Jacob Mellis

Chelsea

Mellis was born in Nottingham and started his career as a trainee with Sheffield United, before joining Premier League club Chelsea for £1 million in June 2007. He was a member of the Chelsea team that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup under manager Paul Clement in 2008, but was sent-off in the 90th minute of the second leg, as Chelsea lost 4–2 on aggregate to Manchester City. In the 2008–09 season, he became a regular in Chelsea's reserves making 13 appearances with three goals. In August 2009, he joined Southampton on loan and made his Saints debut a day after signing, as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat at Huddersfield Town. He returned to Chelsea in January 2010 but did not make a senior appearance until 23 November that year, in what would be his only Chelsea first team game, coming on in added time as a substitute for Josh McEachran against MŠK Žilina in the UEFA Champions League group stage, a 2–1 home win. The following January, Mellis signed for Barnsley on a five-month loan. Mellis made his Barnsley debut the next day, in a 2–0 win over Preston North End. He scored his first Barnsley goal in a next game on 5 February 2011 in a 4–1 defeat to Leicester City, which he scored in the next game seven days later against Ipswich Town. Mellis went on to make fifteen appearances and scoring two times. In March 2012, Mellis was sacked by Chelsea after he admitted setting off a smoke grenade and causing a full-scale evacuation at the club's Cobham Training…

Mellis has represented England at U16, U17 and U19 level.

As of match played 26 February 2022

Notes

In April 2012, Mellis was arrested after a fight with his girlfriend at his Cobham, Surrey home. Both parties accepted police cautions for common assault. In January 2020, Mellis and former Mansfield Town teammate Dion Donohue appeared at Nottingham Crown Court, charged with assault, affray and grievous bodily harm alleged to have been committed in Mansfield the previous 16 August. Donohue pleaded guilty, and Mellis not guilty. The case involving Mellis concluded in November 2020. He struggled with alcoholism during his career. After retiring, he became homeless.