Flynn Downes

Flynn Downes was named the club's youngest-ever captain at Ipswich Town on 1 December 2019, aged 20, leading the side to an FA Cup win over Coventry City. He had come up through the Ipswich academy, joining as a boy in 2006 and making his professional debut in 2017, going on to make 92 league appearances and score three goals for the club, including his first senior goal on the final day of the 2018–19 season in a 3–2 win over Leeds United. He was named the club's Young Player of the Year for 2017–18. A brief loan spell took him to Luton Town in January 2018.

Downes moved to Swansea City in August 2021, and in his one full season there recorded the highest pass-completion rate, 92.6%, in the top four divisions of English football. That form earned him a switch to West Ham United in July 2022, where he made 21 league appearances and was part of the squad that beat Fiorentina 2–1 in the final to win the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022–23.

A loan to Southampton in August 2023 proved decisive for his career. He made 33 league appearances and scored twice as the club won promotion to the Premier League through the Championship play-offs, performances that brought him the Southern Daily Echo's Player of the Year award for 2023–24. Southampton made the move permanent in July 2024.

Downes has represented England at Under-19 and Under-20 level, without yet adding a senior cap. He is right-footed.