| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Callum Tyler Whelan[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-09-24)24 September 1998 (age 27)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Barnsley, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.76 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Carlisle United | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Barnsley | |||
| 2007–2018 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | →Port Vale (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Watford | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Oldham Athletic | 74 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Solihull Moors | 21 | (0) |
| 2023 | →Gateshead (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Gateshead | 52 | (11) |
| 2025– | Carlisle United | 36 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:56, 25 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Callum Tyler Whelan (born 24 September 1998) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forNational League clubCarlisle United.
A graduate of the academy atManchester United, he had aloan spell atPort Vale in the 2018–19 season, but did not feature in a matchday squad. He signed withWatford in August 2019 and featured in twoFA Cup games during the 2019–20 season. He signed with Oldham Athletic in August 2020. After his release by Oldham, he signed forNational League sideSolihull Moors in July 2022, from where he joinedGateshead on loan in February 2023. The move to Gateshead was made permanent in July 2023. He won theFA Trophy with the club in2024. He returned to theEnglish Football League (EFL) with Carlisle United in January 2025, though Carlisle lost their EFL status at the end of the 2024–25 season.
Whelan grew up in theBarnsley village ofHemingfield and spent the early part of his childhood at theBarnsley Academy.[4] He joinedManchester United at the age of eight, and went on to become one of three players shortlisted for the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2017.[5] He signed a newcontract with the club in July 2018.[6] On 31 January 2019, he joinedLeague Two sidePort Vale onloan until the end of the2018–19 season.[7] He failed to make it into a match-day squad under newmanagerJohn Askey, who felt he was not yet ready for senior football, and the loan was ended early on 2 April.[8]
In August 2019, Whelan signed a one-year contract atWatford, with the option of a further year.[9][10] He made his first-team debut for Watford in the fourth round of theFA Cup on 4 January 2020, coming on as a 61st-minutesubstitute forDomingos Quina in a 3–3 draw withTranmere Rovers atVicarage Road.[11] He started in thereplay 19 days later, which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[12] However, the club confirmed he would not be offered a new contract on 6 August 2020.[13]
On 28 August 2020, Whelan signed a two-year contract atOldham Athletic after impressinghead coachHarry Kewell during a three-week trial period.[14][15] His game time and form improved afterKeith Curle replaced Kewell in March.[16] He started 23 league games in the2020–21 campaign, making a total of 38 competitive appearances.[2] He scored his first career goal on 29 March 2022, in a 2–0 win overLeyton Orient atBoundary Park.[17] Whelan was released by managerJohn Sheridan followingrelegation at the end of the2021–22 season.[18]
On 26 July 2022, Whelan signed a one-year contract withNational League clubSolihull Moors after a trial period, during which he scored a goal in afriendly againstBrackley Town.[19] He played 20 matches for the club, but lost his first-team place due to injury and increased competition in the midfield, so in February 2023 he moved on loan to league rivalsGateshead until the end of the2022–23 season.[20] He was recalled from his loan on 25 April as managerNeal Ardley wanted to use him for Solihull's final two games of the campaign; during his time at theGateshead International Stadium he missed just one of 14 possible games to attend the birth of his daughter.[21] He was released by Solihull at the end of the season.[22]
Having impressed during his loan spell in the second half of the previous season, Whelan permanently returned to Gateshead on a two-year contract.[23] He was awarded the National League Player of the Month award for February 2024, having registered two goals and two assists in four matches.[24] Interim managerRob Elliot said that he was impressed with Whelan both on and off the ball, adding that "he is our leader, he sets traps and both him andLuke Hannant are the ones we trust the most to set our structure so well".[25] He scored five goals in 28 league games during the2023–24 season, however, Gateshead were denied a place in the play-offs due to stadium regulation issues.[26][27] Whelan and Gateshead instead made it toWembley Stadium in theFA Trophy and defeatedSolihull Moors onpenalties inthe final.[28]
On 3 January 2025, Whelan signed for League Two sideCarlisle United on a two-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee, reuniting with head coachMike Williamson whom had first brought him to Gateshead.[29][30] He played 23 games in the second half of the2024–25 season,[31] which culminated in the club being relegated out of the Football League.[32][33]
Whelan is acentral midfielder with good short-rangepassing skills.[5][6]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United | 2018–19[34] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Port Vale (loan) | 2018–19[34] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Watford | 2019–20[35] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Oldham Athletic | 2020–21[36] | League Two | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 2021–22[37] | League Two | 43 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| Total | 74 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 89 | 1 | ||
| Solihull Moors | 2022–23[26] | National League | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Gateshead (loan) | 2022–23[26] | National League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Gateshead | 2023–24[26] | National League | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 2 | 33 | 7 | |
| 2024–25[26] | National League | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 29 | 6 | ||
| Total | 52 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 62 | 13 | ||
| Carlisle United | 2024–25[31] | League Two | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| 2025–26[26] | National League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 183 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 213 | 16 | ||
Gateshead
Individual