Everything you need to know about Ben Chilwell

Club

3 Feb 2025

Ben Chilwell has completed a loan move to Crystal Palace from Chelsea – so to get you fully up to speed, here’s everything you need to know about the accomplished full-back’s story so far…

A sporting family

Chilwell was born in Milton Keynes in December 1996, three years after his father – a keen Rugby player – had emigrated from New Zealand.

A promising young sportsman in multiple fields, Chilwell’s early pathway mirrored that of his late grandfather, Guy Shuttleworth, who pursued both cricket and football and excelled at both.

Shuttleworth played first-class cricket for Cambridge University from 1946 to 1948 before representing South London football club Corinthian-Casuals, winning an amateur international cap for England.

Chilwell’s story took on a similar form, playing for several local football clubs before joining Rushden & Diamonds’ centre of excellence from around the age of nine.

At the age of 12, Chilwell successfully trialled with Leicester City and impressed – eventually forcing him to choose between his two favoured sports, having also been part of the Northants academy set-up and taken part in an ECB Under-15s trial.

Cricket’s loss to be football’s gain: Chilwell – having found the latter the more enjoyable sport – pushed through the ranks with Leicester to win their 2014/15 Academy Player of the Year Award at just 18 years of age.

Leadership material

Chilwell’s mentality saw him handed the captain’s armband for multiple Leicester youth sides, and also earned the full-back international recognition with England Under-18s, where he played alongside fellow Milton Keynes-born talent Dele Alli.

Ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, Chilwell was handed Leicester’s No. 30 shirt, and made his professional first-team debut from the start in a League Cup match against Hull City in October 2015.

The following month, Chilwell joined Huddersfield Town on loan for two months, playing eight matches in the Championship in that time.

He returned to Leicester in January 2016 and impressed in an FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur, going to form part of the Foxes’ remarkable Premier League title-winning squad – although he would not make his debut in the competition until the following December.

It was the first taste of trophy-winning success for Chilwell – but certainly by no means the last.

Top-flight breakthrough

Chilwell’s top-flight breakthrough in earnest came with Leicester in the 2016/17 season, when he played 12 times – scoring his first goal against Spurs – and subsequently twice in the UEFA Champions League, including in the Foxes’ quarter-final with Atletico Madrid.

The following season, Chilwell became first-choice at left-back for Leicester, earning his first senior England call-up in September 2018 under Sir Gareth Southgate – who had worked with him at Under-21s level – and debuting against Switzerland at the King Power Stadium.

His first England start arrived against Croatia the following month, Chilwell now firmly established as a top-class performer for club and country.

Blue stayed the colour

Having featured 123 times for Leicester over five seasons, scoring four goals, Chilwell’s first major transfer took place in August 2020, with Chelsea paying a reported £45 million for the defender’s services.

Chilwell made a flying start to life with the Blues, playing further forward in a left wing-back role, assisting a goal on his debut and – on his first start a month later, which came against Palace – scoring the opening goal.

At the start of the 2020/21 season, Chilwell’s impressive attacking instincts saw him become the first English player to score in four consecutive Premier League games for Chelsea since Frank Lampard.

And by the end of it, Chilwell was a European champion, scoring against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and playing in 10 of the Blues’ 13 matches – including the entirety of the 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Final at Estádio do Dragão – on the way to lifting the trophy.

Add to that his explosive pace – measuring 36.1 km/h last season to rank third across the entire division – and it creates a complete defender capable of transitioning to Premier League football.

Leading Lion

His superb performances earned him a spot in the Champions League Squad of the Season, as well as a place in England’s 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020, as Southgate’s squad reached their first major final since 1966.

Injury would disrupt Chilwell’s next campaign, but the full-back signed a new contract with Chelsea in April 2023, being named as the Blues’ vice-captain in August of that year, and leading his side out in the 2024 League Cup Final.

With Champions League-winning experience, goalscoring pedigree, and a leadership mentality of fine ilk, Chilwell will bring quality and character of the highest calibre to the second-half of Palace’s 2024/25 season.

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