Benjamin James Chilwell (born 21 December 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a

left-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

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and the England national team. Beginning his career at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, Chilwell had a loan spell with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

and joined Chelsea in 2020.

Early life

Chilwell was born in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, and was raised in

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also i ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

. He attended

Redborne Upper School and Community College Redborne Upper School & Community College is an Academy (English school), academy school and sixth-form located in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England. The school serves the population of Ampthill, Flitwick and surrounding villages. Redborne is a ...

in Ampthill.

Club career

Leicester City

Chilwell joined

's academy aged 12 in 2009 having played in

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ke ...

' centre of excellence. He won their Academy Player of the Year award at the end of the 2014–15 season. After featuring for the club in pre-season under new manager Claudio Ranieri, Chilwell was given the number 30 shirt ahead of the 2015–16 season. He made his first-team debut on 27 October 2015 in the club's

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

match against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

. Chilwell played the entire match as Leicester lost 5–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. On 19 November 2015, Chilwell joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

on a youth

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

until 3 January 2016. He made his debut nine days later in a 2–0 home loss to

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 ...

. On 28 July 2016, Chilwell signed a new contract with Leicester until June 2021. He made his

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 Fo ...

debut on 26 December in a 2–0 home defeat to Everton. Chilwell received praise for his performance. He made 19 appearances across the 2016–17 season, including two in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

, and scored his first career goal on 18 May 2017 in a 6–1 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Chilwell was sent off for the first time in his career on 13 January 2018 after receiving two yellow cards within five minutes of each other in a goalless draw away to

. He signed a new contract with Leicester on 20 October, tying him to the club until June 2024.

Chelsea

Chilwell signed for Leicester's Premier League rivals Chelsea on 26 August 2020 on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee reported by

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

to be £45 million. He made his debut on 23 September, providing the assist for

Olivier Giroud Olivier Jonathan Giroud (born 30 September 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the France national team. Regarded for his work-rate, strength, acrobatic strikes, shot power, consistent goal-s ...

's goal in a 6–0 home win against Barnsley in the third round of the EFL Cup after he came off from the bench. On his first league start for the club on 3 October, Chilwell scored the opening goal and assisted Kurt Zouma for the second as Chelsea beat

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

4–0 at home. On 7 April 2021, Chilwell scored his first

goal in a 2–0 away win over

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in the first-leg of the quarter-final tie. On 16 May, Chilwell scored against his former club

in the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

in the 88th minute, only for it to be disallowed by VAR, as Leicester went on to win 1–0 and their first ever FA Cup. On 29 May, Chilwell won his first-ever trophy after Chelsea defeated Manchester City 1–0 in the

2021 UEFA Champions League Final The 2021 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to the ...

. On 2 October 2021, on his first Premier League start of the league campaign, Chilwell scored his first goal of the season in a 3–1 home win over

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Chilwell would go on to score in Chelsea's next two league games as well, 1–0 win against Brentford and a 7–0 victory over

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

. Having scored in Chelsea's final match of the

2020–21 Premier League The 2020–21 Premier League was the 29th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992 and the 122nd season of top-flight English football overall. The season w ...

season, Chilwell became the first English player to score in four consecutive Premier League games for Chelsea since Frank Lampard in February 2013. On 23 November 2021, Chilwell sustained a ruptured cruciate ligament injury in a 4–0 home win during Chelsea's

2021–22 UEFA Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madri ...

group stage match against Juventus. He was substituted in the second half after a coming together with

Adrien Rabiot Adrien Thibault Marie Rabiot (born 3 April 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Juventus and the France national team. Rabiot spent most of his career with Paris Saint-Germain, making his debut w ...

. On 28 December 2021, it was revealed in a statement by Chelsea that Chilwell would have to receive a surgical repair, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

International career

Along with his Leicester teammate Demarai Gray, Chilwell was called up from the under-21 team to the full

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

squad in September 2018 for a friendly match against Switzerland. He made his debut in this match on 11 September, as a 79th-minute substitute for Danny Rose in a 1–0 home win. Upon taking to the pitch in the match at the

King Power Stadium King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...

he became the first England player to debut at his club ground since Paul Scholes at Old Trafford in 1997. Chilwell made his first start on 12 October in a goalless draw with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A, in a match played behind closed doors. Chilwell was named in the 26-man England squad for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. On 22 June 2021, Chilwell and fellow England player

Mason Mount Mason Tony Mount (born 10 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking or central midfielder for club Chelsea and the England national team. Mount began his senior club career with Chelsea, and joined Vite ...

were forced to self-isolate after coming into contact with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

player Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

after England’s goalless draw with Scotland at the tournament. On 9 October 2021, Chilwell scored his first international goal in a 5–0 away win during England's

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tourn ...

match against

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Personal life

Chilwell's father is from New Zealand and emigrated to England in 1993, three years prior to Chilwell's birth. Chilwell's maternal grandfather Guy Shuttleworth was also a sportsman who played football for Corinthian-Casuals — winning an international cap for England Amateurs in 1949 — and represented

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

. He died at the age of 94 on 21 January 2021. Chilwell played cricket for his local club,

Flitwick Flitwick () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling ''Flytwyk'' appears in 1381. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a natur ...

. Chilwell is the godfather to

and former

teammate James Maddison's son, Leo.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Chilwell goal''

Honours

Chelsea *

: 2020–21 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

runner-up: 2020–21 England * UEFA Nations League third place: 2018–19 *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

runner-up:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Individual *UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2020–21 *

Under-21s Player of the Season: 2015–16 *Leicester City Academy Player of the Year: 2014–15

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chilwell, Ben 1996 births Living people People from Milton Keynes Footballers from Buckinghamshire English footballers England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers England international footballers Association football defenders Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players FA Cup Final players UEFA Champions League winning players UEFA Euro 2020 players English people of New Zealand descent