Chem Campbell interview: Wolves loanee on faith, loans and Reading spell

Whether it is Brazilian favourite Kaka pointing to the sky and unveiling his 'I belong to Jesus' shirt after winning the Champions League with AC Milan in 2007, or the general desire to belong to a group or community, sport is rooted in the same ethos.

Many footballers have faith but few talk to about it, but Wolves loanee Chem Campbell is open about his journey.

The 21-year-old is currently impressing at League One side Reading in his fourth loan spell away from Wolves, having battled with limited minutes at previous clubs.

Coaches at both Reading and Wolves have helped the winger realise his talent this season, but his personal beliefs continue to drive him in the tough times.

"I'm a heavy Christian, so I have a lot of faith in God," Campbell told the Express & Star.

"I pray and that helped me the most to get through the times where I've been dropped or sometimes not even in the squads.

"My faith definitely helped me massively. I personally need it, but it's not for everyone."

Campbell is not the only Wolves player to open up on how religion has helped him, after Dexter Lembikisa spoke to the Express & Star in 2023.

"Dexter is a good friend of mine, we speak a lot," Campbell added.

"I wasn't raised a Christian. I developed that and it was through football where I developed that.

"I saw a lot of players speak about Jesus and speak about their faith. When they win things, they're giving glory to Jesus, things like that.

"I was intrigued what it was and then about four or five years ago, I just tapped into it and I haven't looked back.

"I think in those times when you're alone, maybe you're on loan, you're in your apartment on your own, you're not playing, you think 'I'm just alone, I've got no one'.

"But when you have God, you have him. So he's definitely helped me and I think it's important that everyone should have a relationship with God.

"In those times, there's nowhere to look, he's the one that's got your back. That's what I believe."

Campbell's development off the pitch does not end there.

Wolves' pathways manager Steve Davis speaks to the loan players regularly and sends them clips after each game, with the aim of developing players for the club but to also help young men achieve careers in the game.

Campbell, who previously had two loan spells at Wycombe and one at Charlton, has had to overcome some adversity and says tough love has been needed.

"I personally have a good relationship with my agent," he said.

"He's the one who will push me the most and sit me down and have the difficult conversations to say 'maybe you're not doing enough or you need to do this'.

"For some people it's their parents, sometimes it's coaches, but having that person who can humble you a little bit and say, 'you need to improve this, you haven't made it yet, you need to keep working hard', that's what kind of changed for me.

"Maybe it's not nice to hear at the start, but then you sleep on it and then you understand."

But this season Campbell has become a regular starter for Reading, scoring five goals and notching four assists in 20 games in all competitions.

He impressed under manager Ruben Selles before his move to Hull in December and has kept his place under new boss Noel Hunt.

"I can't complain, I'm playing a lot," Campbell said.

"The last few loans, I haven't had that regular game time.

"It's been a bit on and off. Not just for me but for every young player, all you need is a run of games, 10-15 games.

"You can really stamp your authority down and show people what you can do. It's a blessing.

"All you want to do is play and get a run of games.

"If you're constantly getting picked it helps you. It's quite hard to get a rhythm coming in and out of games.

"This is the most games I've had back-to-back so I'm definitely developing and it gives you confidence going into every game to try and win the game for the team."

Reading sit sixth in the division with the aim of returning to the Championship after their relegation in 2022/23.

Campbell's loan ends on January fifth and it remains to be seen if he will stay at Reading, return to Wolves or go elsewhere, but for now he is enjoying his football.

"Especially now that I'm playing, I think I'm getting more confident every day," Campbell said.

"I feel like I have a responsibility to the team now, where if they need something, they need a goal or need a moment that can lead to a goal and assist, I feel like I've put that responsibility on myself to go out and do that.

"Maybe before, I was just happy to be playing. I was just happy to be there, but now I want to take responsibility.

"There's always stuff to improve on, no one's ever going to be perfect. It's just about taking it step by step."

Campbell apologises for the 'cliche' when he is asked about his ambitions this season, as he insists his focus remains firmly on staying fit and taking each game as it comes.

But his Wolves future is something that still remains uncertain.

In 2019 he became the second youngest player ever to to play for the club when he made his professional debut, aged 16, in a fourth round League Cup tie away to Villa.

His Premier League debut came in April 2022 and early on in the following season he added a further five top flight appearances, alongside another League Cup outing.

"When you get a taste of that top level, that's where you want to get to," Campbell said.

"But to be honest with myself, I'm comfortable in just improving season by season, game by game.

"If I constantly just keep improving and keep getting better I think I can reach that level.

"You know, I don't mind if it's in one year, two years, five years. I'm enjoying the journey at the moment.

"I'm still a Wolves player. You never know what can happen in the future."

Campbell's contract runs until 2026, with the option to end it by 12 months.

But the player is adamant he is focusing on the short-term as he creates his career.

He said: "To be honest, I'm not thinking about any of that at the moment.

"I'm thinking about our next game. Honestly, I haven't really thought about it at all.

"I've just been enjoying myself at Reading, playing football, doing the thing that I love to do.

"We'll see what happens, who knows."