Arsenal defender Calum Chambers has explained his surprise move to Fulham. The 23-year old has said that he is very excited to join the recently promoted side.
Chambers leaves the Gunners to link up in central defence with former England Under-21 team-mate Alfie Mawson.
“I watched a lot of Fulham last season, I really like the way they play football, there’s a good manager, it’s a great club, so I’m really excited for the season ahead. Everyone can see that Fulham’s a club that likes to play football, play football from the back, through the lines. That’s the style of football I like as well, so I think it fits me and suits the way I play,” Chambers said speaking to the club’s website.
Fulham, managed by Slavisa Jokanovic, have been active in the transfer market since they secured a Premier League return via the play-offs, bringing in Mawson from Swansea plus Jean Michael Seri, Maxime Le Marchand, Fabri and Andre Schurrle. Mawson and Chambers paired up for England at the European Under-21 Championships in 2017, while the move to Craven Cottage could also re-ignite a senior England career for Chambers.
Chambers won three England caps in the space of two months in 2014 but has been out of the international picture during Gareth Southgate’s time as manager.
Born in Petersfield, Hampshire, Chambers joined Southampton at the age of seven. He went through the ranks at the club and at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, Chambers was revealed as one of four youth players to be promoted to the first-team. During the pre-season period he made a number of appearances for the team, playing in the Memorial Cup against Anderlecht, coming on as a second-half substitute in the matches against Évian Thonon Gaillard and Étoile Carouge, and making late appearances against Ajax and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Chambers made his full debut for Southampton on 28 August 2012 in a 4–1 win over Stevenage in the second round of the League Cup,coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Dean Hammond and providing the assist for the final goal of the match by Ben Reeves.
On 31 July 2013, Chambers signed a new four-year contract with Southampton.
He made his first-team league debut on 17 August 2013, when he played the full 90 minutes at right-back of the opening match of the 2013–14 season in a 1–0 win against West Bromwich Albion. He made a total of 25 appearances for Southampton in all competitions, of which 22 were in the league, before leaving in the summer of 2014.
On 30 August 2016, he joined fellow Premier League team Middlesbrough on a season-long loan. Chambers made his first appearance of the 2017–18 season in the 1–0 win over Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup, but was substituted at half time due to injury. On 3 July 2018, Chambers signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal. On 7 August 2018, Chambers signed with fellow Premier League side Fulham on a season-long loan.
Chambers made his debut for the England under-17 team on 2 February against Portugal. In March, he played in all three of the team’s matches in the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round, scoring their only goal of the tournament in a 1–0 win over Ukraine.
On 26 September 2012, Chambers made the step up to the England under-19 team, playing the full 90 minutes in the team’s 3–0 win over the Estonia under-19 team in the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round.On 28 September Chambers came on as a second-half substitute in the England under-19 team’s match against the Faroe Islands, which England won 6–0, scoring the final goal of the match in the 84th minute. He scored his second under-19 international goal in a 1–0 victory against Turkey on 21 March 2013.
On 28 August 2014, he was named in the senior England squad for the first time, ahead of a friendly against Norway and a Euro 2016 qualification match against Switzerland in September. He made his debut against Norway on 3 September, coming on for the last 9 minutes in place of John Stones as England won 1–0 at Wembley Stadium. Initially chosen for the under-21 team, Chambers moved into the senior squad ahead of European qualifiers against San Marino and Estonia in October 2014 due to an injury to Stones. He was given his first start on his second cap, against San Marino on 9 October at Wembley Stadium, playing at right back ahead of his former Southampton teammate Nathaniel Clyne.
Chambers then dropped back down to the under-21 team in March 2015, and made his debut in a 1–0 win against Czech Republic in Prague. He was part of the team that won the 2016 Toulon Tournament, their first such win for 22 years.
On 5 June 2017, Chambers was called up to England’s squad for the 2017 UEFA Under-21 Euros to be held in Poland. Chambers went on to play in the semifinals of the tournament where England went out on penalties to Germany.