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Biography
Joshua Jon Cullen (born 7 April 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for West Ham United, and the Republic of Ireland national team.
Early life
Cullen was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. His grandparents on his father's side were from County Leitrim, Ireland. He played junior football for Rayleigh Boys before joining West Ham United at the age of nine. He attended St Thomas More High School.
Club career
West Ham United
Cullen was first included in a West Ham matchday squad for their Premier League fixture against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 14 March 2015, remaining an unused substitute as they lost 3–0. He was also called up and unused on 9 May, as West Ham lost 1–0 at Aston Villa.
On 2 July 2015, he made his first-team debut for the club in a 3–0 home victory over Lusitanos of Andorra in the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round first leg, replacing Joey O'Brien after 60 minutes; he started in their 1–0 victory in the second leg a week later, making way for Amos Nasha after 63 minutes. With manager Slaven Bilić putting priority on the team's Premier League performance, he made an array of changes for their third qualifying round second leg away to FC Astra Giurgiu on 6 August, including starting Cullen in his first competitive match against a professional opponent. Twenty-three days later he made his Premier League debut, replacing Diafra Sakho at the end of a 3–0 win over Liverpool at Anfield. Cullen returned from loan at Bolton Wanderers in January 2018 making an appearance in the FA Cup away at Shrewsbury Town. He was praised for his performance by West Ham manager, David Moyes, in a poor performance by West Ham which ended 0–0. Cullen also had two front teeth kicked-out accidentally by Shrewsbury player Abu Ogogo.
Loans to Bradford City
He signed on loan for Bradford City in February 2016. In March 2016 his loan was extended until the end of the 2015–16 season.
On 8 August 2016, Cullen re-signed for Bradford City on a five-month loan deal. He scored his first league goal for the club in the 2–1 victory at MK Dons on 16 August 2016. His loan at the club was extended on 3 January 2017 until the end of the season.
Loan to Bolton Wanderers
On 1 August 2017, Cullen, along with West Ham teammate Reece Burke, joined Bolton Wanderers on loan until the following January.
Loan to Charlton Athletic
On 30 August 2018, Cullen joined Charlton Athletic on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. Cullen dislocated his shoulder on 6 November 2018 playing against Walsall, leaving the pitch in the 80th minute. He returned to the first team in January 2019 against Accrington Stanley. On 26 May 2019, Cullen played the full 90 minutes of the League 1 Play Off final as Charlton won 2–1 to return to the Championship. Having spent the season on-loan, Cullen returned to West Ham and played in several pre 2019–20 season friendlies. In August 2019, he returned to Charlton on-loan for the 2019–20 season.
International career
Having already played for England U16 in 2011, Cullen made his debut for Republic of Ireland U19 in September 2014, in a 1–0 victory against Netherlands U19. On 4 September 2015 Cullen made his debut for Republic of Ireland U21 in a 4–1 victory against Qatar U23 in a friendly at Gigg Lane. On 25 March 2017, Cullen captained the Republic of Ireland U21s to a win 1–0 win over Kosovo U21 in a UEFA Under-21 has Championship Qualifier. On 15 March 2019 he received his first international call-up to the Ireland first team. He made his full debut on 10 September 2019 playing the whole game in a 3–1 win against Bulgaria.
Career statistics
- As of match played 22 July 2020
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Ham United | 2015–16 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2017–18 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| West Ham United total | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Bradford City (loan) | 2015–16 | League One | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 1 | ||
| Bradford City total | 55 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 63 | 1 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2017–18 | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| Charlton Athletic (loan) | 2018–19 | League One | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| 2019–20 | Championship | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| Charlton Athletic total | 63 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 66 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 133 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 150 | 3 | ||
Honours
Charlton Athletic
- EFL League One play-offs: 2019
Individual
- EFL League One Player of the Month: April 2017
- Republic of Ireland U21 Player of the Year: 2018
