Charlie Austin

At 35 years old, Charlie Austin has this physical status:

Charles Austin (born 5 July 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Released from his contract by Reading as a youth, Austin played non-league football up to May 2009, when he was signed by Swindon Town after a prolific season for Poole Town.

After scoring 58 goals in 113 matches in the Football League Championship for Burnley and Queens Park Rangers, Austin made his debut in the Premier League during the 2014–15 season, scoring 18 goals for relegated QPR and receiving a call-up for the England national team.

He returned to the Premier League in January 2016 when he signed for Southampton, scoring the winning goal against Manchester United on his debut.

Personal life

Austin and his wife Bianca Austin (née Parker) have a daughter, born in August 2012 to a surrogate.

Austin was found guilty of assault in 2013 after he punched a man who had accused him of taking drugs in a Swindon nightclub toilet cubicle. He was fined £1,800 and ordered to pay £1,320 in costs.

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Club career

Austin was born in Hungerford, Berkshire, but when he was 15, he was banned for being too small. He then played for Kintbury Rangers and his hometown team Hungerford Town. Austin left Hungerford in 2008 and was on the books of Thatcham Town for a short time, but he was then banned from playing any football, but was eventually released without making any appearances for the club.

He and his family migrated to Bournemouth, England, before moving to Poole Town, which was also serving as a bricklayer. Austin scored 46 goals in 46 appearances for Poole in all leagues during the 2008-2009 season.

Austin was on trial with Bournemouth's League Two club Bournemouth in the pre-season of the 2009-10 season. Despite Bournemouth's manager, Eddie Howe, being keen to have the striker on a permanent basis, Bournemouth's manager, Eddie Howe, was unable to make a change for the attacker due to a transfer embargo imposed on the club by the Football League. Austin continued to play for Poole Town, scoring 18 goals in 11 games from the start of the season.

After Swindon Town's then chief scout Ken Ryder "stumbled across Charlie playing for Poole Town and scored four goals, the next week he scored three or four goals." Austin was invited to Swindon Town for a week after being on tape for three games by the Swindon Town scouting team. Austin played well in his first reserve game against Swansea and scored a hat trick. Danny Wilson immediately signed him for an undisclosed fee and was given a deal until the end of the season. In the 2009-10 Football League Trophy, Ben Hutchinson was a replacement on Swindon Town's debut in a 1–1 draw with Exeter, marking his debut for the club in the 88th minute. Austin made his Football League debut in the 70th minute of his league match against Norwich City on October 24, 2009, and he scored his first professional goal in only the third minute of his complete debut away at Carlisle United on October 24, 2009. On his full home debut against Huddersfield Town three days later, he scored a game-winner in the 59th minute for a 2–1 victory.

Austin was given a two-and-a-half-year contract with the club in February 2010, after establishing a fruitful strike partnership with Billy Paynter and scoring ten goals in 11 games. Swindon defeated Charlton Athletic 2-1 in the first leg of the League One play-off semi-finals on May 14th. Austin scored the first goal on May 14, 2010. Swindon progressed to the final at Wembley in the second leg, in which Austin scored. Swindon lost the final 1–0 to Millwall; Austin came up on goal with a chance to equalize in the 72nd minute but shot wide after the ball bounced on the Wembley turf when he struck the ball. Austin had scored 20 goals in 32 starts in his first season as a professional.

Austin scored another 17 goals in 27 games during the 2010-2011 season despite having a dislocated shoulder in September. During the January transfer window, several Championship clubs were compelled to make bids for him, but none of whom were turned down by Swindon. Austin, who was dissatisfied with Swindon's reluctance to sell, later announced that he was eager to play at a higher level and turned in a transfer request. Swindon accepted a bid from Ipswich Town just over a week later, but they were unable to reach personal terms with Austin and Burnley, who then stepped in with an undisclosed fee that was also accepted.

Austin joined Burnley on a three-and-a-half-year deal on January 28, 2011. He made his Burnley debut on February 1st in a 1–0 loss away to Doncaster Rovers. Austin scored 16 goals in the Championship during his first full season with Burnley and finished the season as the club's top goalcorer in the league.

Austin scored two goals in a 3–4 victory over Bristol City on October 23, 2012, tying Ray Pointer's club record of scoring in eight consecutive appearances, which was previously unbeaten during the 1958–59 season.

