil Town (loan) | 44 | (0) |
| 2010 | →Brentford (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | →Leeds United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2012 | →Ipswich Town (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Queens Park Rangers | 3 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Crystal Palace | 7 | (0) |
| 2016– | Southampton | 141 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2010–2011 | England U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2018 | England | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:59, 1 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Alex Simon McCarthy (born 3 December 1989) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forEFL Championship clubSouthampton.
A product of Reading'sAcademy, McCarthy spent time out onloan in theConference Premier before signing professional terms with the club in 2008. He made hisFootball League debut in 2009 whilst on loan toAldershot Town and spent the following season atYeovil Town before making his Reading debut in 2011. He later spent time on loan atLeeds United andIpswich Town. McCarthy left forQueens Park Rangers in 2014, moving on toCrystal Palace the following year, before joining Southampton in August 2016.
At international level McCarthy has represented England and made his debut for theunder-21 team in 2010, appearing three times in total. In November 2018, he made his debut for the senior team.
Born inGuildford, Surrey,[2] McCarthy began his career as a schoolboy atWimbledon andWycombe Wanderers before joiningReading on a scholarship at 16.[3] He was a regular in theAcademy team for two years and was part of a group that included several future first-team players includingJem Karacan,Alex Pearce andGylfi Sigurðsson.[4] His first experience of senior football came in August 2007 onloan atWoking where he made one appearance cover for the injuredNick Gindre.[5] On 26 March 2008, he joined fellowConference Premier teamCambridge United on work experience,[6] making his debut two days later in a 3–0 defeat toKidderminster Harriers.[7] He made no further appearances and returned to Reading before signing his first professional contract in July 2008.[8] McCarthy moved on loan again on 24 October 2008, joiningConference South teamTeam Bath as injury cover.[9] He made his debut the next day in theFA Cup fourth qualifying round againstSalisbury City[10] and also played in the first round defeat toForest Green Rovers,[11] making four appearances in total.[8] Another short loan spell followed with McCarthy joiningLeague Two clubAldershot Town for one month on 2 February 2009.[12] He made hisFootball League debut 12 days later in a 3–2 defeat toExeter City[13] and played three further matches before returning to Reading at the beginning of March.[14][15]
At the start of the 2009–10 season McCarthy joinedLeague One clubYeovil on an initial six-month loan[16] and made his debut on 8 August in a 2–0 home win overTranmere Rovers.[17] A month later he received the first sending-off of his career after foulingStockport County'sNicholas Bignall, who was also on loan from Reading.[18] McCarthy's loan spell was renewed in January 2010 and again in February, before being extended for the rest of the season on 24 March.[19] Over the course of his spell he played 44 league matches and kept all 12 of Yeovil's clean sheets.[4] Following his successful loan, McCarthy was given a new three-year contract at Reading, keeping him with the club until 2013.[20][21] He again departed on loan in August 2010, joiningBrentford, though he remained there for just one month before being replaced by fellow Reading loaneeBen Hamer.[22]
After returning from loan at Brentford in September 2010, McCarthy spent the next five months on the bench as cover forAdam Federici.[23] He eventually made his Reading debut on 19 February 2011, coming on as a substitute for the injured Federici in the 84th minute againstWatford and helping to secure a 1–1 draw.[24] With Federici out for six weeks with knee ligament damage, McCarthy had a run in the team and made his full debut three days later in a 2–1 win overMillwall.[25][26] In his next outing he saved a penalty againstCrystal Palace as Reading twice came from behind to draw the match 3–3.[27] He also played an important role in the 1–0 FA Cup fifth round win overEverton, producing a late save to denyLeon Osman in a performance described as "tremendous" by former England managerKevin Keegan.[28] Despite another strong display in the next round againstManchester City atEastlands, Reading lost the match 1–0 to aMicah Richards header.[29] He continued in goal until 30 April when he was displaced by a fit again Federici for the 0–0 draw atCoventry City[30] and remained an unused substitute during Reading's play-off campaign.[31]
