Kane Leo Wilson (born 11 March 2000) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for club Derby County. Wilson joined the

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

aged 7, and would make his first and only appearance for the first team in 2016, he would have loan spells at Exeter City (twice),

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

and Tranmere Rovers. In 2020, Wilson signed with Forest Green Rovers and in the 2021–22 season, Wilson would be named League Two player of the season in the 2022 EFL Awards, as Forest Green won the League Two title. In June 2022, Wilson signed with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, an injury hit season would limit his appearances and in 2023, Wilson left to join Derby County, where in his first season he helped the side win automatic promotion to the Championship.

Club career

West Bromwich Albion

Wilson came to

at the age of 7, alongside Sam Field, and they were joined by

Jonathan Leko Jonathan Kisolokele Leko (born 24 April 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Milton Keynes Dons. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion, made his senior debut as a 16-year-old in 2015, and spent time on l ...

three years later: all made their professional debuts in 2016. Wilson spent most of the 2015–16 season in their under-18 team, making only three appearances in the under-21 team, all as a substitute. However, he was fast-tracked into the first team for their summer tour to Austria. He played his first senior game against Paris Saint-Germain and his first start against

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. Wilson made his competitive debut in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

first round away to Northampton Town on 23 August 2016, coming on in the 70th minute for fellow debutant Brendan Galloway. The game ended as a 2–2 draw which his team lost 4–3 on penalties. Five days after his debut, Wilson was named in West Brom's squad for their

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

game against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

at The Hawthorns. Had he come onto the pitch, he would have been the league's first player born in the 2000s.

Exeter City loan

Wilson joined Exeter City on loan for five months on the summer transfer deadline day. He did not make his league debut until 28 October, in a 1–1 draw at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. He was sent off on his debut for accumulating two yellow cards, being given his marching orders in the 93rd minute.

Tranmere Rovers loan

On 9 August 2019, Wilson joined Tranmere Rovers on loan until January 2020, making his debut the next day in a 2–0 loss to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Forest Green Rovers

Wilson signed permanently with Forest Green Rovers on a two-year deal on 8 July 2020. The 2021–22 season brought success for Wilson on both a club and individual level. With promotion to League One secured for the first time in the club's history after a 0–0 draw with Bristol Rovers, Wilson was awarded the League Two Player of the Season award the following day at the 2022 EFL Awards as well as being named in the 2021–22 League Two Team of the Season.

Bristol City

On 10 June 2022, Wilson signed a three-year contract for Championship team

. In a season hampered by injury, the full-back made seven appearances, providing one goal and one assist for the Robins.

Derby County

On 10 July 2023, Wilson signed a two-year deal with Derby County for a undisclosed fee. Wilson picked up a minor knee injury in the match at home to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

on 15 August which ruled him out of action for four weeks. Upon his return, Wilson became a fans favourite with his skills and his desire to take opposition on as he showed in a substitute appearance in 3–0 victory against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

on 11 November 2023. In a November 2023 interview to the Derby Telegraph, Wilson appreciated the support he got from Derby fans since he joined and after difficult period at Bristol City under Nigel Pearson due to injuries and not being in favour, Wilson was keen to follow the example of teammate

Craig Forsyth Craig Forsyth (born 24 February 1989) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-sided defender for English club Derby County. He previously played for Dundee before joining Watford in 2011, before joining Derby County in 2013. H ...

and develop his game at Derby under head coach Paul Warne long term. Wilson scored his first goal for Derby in a 3–1 League One win against Lincoln City on 21 December 2023, scoring to make the game 2–1 after he came on as a half-time substitute, he also assisted the third Derby goal scored by

James Collins James, Jim, Jimmy, or Jamie Collins may refer to: Sports Association football * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born 1872) (1872–1900), Scottish footballer * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born 1895), Scottish footballer * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born ...

. On 16 March 2024, Wilson scored his second goal for Derby in a 1–0 win over promotion rivals

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. Wison made 49 appearances, scoring three times during his first season as Derby as they finished runners-up in the division and earn promotion to the Championship automatically.

International career

Wilson has represented England at U16 and U17 level. In October 2016, Wilson represented England U17 in a 5–0 win over Croatia and an 8–1 win over Germany.

Personal life

Wilson received his

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

results in the week before his professional debut. His grades were two A's, four B's and five C's. He is of Jamaican descent.

Career statistics

Honours

Forest Green Rovers *

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

: 2021–22 Derby County *

EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

second-place promotion: 2023–24 Individual *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

Player of the Season: 2021–22 *

Team of the Season: 2021–22 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: League Two 2021–22

References

External links

England profile
at The FA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kane 2000 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players English Football League players English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent