Yan Valery (; born 22 February 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Sheffield Wednesday. Born in France, he plays for the Tunisia national team.
He began his senior career in England with Premier League club Southampton and spent the second half of the 2020–21 season on loan at Championship club Birmingham City before joining Angers in 2022. Valery moved to Sheffield Wednesday in June 2024 and had a short spell on loan at Young Boys during the 2025–26 season.
In international football, he represented his native France at under-17 and under-18 levels before switching to his mother's country of Tunisia at senior level in 2022.
Early life Valery was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, France to a Martiniquais father and Tunisian mother. He is a Muslim.
Club career Southampton Valery joined Southampton in 2015 from Rennes. On 27 November 2018, Southampton boss Mark Hughes handed Valery his first team debut in an EFL Cup match against Leicester City. Four days later, he made his league debut, playing the whole match in a 2–2 draw against Manchester United.
On 2 March 2019, Valery scored his first Southampton goal in a 3–2 defeat away to Manchester United, opening the scoring with "an outstanding finish". The week later, Valery scored again in a 2–1 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Valery ended the season with a total of 23 appearances. At the end of the season, Valery was voted as 'Saints Young Player of the Season'.
Despite this, the 2019–20 season would be tough for Valery, who only made a total of 11 starts for Southampton. Valery later revealed that he had glandular fever which kept him out for a significant part of the season. The arrival of Kyle Walker-Peters from Tottenham Hotspur, initially on loan, made it harder for Valery to get back into the Southampton first team.
On 26 January 2021, Valery made his first Premier League start of the season in Southampton's 3–1 defeat to Arsenal.
Loan to Birmingham City On 1 February 2021, Valery joined Championship club Birmingham City for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. He made his debut five days later as a late substitute in a 3–2 loss away to Bournemouth, and replaced Maxime Colin in the starting eleven for the next fixture, another defeat. He made seven appearances (two starts) in the early part of his loan spell but had no matchday involvement after Lee Bowyer took over as head coach in mid-March.
Angers On 1 September 2022, Valery joined Ligue 1 club Angers on a four-year contract.
Sheffield Wednesday On 21 June 2024, Valery returned to England, signing for Sheffield Wednesday for an undisclosed fee. He made his Wednesday debut against Plymouth Argyle on 11 August 2024, starting the game in a 4–0 victory. He scored his first goal for Wednesday away at Middlesbrough on Boxing day, scoring the equalising goal after Wednesday went 3–0 down.
Loan to Young Boys On 9 February 2026, Valery joined Swiss Super League side Young Boys on loan for the remainder of the season, without the option to buy.
International career Valery has represented France at both under-17 and under-18 level. In January 2019, he met with Tunisia manager Alain Giresse and agreed to play for the Tunisia national team.
In September 2022, Valery accepted a call-up to play for Tunisia in friendlies against Comoros and Brazil in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He made his debut as a late substitute in the 5–1 loss to Brazil on 27 September. He was called up to the Tunisia squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSouthampton U23, U212016–17————40302017–18————20202018–19————30302020–21————2020Total———110110Southampton2018–19Premier League2320010—2422019–20Premier League1100010—1202020–21Premier League301000—402021–22Premier League503030—1102022–23Premier League100010—20Total4324060—532Birmingham City (loan)2020–21Championship70———70Angers2022–23Ligue 130010——3102023–24Ligue 235020——370Total6503000—680Sheffield Wednesday2024–25Championship3931000—4032025–26Championship2300000—2302026–27League One6100100071Total684101000704Young Boys (loan)2025–26Swiss Super League1400000—140Career total197680701102236
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsTunisia2022102023602024102025120202660Total260
References
External links
Profile at the Sheffield Wednesday F.C. website