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 ...

who plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for club AFC Bournemouth and the Wales national team. He is a product of the

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

academies.

Club career

Early years

and occasional

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, Mepham began his career in the

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

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 Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

Brentford

Youth years (2012–2016)

Mepham joined the

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 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 Established in 1944, original ...

'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 league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

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 B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It re ...

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 knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

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 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...

. 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 EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

third round defeat to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

on 19 September 2017 and gave away the

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalt ...

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 Danish-Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Lyngby. He represented Denmark at international level and was part of the Danes' Euro 2012 squad. He is also adept as a full back o ...

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 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Ho ...

. 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, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

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 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 is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

, Mepham made 48 appearances and scored one goal.

AFC Bournemouth

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

club AFC Bournemouth 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 club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1 ...

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

International career

Mepham was called into the Wales U20 squad for the

2017 Toulon Tournament The 2017 Toulon Tournament (officially french: 45ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 45th edition of the Toulon Tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the tournament in 1967 ...

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

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

on 5 June 2017. He made his U21 debut with a start in a 3–0 2019 UEFA U21 Championship qualifying victory over Switzerland on 2 September 2017. Mepham captained the U21 team for the first time in a 0–0 qualifying draw with

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

six weeks later. In March 2018, Mepham won his maiden call-up to the senior team for the 2018 China Cup. He made his debut as a substitute for Ben Davies after 70 minutes of a 6–0 victory over China on 22 March 2018. Two months later, he made his first international start, in a 0–0 friendly draw with

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

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 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Euro ...

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

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

Personal life

Mepham was born in

Northwick Park Northwick Park is a large green public park between Harrow and Kenton in north-west London, forming part of the London Borough of Brent. Most of the park consists of playing fields. It is also the name of the electoral ward of Brent that covers ...

, the London Borough of Harrow. He attended

Queensmead School Queensmead School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status located on Queens Walk, South Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England. In 2009, Queensmead established a federation with Northwood School. It offers a wide ...

South Ruislip South Ruislip is an area of west London in the London Borough of Hillingdon, south-east of Ruislip, south of Eastcote, north-west of Northolt, and west of South Harrow. A 2017 estimation put the population of South Ruislip ward as 13,150 residen ...

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 *

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

runner-up: 2021–22 Individual * Brentford B Player of the Year: 2016–17

Notes

References

External links

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