Sam Magri

Former England youth international central defender, who went on to play at full international level for Malta.

Sam was born in Portsmouth and spent his formative years in the Pompey Academy, working under Jimmy Ball when AFC Totton’s Manager was on the coaching staff at Fratton Park. He moved on to Queens Park Rangers in 2012, going out on loan to Nuneaton Town two years later, where he played four matches in the Conference Premier. He subsequently spent the 2014/15 season at Crystal Palace, but never made a first team appearance for The Eagles.

However, during that period, the 6’1” defender – who can operate in a variety of positions, including centre-back and right-back – made a total of 31 appearances for England’s youth teams from U16 to U19 levels. The vast majority of those caps were for the U17 side that reached the Quarter-Finals of the 2011 FIFA-U17 World Cup in Mexico. Among his fellow squad members were current England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling and the former Southampton winger Nathan Redmond.

Upon leaving Selhurst Park in the summer of 2015, Magri had a successful trial at Dover Athletic where he soon established himself as a regular starter. He made 45 league appearances for The Whites throughout the 2015/16 season and was named in Kent Online’s Team of the Year at the end of the campaign.

Meanwhile, shortly after his arrival at the Crabble Athletic Ground, Magri switched his international allegiance to the country of his grandfather’s birth, Malta. He won four caps at U21 level for The Falcons in 2016, going on to claim seven more at senior level. His senior international debut was against Slovenia on 11 November 2016, in a World Cup Qualification game for the Russia 2018 tournament.

After two seasons with Dover Athletic, Magri joined Ebbsfleet United. Once again, he settled in quickly and was a regular starter for The Fleet throughout his two-season stay at Stonebridge Road, before signing for Havant & Waterlooville in 2019.

He was a Hawk for four years, which included the entire COVID era when non-league football in England was all but abandoned for the better part of two seasons. Mike Carter had been and gone before his arrival, but among Magri’s Westleigh Park teammates in that spell were Benny Read (from 2019 to 2022), Scott Rendell (in 2021/22) and Charlie Searle, who had six outings between the sticks for The Stags last season, as well as striker Tommy Wright, who spent the second half of the season on loan with treble-winning Totton.

At the end of January 2023, Magri signed a dual registration deal that enabled him to play 10 games in the Isthmian League Premier Division at Step 3 for Bognor Regis Town.

A strong, robust presence in the heart of defence, Sam made his AFC Totton debut in the opening day 2-1 away win at Harrow Borough in August 2023. His first goal for The Stags came three weeks later, in the 2-3 defeat at Basingstoke Town.