Born in Lincoln,[1] Melton started his career back in 1996 as a trainee with Nottingham Forest.
[citation needed] He made his debut for Forest in the Premier League on the last day of the 1998-99 season against Leicester City.
[3] Melton only appeared for Forest on three occasions in the league before moving on to Stoke City in February 2000.
[citation needed] At Stoke, he made seven appearances in 1999–2000 and was an unused substitute in the 2000 Football League Trophy Final.
[5] Melton managed to find his way into the starting eleven and played 46 league games in which he scored three goals.