The youngest ever GK to debut for Charlton Athletic, in the 1960s, is a man named Keith Hayward. He is not American. But I can confirm (as it says on Transfermarkt) that his grandson, Josh Hebert, was born in California to an American father and an English mother (Hayward’s daughter). Hebert, an ’07, joined Charlton Athletic’s U21s last month, signing a pro contract. Charlton Athletic are delighted to announce the signing of winger Josh Hebert following a successful trial period. The 18-year-old impressed during five starts for Chris Lock’s U21s side, scoring four goals, registering two assists and winning a penalty. https://www.charltonafc.com/news/josh-hebert-joins-addicks-u21s Hebert joined from Dorking, a lower-division club for which he’d played for the first team after leaving Brighton, his youth club. (He moved back to England at a young age and says in this interview that he spent several years at Brighton. And from Dorking: Joining Dorking Wanderers at 12 years old following spells with Burgess Hill Town and Brighton & Hove Albion Academy as a young player, Joshua’s development and progression within the Elite Youth Section at DWFC culminated in playing a key role in the U16s side winning the Surrey County Cup in 2024. Joshua was subsequently offered a coveted scholarship place on the academy post-16 education and football programme that summer, undertaking a BTEC Level 3 Qualification in Sports Coaching alongside a full-time schedule of academy football, including representing the Dorking Wanderers B and National League Academy South U19 sides. https://dwfc.co.uk/2026/04/joshua-hebert-signs-professional-deal-with-charlton-athletic/ https://dwfc.co.uk/player/josh-hebert/ He was apparently of interest to a variety of other clubs, including (according to this report) Hull and Reading, before joining Charlton. https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/...c-target-josh-hebert-joins-charlton-athletic/ In addition to filling in a number of details, there’s a nice Easter Egg in this article: a photo of Hebert kicking a ball in a Charlton shirt at age 2. https://www.southlondonsportcharltonathleticedition.com/p/he-had-his-first-charlton-athletic https://www.transfermarkt.com/josh-hebert/profil/spieler/1379087