Luke Charman
Luke Bowler Charman (born 9 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AFC Fylde. He began his career with Newcastle United, but never played for their first team, and made his professional debut in the EFL Trophy while on loan at Accrington Stanley. Released by Newcastle in 2020, he joined National League North club Darlington, for whom 19 goals from 33 appearances earned him a move to the Football League with Rochdale. Life and career Newcastle United Charman was born in 1997 in Durham. He lived in nearby Sherburn Village and attended Belmont Community School. He joined Newcastle United's Academy at 15, made his debut for their under-18s in a 1–0 loss away to Arsenal U18 in April 2014, and took up a two-year scholarship in July after he left school. He was told in February 2016 that he would not be kept on at the end of the season, but the club had a change of heart and offered several scholars an extra year; coach Dave Watson picked him out as the player who had shown most improvement over the past year. He continued to progress, and signed his first professional contract in 2017. During the 2017–18 season, he played twice for Newcastle U21 in the EFL Trophy, top scored for their under-23 team, and at the end of a season when 18 reserve players were released in a "major shake-up" when "all those who United do not consider to have a future at the club have been allowed to go", his contract was extended. In August 2018, Charman joined League One club Accrington Stanley on loan for the season. Partly through injury, and partly because the rules limited the number of loanees in a matchday squad to fiveStanley had seven players on loanhe did not make his senior debut until 6 November, in the EFL Trophy in a 2–1 win against West Bromwich Albion U21s. Four days later, he started against Colchester United in the first round of the FA Cup, in which fellow Newcastle loanee Dan Barlaser scored the only goal. Shortly after coming on for his first league appearance, as a second-half substitute on 8 December at home to Sunderland in atrocious weather conditions, Charman was involved in the equaliser, which was Connor Hall's first league goal. Five minutes later, the referee abandoned the match, so neither Hall's goal nor Charman's appearance count towards their records. He was recalled by Newcastle in January 2019. Charman captained Newcastle U23s at the start of the 2019–20 season, and scored a spectacular goal against Macclesfield Town in the EFL Trophy, but although he was hopeful of impressing manager Steve Bruce, he got no closer to the first team, and was released at the end of the season. Darlington On 14 July 2020, Charman joined National League North side Darlington on a free transfer. He made his debut in the first match of the season, and scored both his side's goals in a