| Ben Sheaf | |
| Fullname: | Benjamin David Sheaf[1] |
| Birth Date: | 5 February 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Dartford, Kent, England[2] |
| Height: | 1.85m (06.07feet) |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Coventry City |
| Clubnumber: | 14 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2014 |
| Youthclubs1: | West Ham United |
| Youthyears2: | 2014–2017 |
| Youthclubs2: | Arsenal |
| Years1: | 2017–2021 |
| Clubs1: | Arsenal |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2018 |
| Clubs2: | → Stevenage (loan) |
| Caps2: | 10 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs3: | → Doncaster Rovers (loan) |
| Caps3: | 32 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs4: | → Coventry City (loan) |
| Caps4: | 30 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2021– |
| Clubs5: | Coventry City |
| Caps5: | 112 |
| Goals5: | 7 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2013–2014 |
| Nationalteam1: | England U16 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2015 |
| Nationalteam2: | England U18 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 22:51, 6 October 2024 (UTC) |
Benjamin David Sheaf (born 5 February 1998) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Coventry City. He has represented England at youth level.
Sheaf started his youth career with the reserves of West Ham United at the age of 13,[3] before joining the Arsenal youth setup on 2 July 2014.[4] He earned the praise of senior team manager Arsène Wenger who said that Sheaf was "always ahead of the game".[5] He scored his first goal for the Arsenal U19 in a 3–2 victory over Greek club Olympiacos on 29 September 2015, where he found the net in the 41st minute from the penalty spot.[6]
In October 2015, Sheaf was invited to train with the first team,[7] and days later he was an unused substitute in the club's 3–0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.[8] He stated that, although the result was not satisfactory, the experience of being involved in the first-team was good for him as he got to "see how things are done".[9] He made his first-team debut for Arsenal on 19 October 2017, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Francis Coquelin in a 1–0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Europa League.[10]
Sheaf joined League Two side Stevenage on loan on 26 January 2018, joining the Hertfordshire club on a deal until the end of the 2017–18 season.[11] He made his debut in a 2–0 loss against Notts County in League Two on 24 February.[12] He made 10 appearances for the side by the end of the loan spell.[13]
Sheaf joined League One side Doncaster Rovers on loan on 12 July 2019, joining the League One side for six months.[14] [15] He made his debut and was named in the starting line-up in a 1–1 draw against Gillingham on 3 August.[16] [17] His loan deal was extended until the end of the 2019–20 season on 7 January 2020.[18] On 15 February 2020, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat against Gillingham in the reverse fixture.[19] At the end, Sheaf played 38 games in all competitions for the side.[20]
On 4 September 2020, Sheaf joined newly-promoted Championship side Coventry City on a season-long loan deal with the option to make the deal permanent after.[21] He made his first appearance for the club in a 2–1 defeat against Bristol City on 12 September.[22] [23]
Sheaf signed for Coventry City on a three-year deal in July 2021.[24]
Sheaf debuted for England under-16 team in the Victory Shield. As of July 2014, he has played twice for the under-16 national team.[3] He was part of the England U18's which played a couple of friendlies against the Netherlands in September 2015. They won 2–0 in the first game which Sheaf scored a penalty[25] and drew the second game 0–0.
Sheaf comes from a sporting family. His mother was a top-level volleyball and beach volleyball player, and his older brother Jake was also a professional beach volleyball player. Sheaf's father was a footballer at county level, whilst his younger brother Max is a former Arsenal player and current player for Ross County.[9]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Arsenal | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Stevenage (loan) | 2017–18 | League Two | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Doncaster Rovers (loan) | 2019–20 | League One | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 1 | |
| Coventry City (loan) | 2020–21 | Championship | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| Coventry City | 2021–22 | Championship | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 3 | |||
| 2023–24 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 4 | |||
| 2024–25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |||
| Total | 112 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 123 | 9 | |||
| Career total | 184 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 206 | 10 | |||