Middlesbrough Brunt had trials with professional teams
Rangers and
Middlesbrough as a 16-year-old. He joined Middlesbrough's academy in 2001 and signed his first professional contract a year later.
Sheffield Wednesday in 2006 He moved to
Sheffield Wednesday in March 2004 on an initial short-term deal. A permanent free transfer followed soon after as Brunt signed a two-year contract at Wednesday. In the
2004–05 season, his first full season at the club, Brunt helped Wednesday achieve promotion to the
Championship by scoring five goals in all competitions with four of those coming in the league. He went on to hit seven goals
the following season, finishing the campaign as the club's top goalscorer.
West Bromwich Albion 2007–2010: Securing top-flight status West Bromwich Albion's bid for Brunt was accepted on 14 August 2007. They completed the signing the next day, in a £3 million four-year deal, which included £500,000 of performance-related add-ons. Brunt made his Albion debut as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 home win over
Barnsley on 1 September 2007. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 victory away at
Scunthorpe United on 22 September 2007. Brunt's performance in the 3–0 home win against
Plymouth Argyle on 1 March 2008 saw him named in the Championship Team of the Week. On 28 April 2008, Brunt scored a late equalising goal against
Southampton in a 1–1 draw; this effectively secured Albion's promotion to the Premier League because of their superior goal difference. He went on to score the
free kick in West Brom's 2–0 win over
Queens Park Rangers (QPR) that sealed automatic promotion. Brunt was the club's top scorer in the
2008–09 season, scoring nine goals. He was named the club's Player of the Year for the 2008–09 season. He enjoyed the most prolific goalscoring campaign of his career to date in the
2009–10 season with 13 goals in 43 games in all competitions. Brunt signed a new three-year contract in July 2010 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2013.
2011–2014: Club captain In January 2011, Brunt was made stand-in
captain as the manager decided to drop previous club captain
Scott Carson. When
Roy Hodgson took charge of the
Baggies in February 2011, he made Brunt the settled captain of the club. He signed another three-year contract in August 2011 as a result of his impressive form, tying him to the club until June 2014. Brunt helped the team secure an 8th-place finish in the
2012–13 season, the highest the club has finished in the Premier League era, while also helping to secure the record number of points for the club (48). He scored twice in the season, his first a 30-yard strike at QPR which Albion won 2–1 and the second a finish from the edge of the box in a 2–2 draw at home to
Aston Villa.
Alan Irvine confirmed Brunt would remain as club captain when he was appointed West Brom manager in the summer of 2014. He signed a new three-year deal on 10 August 2014 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2017.
2015–2020: Injury and comeback supporters at
Arsenal's
Emirates Stadium in May 2015 Brunt relinquished the captaincy to new signing
Darren Fletcher when the former
Manchester United player made his debut for West Brom on 8 February 2015 in a match against
Burnley. On 18 May 2015, Brunt was hit in the head by a ball kicked by
Cesc Fàbregas in a match against
Chelsea which later resulted in the sending off of Fàbregas. On 20 February 2016, Brunt was struck on the face by a coin thrown by a West Brom supporter after the end of an
FA Cup Fifth Round tie against Championship side
Reading. Brunt was appalled by the incident, stating: "If people come to football matches and think it is acceptable to throw coins at footballers or anyone else, it is disgusting." Brunt returned to first-team action after eight months out with an
anterior cruciate knee injury in the 1–1 draw against
Tottenham Hotspur at
The Hawthorns on 15 October 2016. He scored his first goal of the
2016–17 season on 3 December in a 3–1 home win over
Watford, ending a run of 29 Premier League appearances without a goal. His second goal of the season came on 2 January 2017 in a 3–1 home victory against
Hull City, when he
headed in a ball delivered from a
Matt Phillips corner kick. 12 days later, he made his 300th league appearance and 200th Premier League start for West Brom in the next fixture against Tottenham at
White Hart Lane which ended in a 4–0 defeat for the
West Midlands club. On 9 February 2017, Brunt signed a contract extension which would keep him at the club until June 2018 with an option for another year should he trigger a clause relating to appearances. He made his 500th career appearance in club football against Burnley on 19 August 2017 and the following month on 30 September, made his 350th appearance for Albion, against Watford. On 4 June 2020, it was announced that Brunt would depart West Brom at the expiration of his contract following the conclusion of the
2019–20 season, having spent 13 years with the club and made over 400 appearances. On 22 July, in his final game for West Brom, Brunt helped the side seal promotion to the Premier League with a 2–2 draw against
Queens Park Rangers, officially ending his time with Albion. Brunt holds Albion's Premier League appearance record for a player, having turned out 269 times for the club in the competition.
Bristol City Following his departure from
The Baggies, on 7 September 2020, Brunt signed for
Championship side
Bristol City on a one-year deal. On 3 January 2021, Bristol announced that they had mutually agreed to terminate Brunt's contract after he had sustained an injury which ruled him out for most of the remaining season.
Retirement On 28 May 2021, Brunt announced his retirement from professional football, ending a 19-year career with over 580 appearances made. ==International career==