# Romelle Donovan

Romelle Troy Donovan (born 30 November 2006) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Brentford, on loan from EFL League One club Birmingham City. He made his Football League debut for Birmingham City as a 16-year-old, and spent time loan at Burton Albion before joining Brentford with the expectation of playing for their B team. Internationally, he has represented England at under-18 and under-19 level.

## Club career
### Birmingham City

Donovan was born in Birmingham, and joined Birmingham City's youth system at the pre-academy stage. In early 2023, first-team head coach John Eustace included Donovan in the matchday squads for all three of Birmingham's FA Cup ties, but did not use him. Had he taken the field, he would have become the club's second youngest debutant, behind Jude Bellingham but ahead of Jude's brother Jobe.
Donovan took up a two-year scholarship with Birmingham City ahead of the 2023–24 season. Under-18s coach Martyn Olorenshaw described him as "a creative midfield player with a strong left foot [who] loves scoring from distance with a strong playing personality." He was included in the party for the first-team's pre-season training camp in Spain in July 2023. Still only 16, he began the season as a regular in Birmingham's under-21 team, whose coach, Steve Spooner, said: "With Romelle, when you play him wide he is a danger but if he doesn't see too much of the ball you want him on the ball. We put him in the ten role and he starts creating things and makes things happen", but he needed "to get better disciplined when the ball changes hands." Eustace named Donovan among the substitutes for both of Birmingham's 2023–24 EFL Cup matches, but again he remained unused.
When Wayne Rooney took over as manager in mid-October 2023, he brought Donovan in to train with the first team and named him on the bench for his first match in charge, away to Middlesbrough. Again, Donovan was unused, but he made his Championship debut four days later, replacing Oliver Burke for the last few minutes of a 2–0 defeat at home to Hull City. On 30 November 2023, his 17th birthday, Donovan signed his first professional contract, to run until June 2026. He finished the season with ten appearances, of which seven were in league matches.

#### Loan spells

Donovan joined League One rivals Burton Albion on 24 August 2024 on loan for the remainder of the season. In early December, however, he was recalled early by his parent club.
On deadline day, he signed for Brentford on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season, with the expectation of playing for Brentford B. The deal included an option to purchase.

## International career

On 22 May 2024, Donovan made a goalscoring debut for the England U18s during a 4–2 win over Northern Ireland at St George's Park. He received his first call-up to the England U19s for friendly matches in Croatia in early September. He made his debut for that age group in the starting eleven for the opening match, a 2–2 draw with Italy on 4 September in which he played the first hour and crossed the ball for Ethan Nwaneri to make the score 1–2. He appeared as a substitute in the second game, a 1–1 draw against Croatia three days later, and remained unused in the third.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 1 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Birmingham City | 2022–23 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Birmingham City | 2023–24 | Championship | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| Birmingham City | 2024–25 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Birmingham City | Total | Total | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Burton Albion (loan) | 2024–25 | League One | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 1 |
* ↑ Appearance in EFL Trophy