Charles Dunne (born 13 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for St Mirren. He has previously played for Wycombe Wanderers, Staines Town, Blackpool, Crawley Town, Oldham Athletic and Motherwell.
Club career
Wycombe Wanderers
Dunne started his youth career at Orpington youth in the Kent League where he played under ex-pro Dave Smith. He made 63 appearances scoring 16 goals between 2007 and 2010. He then came through the ranks at Wycombe Wanderers after joining them in 2010 on youth contract terms, and in September 2011, he signed a two-year professional contract.
The following month he was loaned to Staines Town until the end of the season, on a youth contract. Dunne made his Staines Town debut on 22 October 2011, playing the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Woking He scored his first goal for the club, in a 4–1 loss against Sutton United on 5 November 2011. He returned to Wycombe Wanderers in November, along with teammate Jesse Kewley-Graham, to boost the club's squad options. Dunne made his professional debut for Wycombe Wanderers on 21 April 2012, in a 2–1 away loss against Charlton Athletic, coming on as a substitute for Grant Basey in the 85th minute. He made his second appearance the following weekend as Wycombe lost 4–3 at home against Notts County, coming on for Joel Grant in the 84th minute. This defeat relegated Wycombe into League Two, after a single season in League One. He played the majority of the final game of the season in front of a sell out at Hillsborough, replacing injured Grant Basey as Wycombe succumbed to a 2–0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
Following the club's academy demise, Dunne was promoted to the first team squad at the start of the 2012–13 season. He made his first professional start, in the first round of the League Cup, in a 1–0 defeat to Watford on 11 August 2012. Following this, Dunne had a handful of first team appearances for the side, playing in the left-back position for most of the season and became a first team regular. Throughout the January transfer window, Dunne was linked with a move away from the club, however the club denied there was any deal for him, stating that they had received no bids for the player. In a 0–0 draw against Northampton Town on 16 April 2013, Dunne was named Man of the Match for his display and was praised by manager Gareth Ainsworth. Despite being sidelined with injuries, suspension and being dropped to the substitutes bench, Dunne finished the 2012–13 season, making forty two appearances and was awarded the Most Improved Young Player of the Season.
In the 2013–14 season, Dunne continued to remain in the first team before being sent-off in the second half, in a 2–2 draw against Oxford United on 24 August 2013. After the club decided against appealing his sending-off, it wasn't until 5 October 2013 when Dunne returned to the first team against Burton Albion, only to be sent-off for a second bookable offence, in a 2–1 loss. After the match, Dunne apologised for his sending off. He then suffered a broken leg that kept him out for the rest of the season.
Blackpool
On 24 August 2013, Dunne signed for Blackpool for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. Under the terms of the contract he was returned on-loan to Wycombe for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.
In the 2014–15 season, Dunne was expected to be included in Blackpool's first team, as he was among eight players contracted at the club and was given the number eighteen shirt ahead of the new season. However, at the start of the season, Dunne was dropped from the first team to the substitutes bench in favor of Joan Oriol before being recalled by manager Lee Clark in early-November. Dunne made his Blackpool debut on 1 November 2014, against Ipswich Town, making his first start before being substituted in the 65th minute, in a 2–0 loss. From that moment on, Dunne established himself in the left-back position for the most of the season. However, he was sent-off in the 44th minute, in a 4–0 loss against Brentford on 24 February 2015. After serving a three match suspension, Dunne regained his first team place for the rest of the season and went on to make 23 appearances in all competitions.