Christopher James Mepham ( ; born 5 November 1997) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for club

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

, and the Wales national team.

Club career

Early years

and occasional

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, Mepham began his career in the

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Chelsea at the age of 10. He was released at the age of 14 and was then turned down by

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

Brentford

Youth years (2012–2016)

Mepham joined the

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in 2012, after being spotted by the club's Head of Academy Recruitment while making a one-off appearance for

North Greenford United North Greenford United Football Club is a association football, football club based in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing, England. They play in the . The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. History Establis ...

's reserve team. After making three appearances for the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or Sports league, league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team (a ...

as an U16, Mepham signed a scholarship deal in June 2014. On 2 February 2016 it was announced that Mepham had signed his first professional contract to be a member of the club's development squad and he finished his scholarship having made 43 appearances and scored two goals for the youth team. After consistently good performances for the reformed B team during the first half of the 2016–17 season, Mepham signed a two-year contract extension on 6 January 2017 and the following day, he made his senior debut as a late substitute for Harlee Dean during a 5–1

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round victory over

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

. A successful 2016–17 season saw Mepham named as the club's B Team Player of the Year.

Breakthrough (2016–2019)

After the departure of centre-back Harlee Dean on 30 August 2017, Mepham was promoted into the first team squad and signed a new five-year contract. He made his first start for the club in a 3–1

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

third round defeat to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 19 September 2017 and gave away the

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

which led to the Canaries' opening goal. After appearing sporadically throughout the autumn, a head injury suffered by John Egan in December allowed Mepham a run in the team from the Christmas period until early February 2018. An achilles injury suffered by

Andreas Bjelland Andreas Bjelland (born 11 July 1988) is a retired Danish-Norwegian professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back for a number of clubs in Denmark, the Netherlands and England. He is currently assistant head coach at Ly ...

in mid-March allowed Mepham back into the team and he scored the first senior goal of his career with the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

. He finished the 2017–18 season with 23 appearances and one goal. Mepham began the 2018–19 season as the Bees' undisputed first-choice centre back in league matches, but was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for the first time in his career for two bookable offences committed during a 1–0 defeat to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

on 20 October 2018. He made 27 appearances before departing the club for a club-record transfer fee in January 2019. During his two and a half seasons as a professional at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

, Mepham made 48 appearances and scored one goal.

AFC Bournemouth

On 22 January 2019, Mepham signed a long-term contract with

club

for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £12 million. Eight days later, he made his debut for the club as a substitute for Junior Stanislas late in a 4–0 win over Chelsea. He continued to be regularly selected within the back line at Bournemouth due to the absence of Steve Cook through injury. Mepham finished the 2018–19 season with Bournemouth having made 13 Premier League appearances in total. On 10 August 2019, Mepham scored his first Premier League goal, and his first ever goal for the Cherries, in a 1–1 home draw against newly promoted Sheffield United. Mepham made a further ten appearances in the Premier League for the Cherries throughout the first half of the 2019–20 season, including a starring role in a 1–0 away win and clean sheet at Chelsea on 14 December. However, Mepham would suffer a "significant knee injury" in the FA Cup game against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on 4 January, which would potentially rule him out for up to three months.

Sunderland (loan)

On 30 August 2024, Mepham joined

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on a season-long loan. He made his debut in the 1-0 victory over

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 21 September 2024. On 8 March 2025, Mepham scored his first goal for Sunderland, proving to be the winner in a 2–1 victory against

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, which was also his first goal for over four years.

International career

Mepham was called into the Wales U20 squad for the

2017 Toulon Tournament The 2017 Toulon Tournament (officially ) was the 45th edition of the Toulon Tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the tournament in 1967 and died in 2016. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 29 ...

and made one appearance, in a 2–2 group stage draw with

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

on 5 June 2017. He made his U21 debut with a start in a 3–0 2019 UEFA U21 Championship qualifying victory over

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 2 September 2017. Mepham captained the U21 team for the first time in a 0–0 qualifying draw with

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

six weeks later. In March 2018, Mepham won his maiden call-up to the senior team for the

2018 China Cup The 2018 Gree China Cup International Football Championship () was the second edition of the China Cup, an international football tournament held in China annually. It was played from 22 to 26 March 2018 in Nanning, Guangxi, China. The winning tea ...

. He made his debut as a substitute for Ben Davies after 70 minutes of a 6–0 victory over

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on 22 March 2018. Two months later, he made his first international start, in a 0–0 friendly draw with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on 28 May. In May 2021, he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

tournament. In November 2022, he was named in the Wales squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Personal life

Mepham was born in

Northwick Park Northwick Park is a formerly larger public park in the London Borough of Brent between eastern Harrow and Kenton, north-west London. Most of the park consists of playing fields, kite flying areas, and trees. It has often lent its name to an ...

, the London Borough of Harrow. He attended Queensmead School in

South Ruislip South Ruislip is an area of North West London in the London Borough of Hillingdon. A 2017 estimation put the population of South Ruislip ward as 13,150 residents. Education Schools in South Ruislip include Bourne Primary, Deanesfield, Field E ...

and grew up as a

supporter. His uncle Roy was a member of the Brentford youth team in the 1960s.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

AFC Bournemouth *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

second-place promotion: 2021–22 Sunderland *

EFL Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-o ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Individual * Brentford B Player of the Year: 2016–17

Notes

References

External links

Chris Mepham
at

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mepham, Chris 1997 births Living people People from Hammersmith Footballers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham English men's footballers Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders Brentford F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players English Football League players Premier League players Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Wales men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Welsh sportsmen