Jack Bonham

Jack Elliott Bonham (born 14 September 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Brentford. Although born in England, he represented Republic of Ireland at U17 level. He began his career in the academy at Watford.

Club career

Watford

Bonham signed a scholarship deal with Watford in June 2010, but quickly signed his first professional contract three months later, having just turned 17. Due to first team goalkeeper Scott Loach incurring a suspension, Bonham received his first call up to the first team squad on 26 November 2011, when he was an unused substitute for a 0–0 Championship draw with Doncaster Rovers. During the 2012–13 season, Bonham was an unused substitute on 12 occasions. He made his debut (and only appearance) for Watford on 4 May 2013, coming on as a substitute for goalkeeper Jonathan Bond after 24 minutes of the final game of the season against Leeds United, a 2–1 defeat. Bonham was only included in the squad due to an injury sustained in the warm up by first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and was at fault for both Leeds' goals, which cost Watford the chance of automatic promotion to the Premier League. After the match, Watford manager Gianfranco Zola refused to blame Bonham for his actions. Bonham was not called into the squad for Watford's unsuccessful playoff campaign. On 7 June 2013, Watford announced that Bonham's contract would not be renewed and he was released by the club.