James William Hunt (born 17 August 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Serie A club Arsenal and the England national football team.[1]
Early life and career
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Hunt was born on 17 August 2001 in London, where he spent his entire childhood and developed a strong bond with Arsenal. His father is decisive in bringing him closer to the world of football, trasfering his passion to him.[1]
Hunt joined the Arsenal academy in 2011, aged ten, and played for the club’s youth set-up. He began playing for the under-23 team in 2017, initially being deployed as a midfielder, and scored three goals as Arsenal won the 2017–18 Premier League 2.[1]
2018–2020: Limited appearances and development
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After impressing in Arsenal’s youth teams, he was promoted to the main team by first-team manager Unai Emery. At age 17, on 29 November 2018, he played his first official match for the first team, in the UEFA Europa League group stage win over Vorskla Poltava, coming on as late substitute for Aubameyang.[1]
On 24 September 2019, Hunt came off the bench and scored his first professional goal in the 5–0 win over Nottingham Forest in the third round of the EFL Cup. Freddie Ljungberg brought him on more often, and he scored his firsts Premier League and Europa League goals, helping his team winning 3–2 over Norwich City, with an outside-the-box shot on 1 December, and over Standard Liège, eleven days later.[1] When Mikel Arteta was appointed as the new manager, he gave Hunt more chances to start the matches, the first time on 26 December against Bournemouth. On 7 March 2020, he made it through the starting XI and scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win over West Ham, netting a direct free kick from 20 yards out.[1] Hunt received a winner medal as Arsenal won the FA Cup, despite not appearing in the final.
2020–2021: Loan to Queens Park Rangers, promotion and breakthrough
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On 30 August 2020, Hunt was signed by Championship club Queens Park Rangers on a season-long loan. He was given the number 17 shirt.[1]
He made his debut a week later, starting in QPR’s 4–2 win over Plymouth Argyle in the first round of the EFL Cup, also scoring his first goal for the club.[1] He scored his first Championship goal on his debut on 12 September, in a 2–0 win over Nottingham Forest.[1] Hunt became a consistent goalscorer for Queens Park Rangers, netting three consecutives braces against Brentford (3–2), Bristol City (3–2) and Huddersfield Town (2–2). Thanks to this performances, his manager, Mark Warburton, described him as “a very talented player, very probably a future star. His goals gave us 7 points instead of 0. […] He can really make the difference!”.[1]
Queens Park Rangers went out from the EFL Cup after drawing 1–1 against Tottenham and then losing 4–5 the penalty shootout, with Hunt netting both a penalty and his spot kick, while in the FA Cup won the third round against Fulham (1–0), courtesy of James, but then was eliminated by Burnley (0–3) in the following round.[1]
On 1 May 2021, the QPR player scored his 31st goal in a 2–0 win over Stoke City, setting a new record for the most goal scored in a single season. His goals were the key to the Queens Park Rangers’ promotion race, helping the team to reach the 5th position in the table. In the Championship play-off, they beated Swansea City (4–1 agg.) in the semifinal and Brentford (1–0) in the final, winning promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2015.[1]
Hunt collected 31 goals in 40 appearances, finishing as the league top scorer, making it 37 goals and seven assists in 48 appearances in all competitions.[1]
Following his loan to Queens Park Rangers, Hunt returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2021. Amidst interest from several european clubs, he reportedly turned down offers from Borussia Dortmund and Ajax due to the lack of guaranteed playing time. On 5 August 2021, he was signed by Serie A side Sampdoria on a long-term contract for a reported fee of €5.5 million. He requested for the number 17 shirt as nobody was using it.[1]
2021–2022: First impact and good scoring performances
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Hunt made his Sampdoria debut on 16 August 2021, coming on from the bench during the Coppa Italia round of 64 against Alessandria (3–2). He made his Serie A debut a week later against Milan (0–1), and made his first start the following matchday, scoring also his first goal against Sassuolo (2–0).[1]
After a first period of adaptation to the new league, he entered a good scoring form, netting in important relegation-battle match (3–0 with Salernitana, 3–1 over Venezia, 1–0 with Spezia) and against big teams. On 10 December, during the Derby della Lanterna, Hunt assisted the opening goal, doubled the lead for his team trough a free kick from 30 yards out and later won a penalty, helping his team winning 4–1.[1]
His goals also helped Sampdoria to obtain unexpected results over top 6 teams: he scored a brace against Milan (2–1 in Milan) and single goals against Roma (2–1 again) and Juventus (2–2). This results helped Sampdoria to achieve safeness from relegation with still 4 matches to play. The team made a good run also in the Coppa Italia, with Hunt scoring a brace against Torino (3–1) and a goal in the loss with Juventus (2–4) in the following round, meaning they were eliminated. [1]
On 30 April 2022, he scored a 90+7th minute winner from the halfway line against club rivals Genoa. The match ended 2–1, and his goal condemned the latter to relegation into Serie B. His banger won the “Goal of the Month” award and placed second in the “Goal of the Year” standings, with Sampdoria supporters describing it as “one of the best ways to win a derby”.[1]
Hunt closed the season with 14 goals in 33 league appearances as Sampdoria finished 14th in the standings, for a total of 17 goals in 36 matches.
2022: Affirmation and widespread recognition
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Hunt began his second season with Sampdoria netting a brace against Reggina in the Coppa Italia (3–0), repeating himself in the first league match against Atalanta (2–2). This tremendous scoring form was maintained during the prosecution of the season, with him carrying his team to an unexpected 11th place in the standings.[1]
On 28 August 2022, he scored in a 4–0 win over Salernitana and was later sent off for the first time in his career due to a ruthless tackle on Dia when he was already cautioned. Subsequently, he missed Sampdoria following match against Lazio, resulting in a 2–0 loss for his team. Hunt was heavily criticised for his negligence, and he answered entering a 5 game scoring-streak between 4 September and 8 October, netting against Verona (2–1), Milan (1–1), Spezia (2–0), Monza (3–2) and Bologna (1–0).[1]
He scored another brace two weeks later in Coppa Italia, in a 3–1 win over Ascoli that give Sampdoria a pass to the round of 16, where they were eliminated by Fiorentina (0–1). On 29 October Hunt scored his first career hat-trick, single-handedly overturning a 0–1 deficit against Inter at the Giuseppe Meazza. Hunt closed the first half of the season with 12 goal scored, placing at the top of the Serie A Golden Boot table despite playing in a mid-table team.[1]
Before January transfer window, Marco Giampaolo, Sampdoria’s manager, was asked if they were capable of rejecting big offers for their titular striker and he answered: “I hope so, but that isn’t a my decision”. Several Serie A clubs made a bid for Hunt, but only Fiorentina’s one was accepted, and, on 17 January 2023, he was signed by the tuscan team for a fee of €22 million including add-ons. As the number 17 shirt was free, he requested it.[1]
2023: Coppa Italia and Conference League wins
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International career
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2018–2024: Youth level
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Having previously played for the under-19s, Hunt was included in the England U21 squad for the 2020 summer friendlies. He made is debut on 15 August, on a 0–0 draw against Denmark.[1]
- As of 1 August 2024
National competition
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International competition
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