| Jayden Wareham | |
| Fullname: | Jayden Darren George Wareham[1] |
| Birth Date: | 13 May 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Ascot, England[2] |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | Reading |
| Clubnumber: | 19 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2014 |
| Youthclubs1: | Reading |
| Youthyears2: | 2014–2019 |
| Youthclubs2: | Queens Park Rangers |
| Youthyears3: | 2019–2020 |
| Youthclubs3: | Woking |
| Years1: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs1: | Woking |
| Caps1: | 17 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs2: | Chelsea |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs3: | → Leyton Orient (loan) |
| Caps3: | 5 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2023– |
| Clubs4: | Reading |
| Caps4: | 7 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 12:28, 29 April 2024 |
Jayden Darren George Wareham (born 13 May 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Reading.
Wareham started his career at Reading and then Queens Park Rangers before he was released in 2019 and eventually joining National League side, Woking.[3] After impressing for the under-18 and under-23 sides, he made his debut for The Cards in January 2020, during a 6–2 away defeat to Sutton United, replacing Jake Gray with four minutes remaining.[4] Wareham played two more times in this campaign, and was also named the club's academy player of the year, before signing a new one-year contract with the Surrey-based side in October 2020.[5] On 26 January 2021, he scored his first goals for the club coming off the bench to rescue a point in a 2–2 away draw against Bromley, netting in both the 72nd and 86th minute.[6]
During his two-year spell at Woking, Wareham accolated twenty appearances to his name, scoring twice with both coming against Bromley, before earning himself a trial with Premier League side, Chelsea in March 2021.
Following a successful trial period, in which he featured three times, scoring once for the under-18 side, Wareham agreed a move to Chelsea in May 2021, signing a two-year deal.[7] Upon his arrival he was placed into the under-23 side for the 2021–22 campaign and went onto feature twenty-seven times, finishing the season as the age group's top goal scorer with seven goals to his name, with notable goals coming in the EFL Trophy and the UEFA Youth League.[1]
On 16 June 2023, Chelsea announced that Wareham would leave the club when his contract expired at the end of June.[8]
On 1 September 2022, Wareham joined EFL League Two side Leyton Orient on a season-long loan.[9] It took the Ascot-born striker just over two weeks to make his Leyton Orient debut, with it coming during an EFL Trophy group stage tie against Sutton United, in which he netted two goals within the first 10 minutes of the eventual 3–1 victory.[10] These goals proved to be his only contribution in an Orient shirt, with Chelsea cutting the loan short in January 2023.[11] He returned to West London with seven appearances and two goals to his name during the six-month spell.
On 1 September 2023, Wareham returned to his boyhood club, Reading signing a one-year deal following his release from Chelsea.[12] Later that month, he made his debut for the club starting in their historic 9–0 away victory over Exeter City in the EFL Trophy, featuring for just over an hour.[13]
On 8 May 2024, Reading activated a one-year extension to Wareham's contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.[14]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Woking | 2019–20 | National League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | National League | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2[15] | 0 | 17 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |||||
| Chelsea | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Chelsea U21 | 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | 3[16] | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Leyton Orient (loan) | 2022–23 | League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | |||
| Reading | 2023–24 | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 41 | 5 | |||
Leyton Orient