Jason Puncheon

Early career

Born in Croydon, Greater London, Puncheon began his career with Wimbledon, and moved with the team to Milton Keynes, where the club became Milton Keynes Dons in 2004. He was released in January 2006. He moved to Barnet in June of the same year, after brief spells with Fisher Athletic and Lewes. He was named FA Cup Player of the Third Round in 2007 and the following season after scoring a succession of brilliant goals (including a last minute 35-yard free kick versus Bradford) was named in the PFA Team of the Season.

Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle signed Puncheon from Barnet for £250,000 in 2008. He endured an unsuccessful 18-month spell at the club, making six league appearances. He was loaned to former club MK Dons three times in two years, where he scored 11 goals in 51 appearances.

Southampton

On 30 January 2010, Puncheon joined Southampton which then led to his loan deal at MK Dons to be cut short. He scored his first goal in a 5–1 victory over Walsall, and scored again a few days later, in a 5–0 victory over Huddersfield.

At the start of the 2010–11 season, he was a regular in the first team. However, when Alan Pardew lost his job just days after a 4–0 win away to Bristol Rovers, Southampton hired Nigel Adkins as manager. Under Adkins, he stayed in the first team, but found himself under increasing pressure from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for his place. Eventually Adkins lost patience with Puncheon's erratic performances, and dropped him to the bench in favour of 17-year-old Chamberlain, who was later sold to Arsenal for a reported £15m. On 16 November 2010, Puncheon moved on an emergency loan deal to Millwall. He scored his first goal on his first game for Millwall in their 1–0 victory over Middlesbrough. On 1 January 2011, Puncheon scored a hat-trick in the 3–0 victory over Crystal Palace.

On 31 January 2011, Puncheon joined Blackpool on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut, scoring a goal, at Everton on 5 February. He scored his second goal against Chelsea on 7 March at Bloomfield Road. Puncheon re-joined the Saints after Blackpool's failed attempt to fight off relegation. On 31 August 2011, Puncheon joined Queens Park Rangers on loan until 2 January 2012.

He returned to the Saints after his unsuccessful loan spell at QPR, but on 21 January 2012, he publicly criticised Executive chairman Nicola Cortese. However just days later, it was revealed that Puncheon had apologised to Cortese and would be available for selection in the first team. He then started the next two matches: a 1–1 draw in the FA Cup at Millwall and a 1–1 draw in the Championship against Cardiff City.

He scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season with a 30-yard volley in a league cup win at Stevenage. He scored his first Premier League goal for Southampton in a 4–1 home victory against Aston Villa. His second came when Southampton won 3–1 away to QPR. He scored his third Premier League goal in the 61st minute against Reading to secure Southampton a vital 1–0 victory and move them out of the relegation zone. His fourth was scored to give Southampton a 2–2 draw away to the Champions of Europe Chelsea. On 9 February 2013, he scored his fifth in Southampton's 3–1 home win against 2011–12 champions Manchester City.

On 1 March 2013, Puncheon signed a new contract with Southampton, expiring in 2016.

Crystal Palace

On 21 August 2013, Puncheon signed a one-year loan with Crystal Palace. He missed a penalty as Palace lost 2–0 away to Tottenham Hotspur on 11 January 2014, but made up for his miss by scoring the only goal of their 1–0 win against Stoke City the following weekend. On 31 January 2014, Puncheon made his loan spell into a permanent move, for a fee of around £1.75m. Puncheon's three goals in January and a further three in back-to-back wins in April that lifted Palace away from the relegation zone, led boss Tony Pulis to issue a 'hands off' warning to other clubs interesting in signing Puncheon.

On 16 August 2014, in Palace's first match of the new season away to Arsenal, Puncheon took a corner which was headed in by Brede Hangeland for the first goal of the game. He was sent off for his second booking in the 89th minute, after which Arsenal scored their winning goal. On 17 January 2015, Puncheon scored his third goal of the season and second in as many games against Burnley in a 3–2 away win. Crystal Palace had come from 2 goals down to claim victory to boost their survival hopes. Palace manager Alan Pardew heaped praise on Puncheon's performance, describing him as "the best player on the pitch by a country mile."

On 6 April 2015, Jason Puncheon scored the winning goal for Crystal Palace against Manchester City. Puncheon's goal came from a freekick which went past Manchester City's goalkeeper Joe Hart. He opened the scoring in the 2016 FA Cup Final against Manchester United with a goal in the 78th minute, but Palace went on to lose the match 2–1 after extra time.

Personal life

Puncheon is of Jamaican descent and is eligible for the Jamaica national football team.

Honours

Career statistics