Get to know our new man Nathaniel Chalobah that little bit better by checking out ten interesting facts about his life and career so far...
Nathaniel was born in the West African country of Sierra Leone in December 1994, but moved over to England at the age of seven. He grew up in the London Borough of Lambeth and played for Fulham’s academy before joining city rivals Chelsea before his teenage years.
Chalobah regularly captained Chelsea’s youth and reserve teams and skippered the club to FA Youth Cup success in 2012 – scoring in the first leg of the final against Blackburn Rovers at Stamford Bridge. A few years previous to that triumph, he had been an unused substitute at the age of just 15 years old in the Blues’ League Cup clash with Newcastle United.
His first taste of senior football was at the age of 17 with Watford, with whom he spent the entirety of the 2012/13 Championship season on loan. Chalobah was one of the Hornets’ star performers that year, helping them reach the play-off final at Wembley where they were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace. He notched up 42 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals in total.
Nathaniel regularly featured for England’s youth teams before going on to make his senior Three Lions debut in 2018 in a UEFA Nations League victory away to Spain, coming on as a second-half substitute for Harry Winks. The midfielder has earned just shy of 100 caps for England at all levels of football, from U16 all the way up to the senior side.
Chalobah had six loan moves away from Stamford Bridge between the years of 2012 and 2016. As well as Watford, he spent time in England with Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, Burnley and Reading. He also signed for Italian giants Napoli in September 2015.
Nathaniel made a permanent move to Watford in July 2017 having featured 15 times in three separate competitions for Chelsea. Including his year on loan in 2012/13 and his four years at Vicarage Road from July 17 to August 2021, Chalobah represented the Hornets 127 times, scoring nine goals.
The defensive midfielder, who has also played at centre-back during his career, left Watford to link-up with Fulham on deadline day in the summer of 2021. In total, Chalobah played 28 times for the Cottagers before making the switch to the Baggies.
Chalobah has helped a team win promotion to the Premier League in each of his last two Championship campaigns. The 28-year-old was part of the Watford squad which finished second in 2020/21 and the Fulham side which won the title in 2021/22.
Nathaniel has a total of 234 club career appearances to his name. He has played in the Premier League, the Championship, the FA Cup, the League Cup, Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Europa League.
Albion’s new man has a younger brother who also plays professional football. Trevoh, aged 23, is currently part of the Chelsea squad and has featured in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League this season for the Blues.
