| James Shea | |
| Upright: | 0.7 |
| Full Name: | James William Shea[1] |
| Birth Date: | 16 June 1991 |
| Birth Place: | Islington, England |
| Height: | 1.85m (06.07feet)[2] |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Currentclub: | Luton Town |
| Clubnumber: | 1 |
| Youthyears1: | 2007β2010 |
| Youthclubs1: | Arsenal |
| Years1: | 2010β2013 |
| Clubs1: | Arsenal |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2011 |
| Clubs2: | β Southampton (loan) |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2011 |
| Clubs3: | β Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) |
| Caps3: | 1 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2013 |
| Clubs4: | Needham Market |
| Caps4: | 1 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2013β2014 |
| Clubs5: | Harrow Borough |
| Caps5: | 32 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2014β2017 |
| Clubs6: | AFC Wimbledon |
| Caps6: | 95 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2017β |
| Clubs7: | Luton Town |
| Caps7: | 93 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 10:12, 23 January 2026 (UTC) |
James William Shea (born 16 June 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Luton Town.
Born in Islington, Greater London, Shea joined Arsenal's youth team in August 2007. In 2009, he won both the Premier Academy League and FA Youth Cup.[3] [4]
Shea joined League One club Southampton on a month-long loan in February 2011 to act as cover for the injured Bartosz BiaΕkowski. However, he was recalled after eight days by Arsenal without making an appearance.[5]
Shea was sent out on loan to League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge for the 2011β12 season.[6] He made his debut as a substitute for Chris Lewington in the match against Macclesfield Town at Moss Rose.[7] Despite getting a yellow card for wasting time, he helped his team to win their first league match of the season by scoreline of 1β0.[8]
He was recalled from his loan by Arsenal on 5 December 2011.[9] On 18 September 2012, he was on the bench because of injuries to Wojciech SzczΔsny and Εukasz FabiaΕski for a UEFA Champions League match against Montpellier HSC.[10] On 30 June 2013, he was released along with nine other young players at Arsenal.[11]
After a short spell with Needham Market of Division One North,[12] in October 2013 Shea signed for Isthmian League Premier Division club Harrow Borough, where he played 36 matches, with 32 of these in the league.
Shea joined League Two club AFC Wimbledon on a free transfer on 4 July 2014.[13]
Shea was Wimbledon's regular goalkeeper during the 2014β15 season and at the start of the 2015β16 season, but was replaced by loan signings when he was injured, and was not able to regain his place. He was on the substitutes' bench for all of the matches of the League Two play-offs of 2016 where Wimbledon reached the final and eventually won 2β0 against Plymouth Argyle at Wembley Stadium thus securing the club's promotion to League One.[14]
On 3 July 2017, Shea joined Luton Town on a one-year contract.[15] He played for the club throughout their journey up the leagues, culminating with a Premier League debut on 19 May 2024. On 24 May 2024, the club said it had exercised an option to extend his contract.[16]
In August 2010, Shea trained with the England squad at Arsenal's London Colney training ground because of an injury to David Stockdale.[17]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Arsenal | 2010β11 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011β12 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | β | β | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2012β13 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Southampton (loan) | 2010β11 | League One | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 2011β12 | League Two | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Needham Market | 2013β14 | Isthmian League Division One North | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Harrow Borough | 2013β14[18] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 32 | 0 | β | β | 4 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |||
| AFC Wimbledon | 2014β15 | League Two | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 2015β16 | League Two | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2016β17 | League One | 36 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| Total | 95 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 112 | 0 | |||
| Luton Town | 2017β18 | League Two | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2018β19 | League One | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| 2019β20 | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | β | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2020β21 | Championship | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | β | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2021β22 | Championship | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2022β23 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2023β24 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2024β25[19] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2025β26[20] | League One | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 93 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 119 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 222 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 272 | 0 | |||
Arsenal
AFC Wimbledon
2016[14]
Luton Town
Individual
2018β19[24]
