| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Corey James John O'Keeffe[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-06-05)5 June 1998 (age 26)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Full back,midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Barnsley | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 200?–2008 | Cadbury Athletic | ||
| 2008–2016 | Birmingham City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2020 | Birmingham City | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | →Solihull Moors (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | →Macclesfield Town (loan) | 31 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Mansfield Town | 13 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | →Rochdale (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2022 | Rochdale | 22 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Forest Green Rovers | 41 | (0) |
| 2023– | Barnsley | 78 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| Republic of Ireland U16 | |||
| 2014–2015 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 8 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Republic of Ireland U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 7 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:45, 16 April 2025 (UTC) | |||
Corey James John O'Keeffe (born 5 June 1998) is a professionalfootballer who plays as afull back ormidfielder forEFL League One clubBarnsley.
O'Keeffe began his career withBirmingham City, made his senior debut in 2016, and spent timeon loan atSolihull Moors of theNational League in 2018 and atLeague Two clubMacclesfield Town in 2019–20. He was released by Birmingham in 2020 and signed forMansfield Town. After a season in which he played little, he joined another League Two club,Rochdale, initiallyon loan and then on a short-term contract, where he was a first-team regular. He signed for Forest Green Rovers, newly promoted toLeague One, in June 2022, but after they were relegated, returned to League One with Barnsley in July 2023.
O'Keeffe was born in England and represented the Republic of Ireland at levels fromunder-16 tounder-19.
O'Keeffe was born inBirmingham,[2] where he attendedStirchley Primary School[4] andBaverstock School in theDruids Heath area. He was noticed by representatives ofBirmingham City when playing forCadbury Athletic, and joinedtheir Academy in 2008.[2] He took up a scholarship with the club in July 2014.[5] Interviewed later that year, he assessed his strengths as attacking and heading, and felt he needed to improve his weaker foot.[2] O'Keeffe signed his first professional contract, of two years, in May 2016,[6] and was an unusedsubstitute for the Birmingham reserve team that lost the 2016Birmingham Senior Cup final toNational League North championsSolihull Moors.[7]
After impressing both for Birmingham's under-23 side and when training with the first team, O'Keeffe was givensquad number 30 in December 2016.[8] He made his senior debut in theChampionship visit toNewcastle United on 10 December, as a 74th-minute substitute in a 4–0 defeat.[9] That was his only first-team appearance in 2016–17.[10]
O'Keeffe signed a new three-year contract in August 2017.[11] Having made no first-team appearances in 2017–18, he joinedNational League clubSolihull Moors onloan until 17 February 2018.[12] He went straight into the starting eleven for the following day's match, playing the whole of a 2–2 draw at home toSutton United, but was not a regular selection, and was recalled in December having made only eight starts in National League matches.[13][14]
An unused substitute in Birmingham'sEFL Cup defeat on 6 August 2019, O'Keeffe joinedLeague Two clubMacclesfield Town three days later on loan for the rest of the season.[15] He was a first-team regular throughout his stay, and had made 36 appearances in all competitions by the time theLeague Two season was first suspended and then ended early because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[16][17] He was released by Birmingham when his contract expired at the end of June 2020.[18]
O'Keeffe signed a two-year contract withLeague Two clubMansfield Town on 13 August 2020.[19] He was in the starting eleven for their opening fixture, an EFL Cup tie away toPreston North End on 29 August, and played the whole of the 4–0 defeat.[20] Playing atwing-back, he was votedman of the match in the first league match, a goalless draw withTranmere Rovers in which he "was a constant threat down the right-hand side of the pitch with his tricky footwork and dangerous deliveries".[21] He started the first seven league matches of the season,[22] before having to self-isolate because of contact with a team-mate who tested positive forCOVID-19.[23] By the time he returned,Graham Coughlan, the manager who signed him, had left;[24] his successor,Nigel Clough, switched to a flat back four, the results improved,[25] and O'Keeffe remained a regular in the matchday squad but did not start another league game.[13] His last appearance of the season in any competition was in theFA Cup third round defeat toCheltenham Town, in which he played the whole 120 minutes.[22][26]
O'Keeffe was transfer-listed at the end of the season,[27] and on 3 August 2021, he joined divisional rivalsRochdale on loan until January 2022.[28] He made his debut in the starting eleven for the opening-day visit toHarrogate Town, which Rochdale lost 3–2 to a stoppage-time goal,[29] and continued as a regular. O'Keeffe scored his first senior goal on 31 August in thegroup stage of the 2021–22 EFL Trophy after he was fouled in the penalty area and converted the kick himself; 22 minutes later, he scored his second, this time from open play, as Rochdale went on to beatLiverpool U21 4–0.[30] Four days later, he scored a 78th-minute winner in a 3–2 league victory away toPort Vale.[31] O'Keeffe started every match of his loan spell, apart from the fixture against his parent club for which he was ineligible, before returning to Mansfield.[13][32]
Clough's opinion was that "if we're not going to play the three centre halves then Corey may well move on",[33] and on 28 January 2022, O'Keeffe did so, returning to Rochdale on a short-term contract until the end of the season.[34] He played in every remaining match, although not always a starter, making 51 appearances over the season in all competitions, scoring five goals and finishing well up the League Twoassists table,[13][35] and Rochdale confirmed that they would be offering him a new contract.[36]
On 7 June 2022, O'Keeffe became the first summer signing forForest Green Rovers, newly promoted toLeague One as2021–22 League Two champions.[37][38] He was a regular in the side, playing 50 matches in all competitions as the team were relegated at the end of the season.[39][40]
O'Keeffe signed a four-year contract with League One clubBarnsley in July 2023.[40] Despite not being fully fit, he started the opening fixture, at home toPort Vale, because Barnsley were short of players. His interception, run and cross set up the opening goal forDevante Cole in what finished as a 7–0 win, but he went off injured after 33 minutes.[41]
O'Keeffe played six matches for the Republic of Ireland U17 inqualification for the 2015 UEFA Under-17 Championship, scoring once, and started two matches in thetournament proper as his country were eliminated at the group stage.[42]
O'Keeffe played twoIreland under-18 friendlies, against theCzech Republic in November 2015 andEngland in March 2016,[43] and played alongside Birmingham teammate Ronan Hale in a 2–2 draw withGermany U18 in May.[44] He appeared in both ofIreland under-19s' friendlies againstAustria U19 in September, captaining the side in the second match,[45] and played in two of their three2017 UEFA Under-19 qualifying-round matches in October. The following March, he played in all three of theirelite-round matches; Ireland finished second in their group so failed to qualify.[46]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Birmingham City | 2016–17[10] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[47] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[48] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20[17] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Solihull Moors (loan) | 2018–19[13] | National League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Macclesfield Town (loan) | 2019–20[17] | League Two | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Mansfield Town | 2020–21[22] | League Two | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 2021–22[31] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Rochdale | 2021–22[31] | League Two | 43 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3[b] | 2 | 51 | 5 |
| Forest Green Rovers | 2022–23[39] | League One | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | 50 | 1 |
| Barnsley | 2023–24[49] | League One | 39 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 45 | 3 |
| 2024–25[50] | League One | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| Total | 78 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 89 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 220 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 261 | 9 | ||