Ilias Chair
![]() Chair playing for Queens Park Rangers | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ilias Emilian Chair[1] | ||
Date of birth | 30 October 1997 | ||
Place of birth | Antwerp, Belgium | ||
Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Queens Park Rangers | ||
Number | 19 | ||
Youth career | |||
Club Brugge | |||
–2015 | JMG Academy Belgium | ||
–2015 | Lierse S.K. | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2017 | Lierse S.K. | 2 | (0) |
2017– | Queens Park Rangers | 48 | (5) |
2019 | → Stevenage (loan) | 16 | (6) |
International career | |||
2018– | Morocco U23 | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 July 2020 (GMT) |
Ilias Emilian Chair (born 30 October 1997) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays for Championship club Queens Park Rangers.
Early life
Chair was born in Antwerp in Belgium.[3][4]
Club career
Early career
Chair began his career in the youth system at Lierse S.K.[5] He also spent time at the academy of Club Brugge, as well as the JMG Academy Belgium.[6] Chair made his professional debut for Lierse at the age of 17, playing in the Belgian Second Division, when he came as a 76th-minute substitute in Lierse's 1–1 away draw at Coxyde on 9 August 2015.[7][8] He subsequently started his first match a month later, on 9 September 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 home defeat to Cercle Brugge.[7][9]
Queens Park Rangers
Chair went on trial at Championship club QPR in January 2017.[5] During the trial period, he scored in a 3–1 friendly win for the U23s against Bournemouth.[5] He subsequently signed for QPR on a permanent basis on 31 January 2017.[5] Chair was added to the club's Elite Development Squad and spent the remainder of the 2016–17 season playing for the club's U23 team.[5]
Having impressed QPR manager Ian Holloway in training,[2] Chair was named as a substitute in club's first round EFL Cup tie against Northampton Town at Loftus Road on 8 August 2017.[10] He replaced Luke Freeman in the 63rd minute of the match to make his first-team debut.[7][10] Chair made his first starting appearance for QPR in a 1–0 defeat against Preston North End at Deepdale on 2 December 2017.[11] He signed a two-year contract extension with the club on 9 February 2018, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2020.[12] He scored his first goal for the club during QPR's final home game of the 2017–18 campaign on 28 April 2018, scoring a volley at the far post as QPR overturned a one-goal deficit to win 3–1 against Birmingham City.[13] Chair made seven first-team appearances during the season, scoring once.[14]
Having made eight appearances for QPR during the first half of the 2018–19 season,[15] Chair joined League Two club Stevenage on a loan deal for the remainder of the season on 31 January 2019.[16][17] He made his Stevenage debut in the club's 1–0 victory over Yeovil Town at Broadhall Way on 2 February 2019, playing the full match.[18] Chair scored his first goals for Stevenage by scoring two long-range efforts late-on in a 2–2 away draw at league leaders Lincoln City on 16 February 2019.[19] A month later, on 12 March 2019, he scored from within his own half in Stevenage's 2–0 home win against Swindon Town.[20] Chair was nominated for League Two Player of the Month for March 2019 having contributed four goals and four assists.[21] During his brief time at Stevenage, Chair impressed immensely and was involved in 8 of the side's 12 goals since his arrival.[22]
Upon his return to QPR, he signed a new three-year contract with the club in September 2019.[23] Under new manager Mark Warburton, Chair became a key player for QPR at the start of the 2019/20 season.
International career
Chair was born in Belgium and is of Moroccan descent.[3] He was called up to the Morocco U20 squad for a week-long training camp in Rabat in June 2017.[3] Chair represented the Morocco U23s in a 1–0 friendly defeat to the Senegal U23s on 23 March 2018.[24]
Career Statistics
- As of match played 4 May 2019
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Lierse S.K. | 2015–16[7] | Belgian Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2016–17[7] | Belgian First Division B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Queens Park Rangers | 2017–18[14] | Championship | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
2018–19[15] | Championship | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
2019–20[25] | Championship | 32 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5 | |
Total | 40 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 6 | ||
Stevenage (loan) | 2018–19[15] | League Two | 16 | 6 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 | ||
Career total | 61 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 12 |
References
- ^ "Club list of registered players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b "QPR Profile – Ilias Chair". Queens Park Rangers F.C. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ a b c "Ilias Chair set for Morocco Under-20 training camp". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Ilias Chair - Queen's Park Rangers - Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Under-23s add Belgian attacker to ranks". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "JMG Football – Ilias Chair". JMG Academy. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Ilias Chair at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Coxyde 1–1 Lierse". Soccerway. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Lierse 2–3 Cercle Brugge". Soccerway. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b "QPR 1–0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Preston North End 1–0 QPR". BBC Sport. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Ilias Chair: QPR midfielder signs new contract until 2020". BBC Sport. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "QPR 3–1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Stevenage sign Byrne on permanent deal and four players on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Ilias Chair joins Stevenage on loan". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Stevenage 1–0 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "Lincoln City 2–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "Stevenage 2–0 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "Ilias Chair nominated for PFA Player of the Month". Stevenage F.C. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ @StevenageFC (9 April 2019). "Ilias Chair since signing... Played 11 games. Contributed towards 8 of 12 total team goals. 4 goals. 4 assists" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Ilias Chair: QPR midfielder signs new three-year contract". BBC Sport. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ "Chair features in Morocco U23 defeat". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Games played by Ilias Chair in 2019/2020
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
External links
- Ilias Chair at Soccerbase
- 1997 births
- Living people
- Moroccan footballers
- Morocco youth international footballers
- Belgian footballers
- Belgian people of Moroccan descent
- Lierse S.K. players
- Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
- Stevenage F.C. players
- English Football League players
- Belgian Second Division/Belgian First Division B players
- Belgian expatriates in England
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Association football midfielders