David Robert Brooks (born 8 July 1997) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

and the Wales national team. He played for both

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at youth level before making his senior debut for Wales in 2017.

Club career

Early career

Brooks was born in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, Cheshire. He was associated with the

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

from the age of seven, before he switched to the

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

in 2014 and signed professional forms with the club in March 2015. He joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

on a one-month loan on 29 August 2015. Brooks had his loan extended into a second month and scored one goal, against

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

, 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 Matthew Done (born 22 July 1988) is an English former professional footballer who is now a Player Development Phase Coach at club Port Vale. In a seventeen-year playing career he scored 60 goals in 592 league and cup appearances, playing mostl ...

in a 0–0 draw with Leicester City U23 in an

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

group stage match at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

. He made his first start for the club in the next fixture in the competition, a 2–1 home defeat by

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

on 4 October, following which manager

Chris Wilder Christopher John Wilder (born 23 September 1967) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a right-back. He was most recently the manager of club Middlesbrough ...

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

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 Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

to seal ''the Blades 2–1 victory in a Yorkshire derby. In October 2017, he signed a new long-term contract, committing his future to Bramall Lane until the summer of 2021.

AFC Bournemouth

2018–19 season

In July 2018, Brooks joined

of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

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

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. Following on from his goal against Palace on 1 October, Brooks scored in Premier League victories over

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

; a 0–4 away win and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

; a 0–3 away win, over the rest of the month. This impressive run of form saw him receive 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 Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

in the Premier League, on 22 December. Manager

Eddie Howe Edward John Frank Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the head coach of Premier League club Newcastle United. A defender during his playing career, Howe spent most of his playing ...

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 scored the second goal in his club's comprehensive 4–0 home victory over

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, on 30 January, putting in an impressive showing against one of the league's traditional top-six teams. In March 2019, he signed a new long-term contract with the club, with Howe commenting that: "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 5–0 away win over Brighton on 13 April, Brooks finished his maiden top-flight season with Bournemouth with seven goals across 33 total appearances. Due to his performances for the club throughout the 2018–19 season, he was nominated, for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, alongside names such as Manchester City duo

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, St ...

and

Bernardo Silva Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva (; born 10 August 1994), known as Bernardo Silva or simply Bernardo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder, forward or a winger for club Manchester City and the P ...

, and Manchester United's

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Manchester United and the England national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his explosive ath ...

2019–20 season

In a

pre-season friendly An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, 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, he underwent a second ankle operation, with the view of being sidelined until mid-March. Commenting on the injury, Brooks said in February that " didn't know it was going to be six months and I don't think the physios would have thought that either". On 11 March, he returned to training with the rest of the squad after nearly eight months out through injury. Having returned from injury, Brooks scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss to Man City, on 15 July. He finished the 2019–20 season with nine league appearances and one goal as ''the Cherries'' were relegated to the Championship after a five-year stay in the Premier League.

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 Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. Brooks scored his first goals of the season, a brace, in a 1–3 away win at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. In November, Brooks was named

Championship Player of the Month The EFL Championship Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player adjudged the best for each month of the season in the EFL Championship, the English football league system, second tier of English football. ...

after scoring two goals and adding three assists in three matches.

2021–22 season

On 31 July 2021, he scored a brace in Bournemouth’s 5–0 win over

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. On 14 August, Brooks received the first red card of his senior career (after a double-yellow); in a 2–1 away win against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in the Championship. He also scored the opener in the game.

International career

Brooks was eligible to play for his birth country,

and

– the latter through his mother, who hails from

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beau ...

. On 15 May 2017, he was called up to the Wales U20 squad for the

2017 Toulon Tournament The 2017 Toulon Tournament (officially french: 45ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 45th edition of the Toulon Tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the tournament in 1967 a ...

. He later withdrew from the Wales setup, instead being called up to the

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s), represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in En ...

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 ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Brooks 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 The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Brooks made his senior debut for Wales, on 10 November 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He scored his first goal for Wales; in a 2–1 away defeat to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

after coming on as a substitute. Brooks was selected in May 2021 by Wales' caretaker manager

Rob Page Robert John Page (born 3 September 1974) is a Welsh football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of the Wales national team. In an 18-year career in the Premier League and the English Football League, he made 550 competitive ...

to represent the nation at the delayed

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

tournament.

Personal life

On 13 October 2021, Brooks was confirmed to have been diagnosed with Stage 2

Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

. Brooks had withdrawn from the Wales squad the week before due to illness. After being sent for a medical examination by the Wales medical staff, the diagnosis was made. After an initial positive prognosis, he was to undergo treatment from the following week. On 3 May 2022, he announced on his social media that he had been given the all clear and was now cancer free.

Career statistics

Club

International

. :''As of match played 26 June 2021. Wales' score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brooks goal.''

Honours

Individual *

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

Golden Ball:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Best XI:

Welsh Footballer of the Year The Welsh Footballer of the Year is an annual award chosen by the FAW, to determine the best player in Wales. Winners Men Women See also * List of sports awards honoring women This list of sports awards honoring women is an index to arti ...

: 2018

References

External links

*
Profile
at the AFC Bournemouth website {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, David 1997 births Living people Footballers from Warrington English footballers England youth international footballers Welsh footballers Wales under-21 international footballers Wales international footballers Association football midfielders Manchester City F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players FC Halifax Town players AFC Bournemouth players National League (English football) players English Football League players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2020 players English people of Welsh descent