CHARLIE WIGGETT is just 21 years old but already has abundant experience in the football industry.

The defender joined Sligo Rovers from Newcastle earlier this month.

It was technically the fourth move Wiggett had made in his career.

Born in Reading, he “won literally every competition” with local side, Woolton Hill, before signing with Swindon Town at the age of 10.

“My mom was a PE teacher, so growing up, I was always eating well and going to the gym and things like that,” he tells The 42.

At the age of 14, Wiggett joined Chelsea after a successful trial. Having taken a risk in leaving Swindon, he describes joining the London club as “a massive turning point in my career”.

However, he does not believe it is integral for footballers to join academies for big clubs at an early age.

“I’ve seen a lot of players around 15-16 coming into an academy [who do well],” he says.

“I’m sure it does help because you’re getting high-quality coaching from a young age and things taught to you in the right manner, but I definitely wouldn’t say it’s essential.”

Swindon was within half an hour of his house and Chelsea was only an hour away, though Wiggett promptly moved out of home and was staying in digs by his mid-teens.

“It introduces you to that full-time programme, which I think helps a lot,” he explains. “I left my secondary school and my day would be two lessons, go to training, two more lessons, either another training session or a gym session, until about five o’clock. 

“Maybe at the start, you could say it’s a bit intimidating, but you can’t be scared of the fact because if you’re worried about things too much, it’s going to pass you by, so I just took it in my [stride] and loved just to prove people wrong and things like that.”

It helped that Wiggett was part of an exceptional side in his early days with the Blues who won “everything there was to win”.

Notable teammates included Jamal Musiala and Tino Livramento, who have since gone on to star for Bayern Munich and Newcastle respectively. Meanwhile, Levi Colwill was an anomaly, as he stuck around and made a first-team breakthrough with Chelsea.

Still, the fact that a player as talented as Musiala felt the need to move in search of regular football emphasises how tough it can be to progress at that level.

“He left before he even signed a pro contract or anything like that,” adds Wiggett. “He took a big risk to go to Bayern and it paid off.”

Wiggett counts Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala among his former teammates. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Like Musiala and Livramento, Wiggett eventually felt it necessary to seek new pastures.

In 2021 he joined Newcastle and impressed during his time there, prompting comparisons to Fabian Schar. 

The youngster was not short of offers but felt the Magpies could provide “a good pathway” to first-team football.

However, just four months after Wiggett joined, the Saudi Arabia takeover came to fruition. Suddenly, the club were benefitting from a significant cash injection, though with increased competition, the outlook for younger players was far less promising.

“It was hard to be fair, the only [young player] who has done it since the takeover has been Lewis Miley, and he’s a joke. He’s 17 and playing Champions League, bossing the midfield and things like that.

“That [takeover] put a slight spanner in the works, but it’s not the end of your career, is it?”

Wiggett still believes Newcastle was a good move for him, even though it “didn’t go 100% according to plan,” but he also feels it was the right time to leave.

“A loan could have been an option,” he adds. “But due to Brexit and things like that, I won’t go into too many details, you can’t have too many European loans within a club.”

The youngster describes himself as a “ball-playing centre-back,” but he was frequently called “no-nonsense” at Chelsea — an indication that he is similarly comfortable with the more rugged side of defending.

Wiggett says he consulted Newcastle’s Irish youngsters — Alex Murphy, Cathal Heffernan and Reece Byrne — before making the switch to the League of Ireland, with the trio all backing the move.

He also received encouraging words from Bit O’Red boss, John Russell.

“He portrayed a pathway for me to get good game time, get good minutes and help build on my career while, at the same time, hoping to do well in the league with Sligo.

“So it was sort of a win-win. I just couldn’t pass up on the offer.”

On the many challenges of making his way in the game over the last few years, Wiggett adds: “The thing for me was always to not be focused on what other people are doing in the football world. So there might be people your age who are going out on loan and playing first-team football already, and you might not be, or things like that.

“Or, if you’re a young lad, they might be doing this better than you. But the main thing to do is just focus on yourself — work hard, day in, day out. And make sure that when you look back on your career, you don’t regret anything, because you gave it your all.”