A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to secure a regular first team place, instead spending time on loan at Watford, Nottingham Forest, and Barnsley.

He joined Blackpool on a free transfer in July 2013, before moving to the Indian Super League with the Kerala Blasters for the inaugural 2014 season.

[3] Chopra made his professional debut on 6 November, at St James' Park against Everton in the League Cup.

Being behind Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy, Shola Ameobi and LuaLua in the pecking order, Watford manager Ray Lewington expressed his desire to re-sign him on loan for the next season.

"[8] On 11 May 2003, Chopra made his Premier League debut as the season ended with a 1–1 draw at West Bromwich Albion, he again replaced LuaLua with eight minutes remaining.

[13] Making his debut against Hull City,[14] he would score his first goal for Barnsley against Hartlepool United, opening a 1–1 draw at Victoria Park.

[16] In the rest of the season, Chopra scored twelve times[17] – including two hat-tricks, one against Peterborough United[18] and another against Huddersfield Town.

[17] New Barnsley boss Andy Ritchie intended to sign Chopra in the summer to play alongside Paul Hayes, but was unsuccessful.

[20] In the second leg of the match, he suffered concussion, with Sky Sports reporting that he would miss the next game against Spanish club Deportivo de La Coruña.

[22] In a Tyne–Wear derby against Sunderland on 17 April 2006, Chopra scored his only Premier League goal and the fastest by a substitute – finding the net after coming on fifteen seconds earlier.

[29] In July 2007, newly promoted Premier League side Sunderland agreed a deal worth up to £5 million, activating a release clause, to sign Chopra on a four-year contract.

[39] After missing the initial matches for "personal problems", he scored two goals in his second game of the 2008–09 season as Sunderland beat Middlesbrough 2–0 on 20 September.

[42] Chopra made his debut against Queens Park Rangers playing the entire ninety minutes of the 1–0 defeat.

A statement released by the club confirmed the blow, speculating that they would be required to finish the season without him[55] However, he would return to feature in both the legs of the Championship play-offs against Reading.

[56][57] On 10 June 2011, Chopra penned a three-year deal with Ipswich Town signing for an undisclosed fee, which was reported by East Anglian Daily Times to be £1.5 million.

Though he missed a couple of chance earlier in the match, he was successful in converting Carlos Edwards low cross in the last minute of the encounter.

[69] He made his debut in the first match against NorthEast United, coming as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat, with The Times of India commenting that he "looked sharp".

[71] Reflecting on his stint in first season of Indian Super League, Chopra admitted that ISL turned out to be much more intense and competitive than he had anticipated.

[76] On 7 August 2016, Chopra made a return to Kerala Blasters after not being retained by them in the second edition of the Indian Super League.

[77] To show that his injury prone ankle would hold up to the rigours of the league and not affect the club's bid to bounce back from a poor finish in the previous season, Chopra had a three-week training stint with Pune outfit DSK Shivajians before joining the Blasters.

In November 2010, Chopra entered into talks over acquiring an Indian passport in order to represent India in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

[82] In August 2014, Chopra stated that he wanted to play for India at international level, and was willing to renounce his British citizenship to do so.

[86] In July, it was reported that the couple had split only weeks after their £250,000 wedding,[87] but they later reconciled as she vowed to "stand by him" as he entered rehab for his gambling addiction, which included a spell at the Sporting Chance clinic.

[92] In December 2011, Chopra and his father were involved in a cocaine drugs trial in Newcastle upon Tyne crown court.

[93] On 4 October 2012, Chopra was one of three footballers among a group charged by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) over an investigation into "suspicious betting activity".

[96] In 2020, Chopra was involved in a consortium that sought to buy Newcastle United alongside fellow former Magpies striker Alan Shearer.