Callum Saunders

For the New Zealand track cyclist, see Callum Saunders (cyclist).

Callum Luke Saunders (born 26 September 1995) is a footballer who plays as a forward for semi-professional Northern Premier League Division One West side Nantwich Town. Born in Turkey, he represented Wales internationally at youth levels U19 and 21.

Callum Saunders

Personal information
Full name	Callum Luke Saunders[1]
Date of birth	(1995-09-26) 26 September 1995 (age 29)[2]
Place of birth	Istanbul, Turkey
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Nantwich Town
Youth career
0000–2014	Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2017	Crewe Alexandra	27	(2)
2017–2018	Notts County	3	(0)
2018–2019	Nantwich Town	36	(10)
2019	Curzon Ashton	16	(2)
2019–2021	Nantwich Town	27	(3)
2021–2022	Witton Albion	36	(17)
2022	Ashton United	21	(6)
2022–2023	Stafford Rangers	14	(4)
2023-	Nantwich Town	21	(4)
International career‡
2014	Wales U19	3	(1)
2015	Wales U21	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:48, 20 December 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11:35, 13 February 2024(UTC)

Club career

Saunders began his career in the Crewe Alexandra Academy and signed a professional contract with the club in June 2014.^[3] He made his Football League debut on 9 August 2014 in a 2–1 defeat away at Fleetwood Town,^[4] and scored his first Crewe goal at Doncaster on 12 December 2015.^[5] On 9 May 2017, Crewe announced that Saunders had been released by the club.^[6]

He then signed for Notts County at the beginning of the 2017–18 season but was released at the end of the season.^[7]

Saunders signed for Northern Premier League side Nantwich Town on the eve of the 2018–19 season,^[8] scoring 10 goals in 36 games, before joining Curzon Ashton in the summer of 2019.^[9] He then returned to Nantwich Town in November 2019.^[10]

He signed for Northern Premier League Premier League side Witton Albion on a free transfer in September 2021.^[11]

Saunders signed for Ashton United in June 2022.^[12] On 19 December 2022, Saunders left Ashton United by mutual consent and joined Stafford Rangers.^[13] He returned to Nantwich Town ahead of the 2023–2024 season.^[14]

International career

Saunders has represented Wales at under-17 and under-19 level,^[15][16] and made his under-21 debut on 17 November 2015, coming on as an 87th-minute substitute against Romania.^[17]

Personal life

Saunders was born in Istanbul when his father, former professional footballer Dean Saunders, was playing for the Turkish club Galatasaray.^[18]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 December 2022^[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other[a]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Crewe Alexandra	2014–15	League One	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
	2015–16		18	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	19	2
	2016–17		5	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	10	0
	Total		27	2	3	0	2	0	3	0	35	2
Notts County	2017–18	League Two	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	6	0
Nantwich Town	2018–19	Northern Premier League	36	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	36	10
Curzon Ashton	2019–20	National League North	16	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	2
Nantwich Town	2019–20[20]	Northern Premier League	11	2	0	0	0	0	3	5	14	7
	2020–21[21]		5	0	2	2	0	0	4	3	11	5
	2021–22[22]		5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	Total		21	2	2	2	0	0	7	8	30	12
Curzon Ashton	2021–22[23]	Northern Premier League	36	17	1	0	0	0	2	1	39	18
Ashton United	2022–23[24]	Northern Premier League	21	6	2	0	—		1	0	24	6
Career total			160	39	8	2	2	0	16	9	186	50

1. Includes Football League Trophy.