With Federici remaining the first choice Reading goalkeeper for the 2011–12 season, McCarthy was loaned toLeeds United for a month on 4 November to gainChampionship experience.[32] An injury toAndy Lonergan and the indifferent form ofPaul Rachubka saw him go straight into the team for the match againstLeicester City.[33] He kept a clean sheet on debut as the match ended in a 1–0 win.[34] Further clean sheets againstNottingham Forest and Millwall followed and were enough to keep him in the team ahead of the returning Lonergan.[35][36] In the last match of his initial spell he saved an injury time penalty against Watford, allowing Leeds to rescue a point with a last minute equaliser.[37] Following the match, he revealed that he was keen on extending his loan at Leeds, with Reading agreeing to renew it for a second month two days later.[38][39] Ineligible to face his parent club on 17 December, he was replaced by Lonergan and made no further appearances,[40] returning to Reading on 3 January 2012.[41] He signed a new three-year contract with Reading on 9 January before joiningIpswich Town on loan until the end of the season.[42][43] On his return toElland Road with Ipswich he was sent off for handling the ball outside the penalty area with 20 minutes remaining. Ipswich, one goal up at the time, went on to lose the match 3–1.[44] After 10 appearances, all coming in the league, he returned to Reading at the end of the season.[45]
Again starting the season as second choice goalkeeper, several mistakes and an injury meant McCarthy replaced Adam Federici for the 3–1 defeat byTottenham Hotspur on 16 September 2012.[46][47] After debuting in thePremier League, he achieved the feat of playing in thesix top levels of English football at the age of 22.[citation needed] He retained his place in the team for the next few matches and put in an impressive performance againstSwansea City on 6 October leading to suggestions of a seniorEngland call up in the future.[48] His good form continued with a man of the match performance in Reading's next match againstQueens Park Rangers, firstly tippingEsteban Granero's free-kick onto the crossbar before saving fromAdel Taarabt at close range.[49] The match ended badly though as he injured himself colliding with the goal post after diving to stop a Taarabt shot.[50]
Despite initial hopes the injury was not too serious, he was forced to undergo shoulder surgery in early December potentially ruling him out for remainder of the season.[51] He recovered quicker than expected though and returned to the team on 13 April 2013, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw withLiverpool.[52] After making ten saves during the match, he was widely praised with his performance described as "fantastic" byNigel Adkins and "absolutely staggering" by Liverpool managerBrendan Rodgers.[53][54] He remained in goal for the rest of the season, making 14 appearances in total.[55]
In the 2013–14 season, McCarthy became first choice keeper, making 44 appearances in the Championship as Reading finished 7th, just missing out on the playoffs.[56]
On 29 August 2014, McCarthy joined newly promotedQueens Park Rangers in the Premier League for an undisclosed fee.[57] McCarthy made his Rangers debut at home against Liverpool in a blockbuster narrow 3–2 defeat.[58]
On 23 July 2015, McCarthy joined Premier League club Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £3.5 million, on a four-year contract.[59] McCarthy made his Palace debut on 8 August 2015 in a 3–1 win away toNorwich City.[60]
On 1 August 2016 McCarthy joinedSouthampton on a three-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.[61] On 21 September 2016, McCarthy made his first appearance for Southampton in a 2–0 victory against former club Crystal Palace in theEFL Cup.[62] McCarthy made no league appearances for the club during the2016–17 season.[63]
McCarthy was initially used as back-up to regular keeperFraser Forster, but on 30 December 2017 he took over from the latter following the regular goalkeeper's drop in form and kept a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw againstManchester United.[64][65] Following his breakthrough into the first team, McCarthy was named player of the season at the end of the campaign.[66]
On 27 June 2018, McCarthy signed a new four-year contract with the club, keeping him on their books until 2020. This made him one of Southampton's highest-earning players, reflecting his status as first-choice keeper.[67] However, he began the2019–20 Premier League season as second choice behindAngus Gunn, with managerRalph Hasenhüttl using McCarthy in theEFL Cup games.[68] He made his first Premier League start of the season on 2 November 2019 in a 2–1 defeat to Manchester City after Gunn had conceded nine goals to Leicester City the previous match.[69][70]
McCarthy made his first appearance of the2020–21 season on 12 September 2020 in a 1–0 defeat to Crystal Palace.[71] On 3 January 2021, it was announced that McCarthy had tested positive forCOVID-19.[72] The positive test saw him miss Southampton's 1–0 win over Liverpool.[73] On 2 February 2021, McCarthy conceded nine goals toManchester United.[74]
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During the2021–22 season, McCarthy would again start the campaign as first choice goalkeeper, and made his first appearance on 14 August 2021 in a 3–1 defeat toEverton.[75] On 4 December 2021, McCarthy picked up an hamstring injury in a 1–1 draw withBrighton.[76] Hasenhüttl criticised McCarthy after the match for failing to say he was injured during the game.[77] The injury to McCarthy meant there were no senior goalkeepers available since Forster was also injured, and this led to Southampton signing free agentWilly Caballero.[78] It would take until 17 May 2022 for McCarthy to feature again in a 2–1 defeat to Liverpool.[79]
