Shannon O'Brien (born 5 October 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Crystal Palace.
Club career
Born and raised in Coventry, O'Brien began her football career with Aston Villa's youth team.
Coventry United She joined Coventry United in 2018, scoring four goals in 11 appearances as the team won the 2018–19 FA Women's National League Southern Division. O'Brien continued to play with Coventry United in the FA Women's Championship, before transferring to Leicester City in January 2021.
Leicester City Between her transfer and the end of the season, O'Brien contributed three goals in nine appearances across all competitions for Leicester as the team secured promotion to the Women's Super League. She finished the season as Leicester's joint-top goalscorer.
In 2024, O'Brien signed a contract extension with the club that would extend her tenure until at least summer 2025.
O'Brien was again the club's top goalscorer in the 2025–26 Women's Super League, but Leicester finished bottom of the league table and were relegated to the Women's Super League 2 following playoff defeat to Charlton Athletic. Her penalty during the playoff penalty shootout was saved by Sophie Whitehouse.
Crystal Palace On 30 July 2026, O'Brien joined newly-promoted WSL side Crystal Palace on a three-year contract. International career
Despite her conspicuously Irish name, O'Brien is not eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team.
In February 2022, she received her first call up to the England women's national under-23 football team, making her debut in a 0–3 win over the Netherlands under-23 team. She was most recently called up to the U23 squad in 2024.
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