Chris Brunt

Middlesbrough

Brunt had trials with professional teams Rangers and Middlesbrough as a 16-year-old. He joined Middlesbrough's academy in 2001 and signed his first professional contract a year later. However, he failed to break into the first team at the Teesside club.

Sheffield Wednesday

He moved to Sheffield Wednesday in March 2004 on an initial short-term deal. A permanent free transfer followed soon after as Brunt signed a two-year contract at Wednesday. In the 2004–05 season, his first full season at the club, Brunt helped Wednesday achieve promotion to the Championship by scoring five goals in all competitions with four of those coming in the league. In July 2005, he agreed a one-year extension to his existing contract. He went on to hit seven goals the following season, finishing the campaign as the club's top goalscorer. He also passed the 100 appearance mark for Wednesday during the 2005–06 season, making him the club's most experienced player at the time. With only one year remaining on his contract, negotiations between Brunt and Wednesday broke down in July 2007, due to what the club described as 'excessive wage demands'.

West Bromwich Albion

2007–2010: Securing top-flight status

West Bromwich Albion's bid for Brunt was accepted on 14 August 2007. They completed the signing the next day, in a £3 million four-year deal, which included £500,000 of performance-related add-ons. Brunt made his Albion debut as a second-half…

Brunt made 65 appearances for the Northern Ireland national team. He scored his first goal for his country in February 2009, when his free kick helped Northern Ireland to a 3–0 away victory over San Marino. In April 2012, it was revealed that Brunt was in manager Stuart Pearce's provisional squad for the 2012 Olympic Great Britain football team. He was in the end not selected in the final 18-man squad for the Games. He missed out on the chance to appear at Euro 2016 after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament which required surgery. On 11 November 2016, Brunt returned to the international scene for Northern Ireland's 2018 World Cup qualification match against Azerbaijan. After sustaining a head injury early on, he recovered to set up a goal for club teammate Gareth McAuley and scored the final goal of a 4–0 win. He announced his retirement from international football in August 2018.

In March 2021, Brunt returned to West Bromwich Albion as an academy coach. The following year, he was appointed as the club's loans manager.

West Bromwich Albion (interim)

In December 2024, after Carlos Corberán's departure, Brunt became the interim manager for West Bromwich Albion, once again returning to the club in a non-player role. His first game in charge was a 2–1 loss against Derby County.

Brunt was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he attended Newtownbreda Primary School. He then went on to study at Wellington College Belfast. As a youth player, he appeared for Saint Andrew's Boys' Club.