Stefan Ramone Sewell O'Connor (born 23 January 1997) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender for Premier League club Newcastle United.

Stefan O'Connor
O'Connor playing for Arsenal U19s in 2012
Personal information
Full name Stefan Ramone Sewell O'Connor[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-23) 23 January 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Croydon, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)[3]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
0000–2010 Crystal Palace
2010–2014 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Arsenal 0 (0)
2015–2016York City (loan) 4 (0)
2016–2017MVV Maastricht (loan) 4 (0)
2017–2020 Newcastle United 0 (0)
International career
2014 England U17 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:30, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

O'Connor started his career with Premier League club Arsenal, signing a professional contract in October 2013. He had loan spells with League Two club York City and Eerste Divisie club MVV Maastricht. He signed for Newcastle United in July 2017.

Club career

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Arsenal

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O'Connor was born in Croydon, London.[3] He joined Arsenal's academy in 2010 having previously been at Crystal Palace,[4] and signed scholarship forms with the club in the summer of 2013.[5] After impressive performances for the Arsenal U21s and for the U19s in the UEFA Youth League, he signed his first professional contract for the club on 10 October 2014.[6] On 9 December 2014, O'Connor made his debut for Arsenal in a UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray, replacing Mathieu Debuchy with 13 minutes to play[7] as Arsenal won 4–1 away to finish second in their group.[8]

On 26 November 2015, O'Connor joined York City of League Two on loan until 6 January 2016.[9] He made his debut two days later after starting York's 5–1 home defeat to Accrington Stanley, in which he conceded a penalty that was scored by Josh Windass.[10] He started at centre back, but was moved to right back later in the match due to an injury to Jordan Lussey,[11] and continued to play for York in this position.[12] He finished his loan at York with four appearances.[13]

On 5 July 2016, O'Connor joined Eerste Divisie club MVV Maastricht on loan until end of the 2016–17 season.[14] Having made only four appearances, the loan was ended prematurely on 14 April 2017.[15] He was released by Arsenal at the end of 2016–17.[16]

Newcastle United

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O'Connor signed for Premier League club Newcastle United on 6 July 2017 on a free transfer, to play in their under-23 team.[17] Although he had been released by the club in June 2019,[18] he signed a short-term contract on 5 July in order to recuperate from an Anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained in January.[19]

International career

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O'Connor was capped for the England national under-17 team, playing two friendlies against Belgium in 2014.[20]

Style of play

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He plays predominantly at centre back, but can also play at right back.[12]

Career statistics

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As of match played 3 October 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Arsenal 2014–15[7] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
2015–16[13] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016–17[21] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
York City (loan) 2015–16[13] League Two 4 0 4 0
MVV Maastricht (loan) 2016–17[22] Eerste Divisie 4 0 0 0 4 0
Newcastle United 2017–18[23] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Newcastle United U21 2017–18[23] 1[b] 0 1 0
Career total 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
  1. ^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Appearance in EFL Trophy

References

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  1. ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Stefan O'Connor". ESPN FC. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Stefan O'Connor". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Arsenal: Introducing Stefan O'Connor". Arsenal F.C. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2018 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Stefan O'Connor (on loan at Maastricht, until May 2017)". Jeorge Bird's Arsenal Youth. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Transfer news: Arsenal starlet Stefan O'Connor agrees professional deal". Sky Sports. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Games played by Stefan O'Connor in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Galatasaray 1–4 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Arsenal's O'Connor joins City". York City F.C. 26 November 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017.
  10. ^ Flett, Dave (28 November 2015). "Jackie McNamara promises a "different" York City side after two-week break". The Press. York. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  11. ^ Flett, Dave (10 December 2015). "York City to be bolstered by return of experienced trio at Bristol Rovers". The Press. York. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  12. ^ a b Flett, Dave (19 December 2015). "Switch from centre is all right for York City loan youngster O'Connor". The Press. York. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  13. ^ a b c "Games played by Stefan O'Connor in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Stefan O'Connor op huurbasis van Arsenal naar MVV Maastricht" [Stefan O'Connor on loan from Arsenal to MVV Maastricht] (in Dutch). MVV Maastricht. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  15. ^ "Arsenal defender Stefan O'Connor has loan deal cut short". goal.com. Yahoo Sport. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Premier League clubs reveal released lists". Premier League. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  17. ^ Easterby, Tom (6 July 2017). "Magpies sign young duo". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  18. ^ Ryder, Lee (5 June 2019). "Newcastle United announce retained list: 10 players released but Mo Diame may yet sign new deal". Newcastle Chronicle. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  19. ^ Vinton, Luke (5 July 2019). "Eight young Magpies sign new deals". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  20. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2014). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2014–2015. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 977–978. ISBN 978-1-4722-1251-1.
  21. ^ "Games played by Stefan O'Connor in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  22. ^ "S. O'Connor". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  23. ^ a b "Games played by Stefan O'Connor in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
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