James Grant Chester was born on 23 January 1989 and is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and is a free agent.
26 Facts About James Chester
2.
James Chester had spells on loan at Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle and Carlisle United before joining Hull City in January 2011 on a permanent contract.
3.
James Chester spent three-and-a-half years there before signing for West Bromwich Albion in 2015.
4.
James Chester helped Villa gain promotion to the Premier League after winning the 2019 EFL Championship play-off Final.
5.
James Chester joined Stoke City on loan in January 2020 before making it permanent in August 2020.
6.
James Chester would leave Stoke in July 2022 and joined League One Derby County, however left in 2023 after an injury hit spell.
7.
James Chester made his debut for the Welsh senior team in June 2014 and has gone on to play at UEFA Euro 2016, helping his country to make it to the semi-final of a major international tournament for the first time in its history.
8.
James Chester was born in Warrington, and attended Birchwood Community High School.
9.
James Chester began his career with his local club, Winwick Athletic.
10.
In July 2007, James Chester signed his first professional contract with United.
11.
On 18 September 2009, James Chester joined Championship club Plymouth Argyle on a three-month loan along with his Manchester United teammate David Gray.
12.
James Chester therefore returned to Manchester United on 13 October 2009.
13.
On 3 August 2010, James Chester joined League One club Carlisle United on loan until 3 January 2011, after impressing in a trial match against Hibernian on 1 August.
14.
On 17 December 2010, James Chester expressed an interest in staying at Carlisle beyond the end of his loan contract, but the transfer window brought with it talk of James Chester making a transfer to Championship club Hull City, with Hull manager Nigel Pearson going public on 3 January with his interest in the defender.
15.
James Chester enjoyed a strong year in his second season at Hull, playing almost every game under managers Nigel Pearson and Nick Barmby in central defence, forming a successful partnership with Jack Hobbs.
16.
James Chester finished the season as runner-up in the club's player of the year awards.
17.
Under new manager Steve Bruce, James Chester quickly became accustomed to playing as part of a three-man defence in the team's new system, alongside a combination of Abdoulaye Faye, manager's son Alex Bruce, Paul McShane, and Jack Hobbs.
18.
On 26 June 2013, James Chester signed a new three-year contract with Hull.
19.
Five games into his debut season as a first-team player in the Premier League, James Chester was ruled out for an initial six-to-eight weeks after pulling his hamstring against Newcastle United on 21 September 2013.
20.
James Chester scored the only goal of the game against Derby County on 25 February 2017.
21.
On 25 June 2020, it was confirmed that James Chester had been released by Aston Villa, signing a contract extension to allow him to finish the Championship season with Stoke City before becoming a free agent.
22.
James Chester signed a one-year contract with Stoke on 10 August 2020.
23.
On 6 July 2022, James Chester joined recently relegated League One club Derby County on a one-year contract.
24.
James Chester was not retained by Derby at the end of the season and became a free agent.
25.
James Chester made his debut for Wales on 4 June 2014, starting in a friendly against the Netherlands.
26.
James Chester played all six games in Wales's journey to the semi-final of Euro 2016, playing on the right-hand side of the team's central defensive three.