David Brooks (footballer)

David Robert Brooks (born 8 July 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Championship club AFC Bournemouth and the Wales national team. He played for both Wales and England at youth level before making his senior debut for Wales in 2017.

David Brooks
Personal information
Full name David Robert Brooks[1]
Date of birth (1997-07-08) 8 July 1997[2]
Place of birth Warrington, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 AFC Bournemouth
Number 7
Youth career
2004–2014 Manchester City
2014–2015 Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Sheffield United 30 (3)
2015 → FC Halifax Town (loan) 5 (1)
2018– AFC Bournemouth 60 (11)
National team‡
2017–2018 Wales U21 3 (1)
2017– Wales 16 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2020

Early life

Brooks was born in Warrington, Cheshire.[4]

Club career

Early career

Brooks was associated with the Manchester City academy from the age of seven, before he switched to the Sheffield United academy in 2014 and signed professional forms with the club in March 2015.[5] He joined National League side Halifax Town on a one-month loan on 29 August 2015.[6] He had his loan extended into a second month and scored one goal, against Aldershot Town, in his five appearances.[7]

Sheffield United

He made his first team debut for the "Blades" on 30 August 2016, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Matt Done in a 0–0 draw with Leicester City U23 in an EFL Trophy group stage match at Bramall Lane.[8] He made his first start for the club in the next fixture in the competition, a 2–1 home defeat by Walsall on 4 October, following which manager Chris Wilder said that "I think it's difficult for a young player to impress when the players around him aren't performing".[9] Four days later, he was picked for the Wales team by Chris Coleman.

Brooks scored his first senior goal on 27 October 2017, scoring only six minutes after coming on as a substitute against Leeds United to seal the Blades a 2–1 victory in a Yorkshire derby.

In October 2017, Brooks signed a new long-term contract, committing his future to Bramall Lane until the summer of 2021.[10]

2018–19 season

In July 2018, Brooks signed for AFC Bournemouth of the Premier League for a fee of £11.5 million. In doing so, Brooks signed a four-year contract with the club and was assigned the number 20 jersey.[11] Brooks made his Premier League debut in the first game of the 2018–19 season, starting the 2–0 home win against Cardiff City.[12] Brooks scored his first goal for the club, and his first goal in the Premier League, in a 2–1 home win against Crystal Palace.[13]

Following on from his goal against Palace on 1 October, Brooks scored in Premier League victories over Watford; a 0–4 away win[14] and Fulham; a 0–3 away win,[15] over the rest of the month. This impressive run of form saw Brooks awarded the club's Player of the Month award for October.[16]

The run of good form continued for Brooks, scoring the first brace of his career in a 2–0 home win against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, on 22 December. Manager Eddie Howe commented after the game that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the start Brooks had made to his Bournemouth career, commending his attitude and tactical understanding of Bournemouth's style of play.[17] His performances in December led to his second Player of the Month award, being named the club's Player of the Month for December.[18] Brooks also scored in the clubs impressive 4–0 home win against Chelsea on 30 January, with Brooks scoring the second goal of the game in an impressive showing against one of the league's traditional top six teams.[19]

In March 2019, Brooks signed a new long-term contract with the club, with manager Eddie Howe commenting that: "David has impressed everyone from the minute he stepped through the door, with his mature, creative performances on the pitch backed up by a good attitude and professional lifestyle off it. This contract means he can concentrate on developing his game with us, and it's been an excellent start to David's AFC Bournemouth career."[20]

After scoring again in the Cherries' 5–0 away win over Brighton on 13 April,[21] Brooks finished his maiden top flight season with Bournemouth with seven goals across 33 total appearances. Due to his performances for the club over the 2018–19 season, Brooks was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, alongside names such as Manchester City duo Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva, and Manchester United star Marcus Rashford.[22]

2019–20 season

In a pre-season friendly game against Brentford, Brooks suffered an ankle injury which was reportedly set to leave him sidelined until mid-October.[23] In December 2019, following a prolonged period on the sidelines and having yet to make an appearance for the Cherries in the season so far, Brooks underwent a second ankle operation, with the view of being sidelined until mid-March.[24] Commenting on the injury, Brooks said in February that "As soon as I sustained the injury, I knew straightaway it wasn't going to be a couple of weeks but [I] didn't know it was going to be six months and I don't think the physios would have thought that either". He went on to add that the injury was "Just a bit of bad luck and I don't think anybody could have predicted it. I have just had to get on with it and try to get back to fitness".[25]

On 11 March, Brooks returned to full training with the rest of the Bournemouth squad, after nearly eight months out through injury.[26] Having now returned from injury, Brooks scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 loss to Man City on 15 July.[27] Brooks finished the 2019–20 season with 9 league appearances and 1 goal as the Cherries were relegated to the Championship, after a 5 year stay in the Premier League.[28]

2020–21 season

After relegation from the Premier League, Brooks returned to the Cherries side as a sub in their 3–2 opening day win against Blackburn Rovers.[29] Brooks scored his first goals of the season, a brace, in a 1–3 away win at Birmingham City.[30] In November, Brooks was named Championship Player of the Month after scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists in 3 matches.[31]

