UEFA Champions League debut in December 2002 against Barcelona. Coming on as a substitute for Lualua, in the final minutes of the match, Newcastle was handed a 3–1 defeat. Further playing once for the club against Bayer Leverkusen, Chopra was loaned to second-tier club Watford for five matches on 25 March 2003. During his short loan spell, he scored five goals in as many matches, which included four goals against Burnley. 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. He said that Chopra "had an experience he wouldn't have believed a month ago having played in an FA Cup semi-final." 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. In September of the same year, the BBC reported that Indian club Mohun Bagan was interested in signing him. Failing to find a goal in the 2003–04 season, Newcastle loaned Chopra to Nottingham Forest for a month in February 2004. He failed to find the net, as he ended the season playing eleven times without scoring. At the start of the 2004–05 season, he was loaned for a month to League One club Barnsley in August. Making his debut against Hull City, he would score his first goal for Barnsley against Hartlepool United, opening a 1–1 draw at Victoria Park. Scoring a total of five goals, his loan was extended in November till the end of the season. In the rest of the season, Chopra scored twelve times – including two hat-tricks, one against Peterborough United and another against Huddersfield Town. New Barnsley boss Andy Ritchie intended to sign Chopra in the summer to play alongside Paul Hayes, but was unsuccessful. Chopra began the 2005–06 season back in Newcastle's first team, scoring his first senior goal for Newcastle in the 3–1 away win to Slovak side Dubnica on 17 July in UEFA Intertoto Cup. Making his second start for Newcastle, he opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the match. 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. Nevertheless, he played in that match where he "slid