Declan Frith (born 16 May 2002) is an English 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 winger for

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...

. He began his career at

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

before spending time in the academies of both

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and Chelsea, appearing for both their U21 sides in the

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 ...

Club career

Early career

Having trialled with

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

and Sutton United, Frith failed to find a club to sign a professional contract with after leaving school. A further trial at Southend United would also prove unsuccessful, and he eventually settled at non-league

. A change in FIFA regulations and the effects of

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

meant that

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 ...

side Chelsea had to branch out their scouting network, notably bringing in a number of young, non-league players. As a result of this, Frith was offered a trial with the West London-based club in February 2021, and signed in May of the same year. Initially signed as a left-sided defender, Frith was used sparingly on both the left and right sides of midfield, he managed a total of five appearances for Chelsea's under-23 side, including featuring in an

game against Exeter City. After initially being set for release at the end of the 2020–21 season, Frith continued to feature for the club's youth teams. He eventually left Chelsea at the end of August 2021, and signed a professional contract with fellow Premier League side

on 13 October 2021. He settled quickly into the youth team of his new club, notably scoring twice on his debut against West Midlands rivals Birmingham City U23s. He followed this up with a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against

Coventry Sphinx Coventry Sphinx Football Club is a football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at Sphinx Drive. History The club was established in 1946 as a works team for Armstrong Siddeley under th ...

in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup. On 16 June 2023, Frith was released by Aston Villa. On 5 September 2023, Frith signed for

Valencia CF Mestalla Valencia Club de Fútbol Mestalla, shortened to Valencia Mestalla, is the reserve team of Valencia CF, a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake community. Founded in 1944, an ...

, the reserve side of Valencia CF, managed by Miguel Angel Angulo. Frith made his debut in the

Segunda Federación Segunda Federación, previously called Segunda División RFEF, also officially known as Segunda B-Segunda Federación, is the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system containing 90 teams divided into five groups. It is administered by t ...

, the Spanish fourth tier, on 12 November 2023 - in a 3–2 victory over

La Nucía La Nucia (; es, La Nucía) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Marina Baixa, Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. It borders the municipalities of Altea, Callosa d'En Sarrià, Benidorm, Polop and L'Alfàs del Pi. La Nucia is located in ...

Thun

On 10 July 2024, Frith joined

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the winners of the league are promoted to the Super League, while the ...

side

on a three-year deal.

Personal life

Born in England, Frith is of Jamaican and American descent.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frith, Declan 2002 births Living people English men's footballers English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent English people of American descent Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Welling United F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Place of birth missing (living people) English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Segunda Federación players English expatriate sportspeople in Spain FC Thun players Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland English expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland