Introduction
Callum John Styles (born 27 March 2000) is a professional footballer who plays for EFL League One club Barnsley. Born in England, he plays for the Hungary national team, qualifying through his grandparents. He is a versatile midfielder.
Club career
Styles developed through the Burnley academy but failed to earn a professional contract and was released aged 16.
Bury
Styles joined League One club Bury and made his debut professional team in their final game of the season against Southend United on 8 May 2016. He came on as a 75th-minute substitute for Anthony Dudley as the team won 3–2. In making his debut, Styles became the first player born in the new millennium to make an appearance in the Football League. Bury were later deducted three points after it was found Styles was not properly registered when he made his debut.
Styles signed a professional contract with Bury on 21 February 2017, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Barnsley
On 6 August 2018, Styles signed for League One club Barnsley for £500,000, signing a four-year contract, though returned to Bury on loan until the January transfer window. He made 21 appearances in all competitions for Bury before returning to his parent club.
Styles made his debut for Barnsley on 9 March 2019 as a substitute against Accrington Stanley, replacing Mamadou Thiam. He scored his first goal for the Tykes, netting away at Brentford on the final day of the following season, helping the Yorkshire outfit retain their Championship status.
2023–24 season
On 5 August 2023, he played his first match in the 2023–24 EFL League One season in a 7–0 victory against Port Vale. In an interview, Neill Collins said that he is sure that EFL Championship clubs will be interested in signing Styles. In the second round, he was also not substituted against Bristol Rovers. On 23 December 2023, he gave an assist to John McAtee from the middle of his half against Stevenage
Millwall
On deadline day, 1 September 2022, Styles signed a new contract at Barnsley until 2025 before joining Millwall on a season-long loan. On 22 October 2022, he scored his first and only goal for Millwall against West Bromwich Albion at The Den in the 2022–23 EFL Championship. In February 2023, he suffered an injury in his quadriceps during training. However, he played in the subsequent match against Cardiff City In the following training, he felt something strange in his leg and the physio scanned and found out that his injury is more serious than it was previously thought. He had to miss three months. On 18 April 2023, he returned and played against Birmingham City in the 2022–23 EFL Championship season.
Sunderland
On 1 February 2024, Styles joined Sunderland on an initial loan deal until the end of the season. He became the second Hungarian to play for Sunderland, after Márton Fülöp. On 24 February 2024, he debuted in Sunderland in a 2–1 defeat against Swansea City. On 13 April 2024, he gave an assist to Pierre Ekwah in a 1–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the The Hawthorns.
International career
Although born in England, Styles was also eligible to play international football for Ukraine and Hungary through his grandparents. On 14 March 2022, he was included in the Hungary squad for matches against Serbia and Northern Ireland. On 24 March 2022, he made his debut for Hungary against Serbia at the Puskás Aréna. He came on as a substitute for Zsolt Nagy in the 70th minute.
On 14 June 2022, he also played at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League match when Hungary beat England 4–0.
On 14 May 2024, Styles was named in Hungary's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. On 8 June 2024, he got injured in a friendly match against Israel at the Nagyerdei Stadion.
According to Károly Pór, sport journalist of Nemzeti Sport, Styles is one of the most important and useful players in the midfield along with Ádám Nagy in the Hungarian national team. Therefore, he was in the starting line-up against Montenegro national football team and Lithuania national football team in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches.
Personal life
His first visit to Hungary was cancelled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said: "I was meant to go with my girlfriend just after lockdown started. We had a trip to Budapest booked and a few weeks before, we went into lockdown and had to cancel it." In an interview with the BBC, Styles stated that in 2020, he had found out that his grandmother was Hungarian. Poya Asbaghi, former manager of Barnsley, said in an interview that it is a big honour for Styles to represent Hungary. In an interview with Nemzeti Sport, he said that the reason why he did not speak Hungarian is that his grandmother used to talk about Hungary, but did not teach him any of the language.
In January 2024, he had his appendix removed for appendicitis in a private hospital.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 May 2024
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bury | 2015–16 | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | League Two | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Bury (loan) | 2018–19 | League Two | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Total | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| Barnsley | 2018–19 | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Championship | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | 42 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 5 | ||
| 2021–22 | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 46 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23 | League One | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 3 | ||
| Total | 135 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 151 | 13 | ||
| Millwall (loan) | 2022–23 | Championship | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | |
| Sunderland (loan) | 2023–24 | Championship | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 210 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 232 | 14 | ||
International
- As of match played 8 June 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 2022 | 11 | 0 |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 0 | |
Honours
Bury
- EFL League Two runner-up: 2018–19