There aren’t many stranger signings and stories than that of Jay Chapman and Dundee.
Why did the Dark Blues sign him? And then not play him? And what happened this season?
A bizarre situation and a warning to any club to do thorough homework on every deal.
It could go down as one of the worst signings in Dundee’s history, though very little of that is the fault of the player himself.
Signing Jay Chapman has arrived in the country and was at the Kilmac Stadium for the first time today.
He will wear squad number 12 #thedee pic.twitter.com/9Hng6kPkuu
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) January 24, 2022
It may even have precipitated the summer overhaul of transfer policy overseen by technical director Gordon Strachan.
Because this was a deal done for a manager, not by a manager and therein lies peril.
Who is Jay Chapman?
Chapman had just turned 28 when he signed on the dotted line for the Dens Park club.
He had been a free agent since being released by Inter Miami in November 2021, where he’d played with the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and World Cup-winner Blaise Matuidi.
The central midfielder had played 25 times in MLS in 2021 as Phil Neville’s side finished in 20th place of 27 overall.
That’s after being a fairly regular performer in the same division at Toronto FC for five seasons.
Chapman had three Canadian international caps and one goal to his name, too.
An experienced pro, the midfielder was keen to try his luck across the Atlantic.
St Johnstone had the option to sign him but declined, rumour has it so did St Mirren.
Dundee
But Dundee took the plunge – and with it added a hefty salary to their wage bill.
For reference, Chapman’s base salary at Inter Miami in 2021 was $167,500 per year. That’s $3,221 a week.
Even at today’s poor exchange rate that comes to £2,831 per week. Now, that’s not what he was paid by the Dark Blues but it’s fair to expect he wasn’t taking a big pay cut to move continents.
Managing director John Nelms wanted a route into the North American player market and this was the route he chose.
It’s understood then-manager James McPake wasn’t aware of the deal until it was completed.
Under pressure to get his team out of relegation trouble in the Premiership and to make signings in the January window, McPake toed the party line after the signing was announced by talking up the deal in the media.
He would lose his job less than a month later.
On the pitch
Dundee needed all the help they could get as they struggled at the foot of the Premiership.
Their struggles would continue under McPake’s successor Mark McGhee as the Dark Blues eventually succumbed to relegation.
Despite all their problems, Chapman did not start a game.
Jay Chapman joins an exclusive club of Dundee players never to lose a game
Both his brief appearances ended in draws
Also in there from recent years are Nicholas Hamilton (though don't think he touched the ball in his 1 min on the pitch) and Andreas Hadenius (1 win, 2 draws) https://t.co/BucGw0Ixi1
— George Cran (@di_cranio) October 3, 2022
McPake did give him a debut in the closing stages of a drab 0-0 derby against rivals Dundee United, where he had little chance to affect the outcome.
McGhee called on Chapman only when his options were cut significantly by a Covid outbreak in the squad at Motherwell.
The Canadian played 33 minutes of the 1-1 draw at Fir Park and, to be fair, looked tidy enough in the middle of the park.
But he didn’t appear again, bringing his total number of minutes in a Dundee shirt to 35.
This season
The Dens Park club had to prepare for life in the Championship in 2022/23, but there was a new feel about the place.
A new manager in Gary Bowyer, a new football structure behind the scenes and a shiny new training centre.
Chapman, though, didn’t turn up for pre-season training.
He had a passport problem – the story goes that he accidentally put his through the wash.
So there was a wait until a replacement arrived. However, it soon became clear that the midfielder wouldn’t be returning.
Evidently, he was unhappy at moving thousands of miles only to watch football rather than play any.
Asked about it in August, Bowyer said: “It’s something between Jay and the club at the moment, so I have left it in the hands of the people who need to sort that with him and his representatives.”
Courier Sport understands he was the club’s highest-paid player this season.
In the end, a protracted legal wrangle eventually saw the club and player part ways this week without a pay off.
So ended Dundee’s dalliance in the North American player market; the club emerging with fingers well and truly burnt.
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