 Mepham withAFC Bournemouth in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher James Mepham[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1997-11-05)5 November 1997 (age 28)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Harrow, England | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2012 | Chelsea | ||
| 2012–2016 | Brentford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Brentford | 43 | (1) |
| 2019–2025 | Bournemouth | 108 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | →Sunderland (loan) | 38 | (1) |
| 2025– | West Bromwich Albion | 23 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Wales U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2017 | Wales U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 2018– | Wales | 53 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:27, 23 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:48, 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Christopher James Mepham (/ˈmɛpəm/MEHP-əm;[4] born 5 November 1997) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre back forEFL Championship clubWest Bromwich Albion and theWales national team.
Acentre back and occasionalright back,[5] Mepham began his career in theacademy atPremier League clubChelsea at the age of 10.[6] He was released at the age of 14 and was then turned down byWatford andQueens Park Rangers.[7]
Mepham joined theacademy atBrentford in 2012,[6] after being spotted by the club's Head of Academy Recruitment while making a one-off appearance forNorth Greenford United's reserve team.[7] After making three appearances for theyouth team as an U16,[8] Mepham signed a scholarship deal in June 2014.[6] On 2 February 2016 it was announced that Mepham had signed his first professional contract to be a member of the club'sdevelopment squad and he finished his scholarship having made 43 appearances and scored two goals for the youth team.[5][8][9][10] After consistently good performances for the reformedB team during the first half of the2016–17 season, Mepham signed a two-year contract extension on 6 January 2017 and the following day,[11] he made his senior debut as a late substitute forHarlee Dean during a 5–1FA Cup third round victory overEastleigh.[12] A successful 2016–17 season saw Mepham named as the club's B Team Player of the Year.[13]
After the departure of centre-back Harlee Dean on 30 August 2017,[14] Mepham was promoted into the first team squad and signed a new five-year contract.[15] He made his first start for the club in a 3–1EFL Cup third round defeat toNorwich City on 19 September 2017 and gave away thepenalty which led to the Canaries' opening goal.[16][17] After appearing sporadically throughout the autumn,[16] a head injury suffered byJohn Egan in December allowed Mepham a run in the team from the Christmas period until early February 2018.[16][18] An achilles injury suffered byAndreas Bjelland 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 withSheffield United onGood Friday.[16][19] He finished the2017–18 season with 23 appearances and one goal.[16]
Mepham began the2018–19 season as the Bees' undisputed first-choice centre back in league matches, but wassent off for the first time in his career for twobookable offences committed during a 1–0 defeat toBristol City on 20 October 2018.[20] He made 27 appearances before departing the club for a club-record transfer fee in January 2019.[20][21][22] During his two and a half seasons as a professional atGriffin Park, Mepham made 48 appearances and scored one goal.[23]
On 22 January 2019, Mepham signed a long-term contract withPremier League clubBournemouth for an undisclosed fee,[21] reported to be £12 million.[24] Eight days later, he made his debut for the club as a substitute forJunior Stanislas late in a 4–0 win over Chelsea.[20] He continued to be regularly selected within the back line at Bournemouth due to the absence ofSteve 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.[25] 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.[26] However, Mepham would suffer a "significant knee injury" in the FA Cup game againstLuton Town on 4 January, which would potentially rule him out for up to three months.[27]
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On 30 August 2024, Mepham joinedSunderland on a season-long loan. He made his debut in the 1-0 victory overMiddlesbrough on 21 September 2024.[28] On 8 March 2025, Mepham scored his first goal for Sunderland, proving to be the winner in a 2–1 victory againstCardiff, which was also his first goal for over four years.[29]
On 28 August 2025, Mepham signed for Championship clubWest Bromwich Albion on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[30][31] He made his debut for the club on 30 August 2025, in a 1–0 win againstStoke City.[32]
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Mepham was called into theWales U20 squad for the2017 Toulon Tournament and made one appearance,[33] in a 2–2 group stage draw withIvory Coast on 5 June 2017.[34] He made hisU21 debut with a start in a 3–02019 UEFA U21 Championship qualifying victory overSwitzerland on 2 September 2017.[35] Mephamcaptained the U21 team for the first time in a 0–0 qualifying draw withRomania six weeks later.[36]
In March 2018, Mepham won his maiden call-up to thesenior team for the2018 China Cup.[37] He made his debut as a substitute forBen Davies after 70 minutes of a 6–0 victory overChina on 22 March 2018.[38] Two months later, he made his first international start, in a 0–0friendly draw withMexico on 28 May.[39]
In May 2021, he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayedUEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[40] In November 2022, he was named in the Wales squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup inQatar.[41]
Mepham was born inNorthwick Park, the London Borough of Harrow.[42] He attendedQueensmead School inSouth Ruislip and grew up as aQueens Park Rangers supporter.[43][44] His uncle Roy was a member of the Brentford youth team in the 1960s.[6]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 2016–17[12] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[16] | Championship | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19[20] | Championship | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| Total | 43 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 48 | 1 | |||
| Bournemouth | 2018–19[20] | Premier League | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20[45] | Premier League | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21[46] | Championship | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 28 | 1 | |
| 2021–22[47] | Championship | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[48] | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[49] | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 107 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 121 | 2 | ||
| Sunderland (loan) | 2024–25[50] | Championship | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 40 | 1 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2025–26[51] | Championship | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 211 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 233 | 5 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 2018 | 4 | 0 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 0 | |
Sunderland
Individual
Wales squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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