International career

Brooks was eligible for both his birth country England and for Wales – the latter through his mother, who is from Llangollen.[32]

On 15 May 2017, he was called up to the Wales U20 squad for the 2017 Toulon Tournament. He later withdrew from the Wales setup, instead being called up to the England U20 squad for the same tournament.[33] England won the tournament and Brooks was given the Best Player award, having scored in the Final.[34]

On 25 August 2017, he was then called up to the Wales U21 squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Switzerland and Portugal.[32] He made his debut for the side on 1 September 2017 in a 3–0 victory over Switzerland, scoring the second goal of the match.[35]

On 28 September 2017, he was called up to the Wales senior squad, for two World Cup Qualifiers against Georgia and Ireland.[36] Brooks made his senior debut for Wales on 10 November 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat against France.[37]

Brooks scored his first goal for Wales in a 2–1 away defeat to Croatia, after coming on as a substitute.[38]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 2 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sheffield United 2015–16[39] League One 0000000000
2016–17[40] League One0010003[lower-alpha 1]040
2017–18[41] Championship 3031020—333
Total 303202030373
FC Halifax Town (loan) 2015–16[42] National League 51———51
AFC Bournemouth 2018–19[43] Premier League 3071020—337
2019–20[44] Premier League 910000—91
2020–21[45] Championship 2132120—254
Total 60113140—6712
Career total 951551603010916
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy

International
As of match played 15 November 2020[46]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 201720
201870
201931
202031
Total152
As of match played 15 November 2020. Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brooks goal.[46]
List of international goals scored by David Brooks
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
18 June 2019Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek, Croatia11 Croatia1–21–2UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
215 November 2020Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales15 Republic of Ireland1–01–02020–21 UEFA Nations League B

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  2. "David Brooks: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  3. "David Brooks". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. "David Brooks: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  5. "United can confirm that several second-year scholars have been given one-year professional contracts for next season". Sheffield United F.C. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  6. "Two United youngsters will further their footballing development by plying their trades in Vanarama National League". Sheffield United F.C. 29 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  7. "Halifax Town: Club extend CJ Hamilton and David Brooks loans". BBC Sport. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  8. Shield, James (30 August 2016). "Sheffield United 0 Leicester City 0: Blades gain point — but little else from Checkatrade Trophy opener". The Star. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  9. Shield, James (7 October 2016). "Sheffield United: 'You owe young David a favour' senior players are told". The Star. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  10. "Brooks signs long-term Blades deal". Sheffield United F.C. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. "David Brooks and James Maddison prove persistence does finally pay off". The Guardian. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  12. "AFC Bournemouth v Cardiff City Match Report". BBC Sport. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  13. "AFC Bournemouth 2–1 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  14. "Watford 0–4 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  15. "Fulham 0–3 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  16. "Brooks named October's Player of the Month". AFC Bournemouth. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  17. "AFC Bournemouth 2–0 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  18. "Brooks wins December Player of the Month". AFC Bournemouth. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  19. "AFC Bournemouth 4–0 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  20. "Brooks pens contract extension". 4 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  21. "Brighton & Hove Albion 0–5 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  22. "'Sky is the limit' for rising star David Brooks after PFA Young Player of the Year nomination". Daily Echo. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  23. "Brooks suffers Ankle Injury". AFC Bournemouth. 31 July 2019.
  24. "David Brooks: Bournemouth's Wales winger undergoes second ankle operation". BBC Sport. 10 December 2019.
  25. "Brooks on Injury Return, Season so Far and Wales Hopes". AFC Bournemouth. 27 February 2020.
  26. "David Brooks and Arnaut Danjuma return to AFC Bournemouth training after injury". Bournemouth Echo. 11 March 2020.
  27. "Manchester City 2–1 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 15 July 2020.
  28. "Everton 1–3 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 26 July 2020.
  29. "AFC Bournemouth 3–2 Blackburn Rovers". BBC Sport. 12 September 2020.
  30. "Birmingham City 1–3 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 7 November 2020.
  31. "Brooks scoops Championship POTM award". AFCB. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  32. "Brooks call-up". Sheffield United F.C. 25 August 2017. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  33. "Toulon Tournament: David Brooks switches from Wales to England". BBC Sport. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  34. "Toulon Tournament: England 1–1 Ivory Coast (5–3 penalties)". BBC Sport. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  35. "Switzerland U21 0–3 Wales U21". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  36. James, Stuart (28 September 2017). "Chris Coleman lauds Antonio Conte's response to Ethan Ampadu call-up". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  37. "France 2–0 Wales". BBC Sport. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  38. "Croatia 2–1 Wales". BBC Sport. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  39. "Games played by David Brooks in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  40. "Games played by David Brooks in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  41. "Games played by David Brooks in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  42. "Games played by David Brooks in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  43. "Games played by David Brooks in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  44. "Games played by David Brooks in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  45. "Games played by David Brooks in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  46. "Brooks, David". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
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