Jay O'Shea

Jay O'Shea

James "Jay" O'Shea (born 10 August 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Chesterfield. He is primarily a right winger, but can also operate as a striker.

O'Shea began his career with St Joseph's Boys AFC before moving on to play for Home Farm of the Leinster Senior League in 2005. He signed for Bray Wanderers after just two appearances for Home Farm, and spent a year-and-a-half with Bray. In 2008, O'Shea signed for Galway United, playing 60 games for the club in all competitions, and attracted a lot of interest from Football League and Premier League teams.

He subsequently joined Birmingham City in August 2009 for an undisclosed fee, and made his Premier League debut shortly after against Manchester United. However, he found first-team opportunities hard to come by during his first season at Birmingham, and was loaned out to Middlesbrough in March 2010. O'Shea was loaned out again in October 2010, this time to League Two side Stevenage where he spent two months, and then to Port Vale in January 2011. He was released when his contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season, and joined Milton Keynes Dons. He joined Chesterfield on loan in November 2012, and joined the club permanently two months later.