Junior Tchamadeu: The Rising Star of the Championship

Junior Tchamadeu: The Rising Star of the Championship

Ever heard of Junior Tchamadeu? Prior to this weekend, I would have forgiven you if you hadn’t - the young Cameroonian international had never really managed to make an indent on the English social media scene before Stoke City’s Saturday clash with Bristol City, last season’s unlucky shortcomers in the race for the play-offs.

But if you haven’t seen anything on your feed about his performance for Stoke as the Potters romped to a 5-1 victory on Saturday, then your reputation as an English football fan can truly be cast into doubt - he was absolutely everywhere.

Junior Tchamadeu should be one of the last players we sell this summer.
Not only does he have brilliant potential, but if he goes it would leave us with no out and out right back.

£5m isn’t enough now, anyway. £6.5m for me and I’d be tempted to if we had sufficient backup.

We… pic.twitter.com/YI8Sdm9jot

— Joe Pierpoint (@potterscope_) May 16, 2025

The young right back has brought a new level of quality to his game throughout the 2025/26 season as Stoke emerged as surprising promotion hopefuls, but his showing on Saturday truly announced him as an EFL gem - and his goal? My goodness, what a goal.

But who exactly is Junior Tchamadeu, and why is he only appearing on everyone’s radar now despite boasting over 160 EFL appearances before turning 22?

The Breakthrough

It was at the tender age of 16 that Tchamadeu broke onto the first-team scene for the first time, although instead of the red and white stripes of Stoke, he was clad in the blue and white of Colchester United, who were plying their trade in League Two back in 2020.

Even at the lowest levels of the EFL pyramid, 16 years old is a remarkably young age to break into any senior team - most sensible teenagers are still doing mock GCSEs and worried about their zits at that age. So it was with pleasant surprise that U’s supporters saw that despite his tender age, Tchamadeu immediately exhibited all the hallmarks of a player who could grow and develop into a top talent.

🚨Transfer News🚨
Colchester Have Rejected An Offer For Junior Tchamadeu From Luton Town#Colchester #ColchesterUnited #ColU #United pic.twitter.com/9ulR56iJsG

— TwitColUs (@TwitColUs) January 30, 2023

Granted, his transition to the professional game wasn’t smooth - he didn’t stand out at all in 2020/21 (his debut campaign), making 11 appearances and failing to impress in any of them. However, the start of any sporting career has its setbacks, and you can hardly expect a 16-year-old to be a world-beater from the outset.

One must also remember that some of the Premier League’s most recognisable names started in England’s fourth tier, with Ollie Watkins, Ebere Eze and Ethan Ampadu just a few examples. And some, such as in the case of Watkins, only show their true ability later on in their careers - sometimes, it can take just those couple of extra years for a player to finally grasp and fulfil their role.

The following season, he grew quickly, making 33 first-team appearances and notching his first professional goal in the process, as he helped Colchester to a solid 15th-placed finish. Nothing special, but now 17 years old, Tchamadeu was well on his way to securing a regular first-team spot at an EFL club, no mean feat for an inexperienced teenager.

2022/23 was the campaign in which he made his first serious leaps: he played in all but five of Colchester's 46 league games, played in both the FA Cup and EFL Cup, and netted five times, complimented by a further two assists, earning the Young Player of the Season award in the process - impressive figures for a right back still growing into both himself and the professional game.

Junior Thcamadeu - 19 Years Old 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Junior Tchamadeu is a Right back who plays for Colchester United.

Junior has enjoyed his breakout season in L1 racking up 5 goals and 2 assists in 46 games. Junior also won L2 YPOTYS. pic.twitter.com/TrjmoyejSv

— The Rovers Reaction (@the1875blues) May 23, 2023

It was this breakout season that saw Stoke City sit up and take notice - playing five League Two games before the end of the 2023 summer transfer window, the teenager once again showed his exceptionally high ceiling, and the Potters had seen enough to bring him on board for a fee which remains undisclosed to this day. I’m sure that if he ends up earning them a double-figure sum when he is eventually sold, this figure will mysteriously become common knowledge.

A Step Up

So, at the age of 19, and before taking to a second-tier pitch for the first time, Tchamadeu already had 95 senior games, six goals and three assists to his name - figures that simply highlighted how hard he was willing to work to impress his employers and fulfil his obvious potential.

Always one to work hard behind the scenes, Tchamadeu was thoroughly deserving of his first big move, and despite still being a teenager, he was immediately integrated into the Stoke City first team, making 15 appearances throughout his debut campaign in 2023/24.

Stoke City are closing in on the signing of highly rated Colchester United defender Junior Tchamadeu.

Source: TEAMtalk

📸 Getty

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/xTmgBoKLoj

— We are Stoke (@weare_stoke) July 5, 2023

Perhaps a loan move would have served him better, as his transition to the Championship was similar in many ways to his first campaign in League Two - he looked out of his depth, a step too slow and, as is the case with many promising young prospects, hugely inexperienced.

