Michael Chopra Bio Send To Friend  

Chopra joined Sunderland in an eyebrow raising £5million deal in July 2007 after finishing the previous year as the Championship top scorer, with 22 goals in 42 games for Cardiff City.

Chopra began his career at Newcastle United and his prolific scoring at youth level and in the reserves saw him earmarked for big things at St James' Park but he never really fulfilled expectations.

Too good for the reserves but unable to make his mark on the first team Chopra eventually moved to the Championship and excelled at that level. Despite scoring five goals in his first season back in the top-flight with Sunderland he is yet to prove himself at Premier League level.

Chopra was first handed a senior squad number by Newcastle United boss Bobby Robson in October 2001 after a series of impressive displays for the Academy side - he scored 14 goals in the opening nine games.

The former England youth international signed a professional contract with the club ten months earlier.

Chopra had a superb pre-season in 2002 and signed a new contract at the start of the 2002/03 season, and made his debut as a substitute in the Worthington Cup game against Everton at St James'.

He made two further substitute appearances, against Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen in the second group stage of the Champions League, before joining First Division side Watford on loan in late March 2003.

Chopra scored five goals, including a hat-trick at Burnley, and made an appearance in the FA Cup semi-finals. He played for the Hornets six times.

A lone spell at Nottingham Forest followed in February 2004 but Chopra failed to score in five appearances.

He was part of Newcastle's first-team squad during the 2005/06 season and managed to grab his first senior goal for Newcastle in the 1-3 win against Slovakian side Dubnica.

He even became the hero of the Magpies in scoring in the Tyne-Wear derby, a game which proved to be the last for Alan Shearer. He was not to replace the Geordie hero and was sold to Cardiff in the summer of 2006 for £500,000.

The new beginning meant he became the hero of Wales, scoring 22 goals in 42 games, and winning Championship player of the month for September and PFA Championship player of the month for October.

He was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year and even signed a contract extension at Cardiff. But the chance to get 10 times the money for their star man meant that he was sold to Sunderland, a rather ironic move considering his roots at the Magpies.

His move to Sunderland was greeted with scepticism by Black Cats fans who found it bemusing he would want to play for one of Newcastle's rivals. But that was soon forgotten when he scored an injury time winner against Tottenham Hotspur on his debut.

He struggled to make an impact in 2008/09 and returned to Cardiff on loan in November, scoring seven goals in 11 games before returning to an uncertain future at the Stadium of Light.

After a brief return to Sunderland he went back to Cardiff on loan on deadline day in February 2009.