Mepham felt like giving up after being rejected by Chelsea and QPR

Chris Mepham has told Sky Sports he almost gave up on becoming a professional footballer before being snapped up by Brentford.

The Hammersmith-born defender, who left the Bees to join Bournemouth in January, was released by Chelsea as a teenager and was rejected after trials with QPR and Watford.

He recalled: “I felt my time in football was done – as I would do, getting released from Chelsea and going on trial at QPR and Watford and getting turned away.

“At that moment I didn’t feel very confident. I felt like carrying on trying would be a waste of time.

“Luckily I had a bit of a change of heart and did go ahead with that Brentford trial.”

Mepham, 21, has made seven Premier League appearances since his move to Bournemouth – a far cry from his days playing for North Greenford United.

“When I joined North Greenford, in my head I thought that was it for me,” the Wales international admitted.

“I’d had the opportunities and been turned away, so where do you go next?

“In my head I thought ‘I’ll enjoy my football and see what I want to do alongside it’. Little did I know that it would take me here.”

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