David Brooks (footballer)
David Robert Brooks is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Championship club 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.
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. He joined National League side F.C. Halifax Town on a one-month loan on 29 August 2015. He had his loan extended into a second month and scored one goal, against Aldershot Town, in his five appearances.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's in an EFL Trophy group stage match at Bramall Lane. 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". 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 the Yorkshire Derby.
In October 2017, Brooks signed a new long-term contract, committing his future to Bramall Lane until the summer of 2021.
Bournemouth
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 No. 20 jersey. Brooks made his Premier League debut in the first game of the 2018–19 season, starting the 2–0 home win against Cardiff City. 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.Brooks quickly established himself as an important member of the Bournemouth first team in the first few months of the 2018–19 season. Following on from his goal against Palace on the 1st October, Brooks scored in Premier League victories over Watford; a 0–4 away win and Fulham; a 0–3 away win, over the rest of the month. This impressive run of form saw Brooks awarded the club's Player of the Month award for October.
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 the 22nd 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. His performances in December led to his second Player of the Month award, being named the club's Player of the Month for December. 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.
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."
After scoring again in the Cherries' 0–5 away win over Brighton on the 13th April, Brooks finished his maiden top flight season with Bournemouth with 7 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.
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.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. 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 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".
On the 11th March, Brooks returned to full training with the rest of the Bournemouth squad, after nearly 8 months out through injury. Having now returned from injury, Brooks scored his first goal of the season in a 2-1 loss to Man City on the 15th July.
International career
Brooks was born in Warrington and was eligible for both his birth country England and for Wales – the latter through his mother, who is from Llangollen.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. England won the tournament and Brooks was given the Best Player award, having scored in the Final.
On 25 August 2017, he was then called up to the Wales U21 squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Switzerland and Portugal. 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.
On 28 September 2017, he was called up to the Wales senior squad, for two World Cup Qualifiers against Georgia and Ireland. Brooks made his senior debut for Wales on 10 November 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat against France.
Brooks scored his first goal for Wales in a 2–1 away defeat to Croatia, after coming on as a substitute.
Career statistics
Club
International
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 8 June 2019 | Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek, Croatia | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |