User:AndrePetru08/James Hunt

James William Hunt (born 17 August 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Championship club Queens Park Rangers and the England national under-19 football team.

Early life and career
Hunt was born on 17 August 2004 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.

Some time before he himself had been a player, but a bad injury had stopped his career in its tracks, leading him onto the path of teaching. Hunt joined the Arsenal academy in 2014, aged ten, and played for the club’s youth setup.

He began playing for the under-21 team in 2020, initially being deployed as a striker, and scored three goals as Arsenal finished 7th in the 2022–23 Premier League 2.

Queens Park Rangers
Despite not making any appearances in the Arsenal's senior squad, his talent interested several scouts and Hunt was signed by EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers on a permanent deal on 7 July 2023 for a fee of €850,000. He was given the number 17 shirt, after he said that it was his lucky number.

2023–2024 season: Promotion race and breakthrough
Queens Park Rangers manager Gareth Ainsworth promoted Hunt to the senior squad immediatly for friendlies in July 2023. His performances against Aberdeen F.C. and Cagliari Calcio led to his inclusion in the first-team matchday squad.

Hunt made his senior debut on 29 July, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Taylor Richards, assisting a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Leicester City. He scored his first goal of his senior career a week later, helping his team to came from behind to win 2–1 over Sheffield Wednesday, winning also a penalty.

He made his first start for the club on 16 August, serving an assist after only 4 minutes in a 2–0 win over Ipswich Town, and scored a brace in the next game, a 3–0 win over Stoke City. He scored another brace on 26 August, in a 2–2 draw against Premier League side Bournemouth in the League Cup, and later on netted also his spot-kick helping his team to reach the next round.

On 26 September, in the EFL Cup third round, QPR faced Manchester United, and Hunt assisted and scored in an astonishing 2–0 win, although both of their goal were largely Onana's error. He scored also the last goal in the semi-final first leg against Arsenal, leveling-up the match after his team went 2–0 down after 18 minutes.

Hunt scored his first career hat-trick on 22 November, assisting also twice in a trashing 6–0 win over Huddersfield Town. On 6 January, he scored his first ever FA Cup gol in a 2–0 win over Millwall in the third round of the competition.

Individual

 * EFL Championship Player of the Month: August 2023