But as is also the case with many exciting young talents, the more they play, the more experience they collect and can subsequently draw from, and by the end of the season, he had taken his total appearance tally to comfortably over 100 when all competitions and both clubs had been taken into account. Now 20 years of age, it was the time to start showing that he was Championship worthy.

And that he did - last season, he was virtually ever-present for Stoke’s league games, scoring one and assisting two, and showing that despite hitting his 20s, his mind remained sharp and keen to learn - and we all know the Championship has a steep learning curve.

Of course, Tchamadeu was not without his faults; he would often be caught on the ball, some of his passing left much to be desired, and his discipline still needed work (he picked up eight yellow cards in five months), but once again, these are all part of being a young player. The only key takeaway was to ensure he learnt from these errors, and applied this knowledge in future games.

Week in and week out he showed just that little bit more quality - he would opt to take on his man when the previous week he would have passed backwards, and other times, he would play that risky pass when, in their previous fixture, he may have played it safe.

By the end of the campaign, Junior Tchamadeu looked every bit the Championship right-back Stoke City had believed he had the potential to be when they acquired him two seasons ago. And in the new campaign, he has shown no sign of settling at that level.

Junior Becomes Senior

Now aged 21 and a firm first-team favourite at the Bet365 Stadium, Tchamadeu is profiting in a big way from his heavy early exposure and workload that has been put on him from such a young age. For many, the long hours, cold nights, and harrowing defeats that so often befell Colchester in the early 2020s would have broken their resolve, but not Tchamadeu. He fell, bounced back, and came out of it a stronger player, both physically and mentally.

Now, he is illustrating his talent for the world to see, and in being the only senior right-back at the club, he has secured himself the perfect platform to further enhance his development. More game time can only be a good thing.

📸 Junior Tchamadeu à l’entraînement hier au stade Ahmadou Ahidjo avec les Lions indomptables. 🦁🇨🇲#AllonsVoter 🗳️ pic.twitter.com/D4HbCDjAq3

— AllezLesLions (@AllezLesLions) October 12, 2025

Clearly, it is a role he is thriving in. The right-back has played every possible minute for his side in the league this season and in that time has put in a number of outstanding performances, none more noteworthy than in his side's domination of Bristol yesterday, of which he was a key part.

It was his teasing inwinging cross that allowed teammate and Man City loanee Divin Mubama to open the scoring just four minutes in, and though Mubama would go on to bag a hat trick, it was Tchamadeu’s 47th-minute strike that stole the headlines.

Picking the ball up virtually on the sideline from well inside his own half, Tchamadeu decided that this was the day he showed the world what he was all about. Picking up the ball after a lovely flick by Million Manhoef, the Cameroonian opened his stride.

Stop what you are doing and watch this run and finish from Junior Tchamadeu 🤩 pic.twitter.com/quzSMCf7gR

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) November 2, 2025

In no time, his electric pace and rapid acceleration had taken him clear of two pursuing defenders, and when faced with one in front of him, the youngster showed great technical prowess, prodding the ball to one side while he ran to the other. He had covered 50 metres in a matter of seconds, and now only had the keeper to beat.

Coming in from the sideline, Tchamdeu only had a narrow angle from which to beat the keeper, and so instead of accuracy, the right-back-turned-striker opted for power over placement - striking it with all the confidence of a veteran at the Championship level, his side-footed strike flew into the corner, and the Bet365 erupted.

It is one of the most remarkable solo goals the second tier has seen in years, and the fact that it was orchestrated by a defender only added to the wow factor. The goal encapsulated Tchamadeu’s style perfectly: rapid pace, a deft touch, a positive, forward-thinking style, and a total conviction that no matter which choice he makes, it will be the right one.

no junior tchamadeu is outrageous btw. he was running riot for 90 straight minutes causing havoc against a side that are genuinely good (despite the scoreline they put up) https://t.co/SW3PnMXND3

— HILDINGLE ‼️ (@Hildingle04) November 3, 2025

This is perhaps why he is now starting to garner recognition amongst top-flight sides. His rise to a Championship starlet stands as testament to the fact that the old moniker “hard work pays off” still rings true – Tchamadeu’s career took a while to get off the ground, and he was never what anyone would call a ‘childhood prodigy’ or the ‘next big thing’.

Instead, he has taken his time, made the moves that were right for him, and most importantly, put in the work to grow and develop where he saw fit. Now, it is paying off in a big way.

Stoke sit third in the table, Tchamadeu has stood out as one of the Potters' most consistent players since the opening day, and the future is bright for the young defender. Crystal Palace registered their interest over the summer, and Stoke will be hard pushed to ignore further enquiries should Tchamadeu continue to learn, grow and impress in what many call the world’s most competitive league.

He is ready for the next step, and now there is only one question remaining - where will that next step take him?