| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Glen Charles Rea[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-09-03)3 September 1994 (age 30)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Brighton, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder,centre-back[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Worthing | ||
| Number | 31 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2013 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | →Southend United (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2016 | →Luton Town (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2016–2023 | Luton Town | 174 | (7) |
| 2019 | →Woking (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2022 | →Wigan Athletic (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2023 | →Cheltenham Town (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2023– | Worthing | 22 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2014–2016 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 10 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:35, 9 February 2025 (UTC) | |||
Glen Charles Rea (born 3 September 1994) is a professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder orcentre-back forNational League South clubWorthing. Born in England, he played for theRepublic of Ireland U21 national team.
Born inBrighton, East Sussex,[2] Rea began his career with theyouth system atBrighton & Hove Albion, before earning a professional contract after completing his two-year scholarship.[4] On 6 February 2015, Rea signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2016.[5]
Ahead of the2015–16 season, Rea was given squad number 26,[6] before making his professional debut for Brighton one week later in a 1–0 win away toSouthend United in theLeague Cup first round, with Rea playing for the full 90 minutes.[7][8] Following the expiration of hisloan spells at Southend United and Luton Town, Brighton activated the option of a one-year extension on Rea's contract, but were willing to let him leave on a permanent transfer.[9] Southend and Luton both expressed an interest in signing him on a permanent basis.[10][11]
On 27 August 2015, two weeks after the League Cup fixture, Southend managerPhil Brown expressed an interest in signing Rea on loan,[12] claiming later that day the club were close to signing him.[13] Brighton confirmed Rea had joined Southend on loan until 2 January 2016 a day later.[14] He made his debut in a 2–2 draw away toCoventry City on 31 August.[15] Rea made his final appearance for Southend in a 3–0 defeat at home toDoncaster Rovers on 2 January 2016, finishing his loan spell with 16 appearances.[16]
On 17 March 2016, Rea signed forLeague Two clubLuton Town on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season, linking back up with Luton managerNathan Jones who had previously been his first-team coach at Brighton.[17] He made his Luton debut in a 1–0 win away toPlymouth Argyle two days later.[18] Rea finished his loan spell with 10 appearances and started every match.[19]
Rea joined Luton permanently on 27 June 2016 on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[20] His first appearance after signing permanently came in a 3–0 win away to Plymouth Argyle on 6 August.[21] Rea scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 defeat at home toGrimsby Town on 10 September.[22]
He signed a new two-year contract with Luton at the end of May 2018.[23] He suffered a partial tear of his cruciate ligament in a 2–0 win overBurton Albion on 22 December, which ruled him out for the rest of the season after making 27 appearances and scoring one goal.[24][25] Rea joinedNational League clubWoking on 25 October 2019 on a one-month loan to build up his match fitness.[26]
On 31 January 2022, Rea joined League One title chasersWigan Athletic on loan until the end of the2021–22 season.[27] He was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in a league game againstWimbledon, and returned to Luton on 17 March 2022.[28]
On 31 January 2023, Rea joined League One clubCheltenham Town on loan until the end of the season, remaining with Luton for a short time whilst he completed the rehabilitation from a knee injury.[29]
On 1 September 2023, Rea departed Luton having had his contract terminated by mutual consent.[30]
On 24 October 2023, Rea joinedNational League South sideWorthing on non-contract terms.[31]He made his debut the same day in a 4-1 away defeat atHampton & Richmond
Rea, who was born in England, is eligible to play forRepublic of Ireland and was called up to theRepublic of Ireland U21 squad on 13 November 2014.[32] His debut came on 15 November in a 1–0 defeat to theUnited States, with Rea playing the match inmidfield.[33] Rea scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland U21 on his secondcap two days later, in a 2–2 draw withRussia.[34]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2014–15[35] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[19] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Southend United (loan) | 2015–16[19] | League One | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Luton Town (loan) | 2015–16[19] | League Two | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Luton Town | 2016–17[21] | League Two | 39 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 49 | 3 |
| 2017–18[36] | League Two | 46 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 50 | 1 | |
| 2018–19[37] | League One | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| 2019–20[38] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21[39] | Championship | 40 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 42 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22[40] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 184 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 207 | 8 | ||
| Woking (loan) | 2019–20[41] | National League | 7 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2021–22 | League One | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 205 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 233 | 8 | ||
Luton Town