Christopher Colin Brunt (born 14 December 1984) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the loan player manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.
A versatile player, Brunt featured primarily as a left winger, but could also be deployed as a left-back or attacking midfielder. Brunt started his career with Middlesbrough but did not manage to make an appearance for the first team. He joined Sheffield Wednesday in 2004 and amassed 153 appearances for the club before joining West Bromwich Albion in 2007, where he went on to feature in over 400 matches. He would later depart the latter at the end of the 2019–20 season, joining Bristol City, before his subsequent departure from Bristol in January 2021. Later that year in May, he retired from football.
Brunt earned 65 caps for the Northern Ireland national team between 2004 and 2017. He also represented his country at various youth levels.
Brunt was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he attended Newtownbreda Primary School. He then went on to study at Wellington College Belfast. As a youth player, he appeared for Saint Andrew's Boys' Club.
Brunt had trials with professional teams Rangers and Middlesbrough as a 16-year-old. He joined Middlesbrough's academy in 2001 and signed his first professional contract a year later. However, he failed to break into the first team at the Teesside club.
He moved to Sheffield Wednesday in March 2004 on an initial short-term deal. A permanent free transfer followed soon after as Brunt signed a two-year contract at Wednesday.
In the 2004–05 season, his first full season at the club, Brunt helped Wednesday achieve promotion to the Championship by scoring five goals in all competitions with four of those coming in the league. In July 2005, he agreed a one-year extension to his existing contract.
He went on to hit seven goals the following season, finishing the campaign as the club's top goalscorer. He also passed the 100 appearance mark for Wednesday during the 2005–06 season, making him the club's most experienced player at the time.
With only one year remaining on his contract, negotiations between Brunt and Wednesday broke down in July 2007, due to what the club described as 'excessive wage demands'.
2007–2010: Securing top-flight status
West Bromwich Albion's bid for Brunt was accepted on 14 August 2007. They completed the signing the next day, in a £3 million four-year deal, which included £500,000 of performance-related add-ons. Brunt made his Albion debut as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 home win over Barnsley on 1 September 2007. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 victory away at Scunthorpe United on 22 September 2007.
Brunt's performance in the 3–0 home win against Plymouth Argyle on 1 March 2008 saw him named in the Championship Team of the Week. On 28 April 2008, Brunt scored a late equalising goal against Southampton in a 1–1 draw; this effectively secured Albion's promotion to the Premier League because of their superior goal difference. He went on to score the free kick in West Brom's 2–0 win over Queens Park Rangers (QPR) that sealed automatic promotion.
Brunt was the club's top scorer in the 2008–09 season, scoring nine goals. This season ended in disappointment for Brunt and his West Brom teammates as the club were relegated, finishing in last place. He was named the club's Player of the Year for the 2008–09 season.
He enjoyed the most prolific goalscoring campaign of his career to date in the 2009–10 season with 13 goals in 43 games in all competitions. The Northern Ireland native once again helped the club reach the highest tier of English football, scoring the second goal in a 3–2 away win over Doncaster on 10 April 2010, which sealed the club's Premier League status. Brunt signed a new three-year contract in July 2010 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2013.
In January 2011, Brunt was made stand-in captain as the manager decided to drop previous club captain Scott Carson. When Roy Hodgson took charge of the Baggies in February 2011, he made Brunt the settled captain of the club. He signed another three-year contract in August 2011 as a result of his impressive form, tying him to the club until June 2014.
He continued to be club captain after a new head coach was appointed when Hodgson had left to manage the England national team.
Brunt helped the team secure an 8th-place finish in the 2012–13 season, the highest the club has finished in the Premier League era, while also helping to secure the record number of points for the club (48). He scored twice in the season, his first a 30-yard strike at QPR which Albion won 2–1 and the second a finish from the edge of the box in a 2–2 draw at home to Aston Villa.
Alan Irvine confirmed Brunt would remain as club captain when he was appointed West Brom manager in the summer of 2014. He signed a new three-year deal on 10 August 2014 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2017.