Austin scored in a 1–0 victory over Leeds United on November 6, 2012, his first appearance of the season, on November 6, 2012. Bert Freeman, a goal scorer in his first 19 matches for the club during the 1911–12 season, set the record. Since Andy Lochhead, who scored 20 goals in 25 games on November 26, 1966, he became only the second Burnley player to score 20 goals before the end of November. By the end of the year, Austin managed to get his target up to 23 goals.

Burnley and Premier League club Hull City decided a fee for Austin on July 8th. However, Austin failed his medical and Hull's divorce on September 9, 2013.

Austin joined Queens Park Rangers on a three-year contract on August 1, 2013 for an undisclosed fee. In a League Cup match against Exeter City on August 6, 2013, he scored his first goal for QPR. In a 1–0 victory over Birmingham City at Loftus Road on September 14, Austin scored his first league goal for QPR. He scored a penalty in a 2–0 win over Middlesbrough at home on September 28, 2013. In a 2–0 victory over Barnsley on October 5th, he scored two goals, including a penalty, which raised his goal totality in the home and away seasons to 6. In a 3–2 victory over Barnsley, he scored his 100th professional goal and his 18th of the season. QPR beat Wigan Athletic 2–1 on May 12, 2014, his 20th goal of the 2013–14 season.

Austin defeated Burnley 2-0 in a 2–0 win on December 6, 2014, but was later suspended for a second booking. In a 3–2 victory over West Bromwich Albion, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick, bringing his total number for the season up to 11. He received the Premier League Player of the Month award for five games in December 2014, becoming only the second QPR player to do so. Austin became the first Rangers player to win in more than ten years by scoring a hat-trick for QPR, his first Rangers player in more than ten years, after Jamie Cureton last year. Austin scored QPR's goal in a 5–1 final day loss to Leicester City on May 24th, finishing the season as the fourth top goal scorer in the Premier League with 18 goals.

Austin made the Premier League on January 16, 2016, joining Southampton on a four-and-a-half contract for a reported £4 million. He made his Manchester United debut a week later against Sadio Mané in the second half and was a late winner, scoring a free kick from James Ward-Prowse.

In a 3–0 Europa League victory over Sparta Prague on September 15, he scored his first two goals of the 2016-17 season, and then went on to score four goals against Swansea City in the Premier League and Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup. Claude Puel inserted Austin in Southampton's next Premier League fixture, beating Shane Long, and Austin scored the first goal as well as an assist in the 3–0 win.

Austin scored the first goal in the 24th minute of a 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town on December 23. Jonas Lössl, a footballer, was stabbed in the chest by a keeper shortly after. Austin came off late in the game with a hamstring injury, resulting in him being hospitalized for several weeks. The Football Association suspended Austin for three matches for violent conduct on the following day.

Austin joined West Bromwich Albion in a two-year deal for a £4 million fee on August 8, 2019. On August 13, 2019, he scored on his debut for West Brom in an EFL Cup match against Millwall. Austin scored his first league goal for West Brom against Cardiff City on October 5th, a 4–2 victory. Austin was the club's top scorer in all leagues in the 2019-20 season, assisting with West Brom's return to the Premier League.

Charlie Austin will leave the club following the completion of his deal, bringing an end to his two-year association with the club.

Austin returned to Championship side Queens Park Rangers on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season on January 9th, 2021. In a 2–0 win over Luton Town on January 12, he made his debut on January 12th and scored on his debut.

Austin returned to Queens Park Rangers permanently on June 20, 2021, as part of a two-year contract. With a last-minute equalizer at home to Barnsley on August 21, he scored his first goal since re-joining the club permanently.

After not making enough appearances to warrant a contract extension, Austin left Queens Park Rangers at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Austin agreed to a multi-year deal with A-League Men's Brisbane Roar on June 27, 2022. In the penalty shootout, he scored on his debut in the Australia Cup against Heidelberg United.

International career

Austin was called up for the first time to the England national football team in May 2015 for a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Slovenia. Jamie Vardy of Leicester City was called up by several other forwards in the European Under-21 Championship, but Austin did not appear in either match or in the European Under-21 Championship.

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