Following the arrival ofGavin Bazunu in the summer of 2022, McCarthy was limited to cup competitions at the start of the2022–23 season.[80][81] He regained his place ahead of Bazunu towards the end of the campaign, with managerRubén Sélles stating that he is "important to us".[82] The club were ultimately relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season.[83]
On 16 April 2024, McCarthy replaced Bazunu in the lineup againstPreston North End due to Bazunu picking up an injury in the warm-up.[84] He played in the2024 EFL Championship play-off final on 26 May against Leeds United, which Southampton won 1–0 to gain promotion to the Premier League.[85]
On 28 June 2024, McCarthy signed a two-year contract extension.[86]
McCarthy trained with the Englandunder-19s before joining theunder-21 set-up for the first time in September 2009.[87][88] He received several further call-ups to the under-21s in 2009–10 and eventually made his debut as a second-half substitute against Uzbekistan in August 2010.[89][90][91][92] In March 2011 he was named in a 31-man squad to faceDenmark andIceland as preparation for theUEFA European Under-21 Championship.[93] He played a full 90 minutes in the first match and 45 in the second as England won 4–0 and lost 2–1 respectively.[94] He travelled with the squad to championships in Denmark but did not play any matches, finishing with three caps at under-21 level.[95][96]
In April 2012, McCarthy was named in the 80-man longlist of potential players for theGreat Britain football team at the2012 Summer Olympics,[97] and in June, he made it down to the shortlist of 35 players provisionally selected for the tournament,[97] although he did not make the final 18.[98]
In May 2013 he was called up to the Englandsenior team for thefriendlies againstRepublic of Ireland andBrazil,[99] becoming the first Readingyouth team graduate to gain a full England call-up since the academy era began in 1998,[100] although he did not make an appearance.[69] On 1 September 2016, he was called up to the senior squad again bySam Allardyce to replace the injuredFraser Forster for a2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier againstSlovakia.[101]
In August 2018, McCarthy was called up for England's first squad since the 2018 World Cup, for matches againstSpain andSwitzerland.[102] He made his debut on 15 November as a half-time substitute in England's 3–0 win over theUnited States atWembley Stadium in a friendly match, nearly five and a half years after his first call-up.[103]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reading | 2007–08[104] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008–09[15] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11[31] | Championship | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2011–12[45] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13[55] | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14[56] | Championship | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15[105] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 70 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 0 | ||
| Woking (loan) | 2007–08[106] | Conference Premier | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Cambridge United (loan) | 2007–08[107] | Conference Premier | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Team Bath (loan) | 2008–09[108] | Conference South | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Aldershot Town (loan) | 2008–09[15] | League Two | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Yeovil Town (loan) | 2009–10[109] | League One | 44 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 45 | 0 | ||
| Brentford (loan) | 2010–11[31] | League One | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Leeds United (loan) | 2011–12[45] | Championship | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Ipswich Town (loan) | 2011–12[45] | Championship | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 2014–15[105] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2015–16[110] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
| Southampton | 2016–17[63] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017–18[111] | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[112] | Premier League | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20[113] | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21[114] | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[115] | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[80] | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[116] | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024–25[117] | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26[118] | Championship | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 141 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 165 | 0 | ||
| Southampton U23/U21 | 2016–17[63] | — | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18[111] | — | — | — | 3[b] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 292 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 329 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Southampton
Individual
