Philip Billing
Philip Anyanwu Billing (born 11 June 1996) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Championship club AFC Bournemouth and the Denmark national under-21 team.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Philip Anyanwu Billing[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 11 June 1996||
Place of birth | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
Height | 197 1.93 m[3] | ||
Playing position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | AFC Bournemouth | ||
Number | 29 | ||
Youth career | |||
Jerne IF | |||
–2013 | Esbjerg | ||
2013–2014 | Huddersfield Town | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2019 | Huddersfield Town | 81 | (5) |
2019– | AFC Bournemouth | 33 | (1) |
National team‡ | |||
2014 | Denmark U19 | 1 | (0) |
2017–2019 | Denmark U21 | 7 | (1) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 July 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 August 2019 |
Club career
Huddersfield Town
Billing was born in Esbjerg (Jutland).[4] After signing for Esbjerg in his native Denmark, he joined Huddersfield Town in 2013 on a youth contract. Billing signed a four-year professional contract in October 2013.[5] After performing well for both the under-18s and under-21s, he made his first team debut for the club as a substitute in their 2–0 loss against Leicester City at the John Smith's Stadium on 26 April 2014.[6]
His first start for the Terriers came 18 months later in their 2–2 draw against Reading at the Madejski Stadium on 3 November 2015. His first goal for the club came from a 30-yard strike against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in a 2–0 win for the Terriers on 13 February 2016.[7] On 19 November 2016, he scored his second goal for the club with a volley from 32 yards out in a 3–2 loss against Cardiff City.[8]
Billing got slowly more and more space in the squad. After 10 good matches in the 2015–16 season, Billing signed a contract extension in March 2016.[9] He got his breakthrough in the 2016–17 season. "In-form" Billing was linked with a transfer to Premier League club Crystal Palace.[10] He played 24 games and scored two goals in total in that season. After the season, Billing was named as the youth player of the season in Huddersfield and his goal against Cardiff City in November 2016 was voted goal of the season.[11]
In March 2019, Billing suffered racial abuse on social media; the matter was reported to police.[12]
Bournemouth
On 29 July 2019, Billing signed for Premier League Bournemouth on a long-term contract for a £15 million fee, being given the No. 29 jersey.[13][14] Billing made a strong start to his first season with Bournemouth, starting the first four Premier League games of the season and being nominated for the club's Player of the Month award for August.[15] Billing scored his first goals for the club in the FA Cup Third Round fixture against Luton Town, as Bournemouth won the game 4–0.[16] He then scored his first Premier League goal for the club, netting the opening goal against relegation rivals Aston Villa in a 2–1 win for the home side on the 1st February.[17]
Billing was involved in a controversial Video assistant referee decision in a 3–0 away loss to Burnley in the Premier League on the 22nd February, when his knock-down from a corner to Joshua King was adjudged to be a handball by the VAR officials. This was one of two goals disallowed for handball for the away side in the game by VAR.[18]
International career
Billing was born in Denmark and is of Nigerian descent.[19] Billing is Denmark youth international having represented the U19 and U21 teams.[20]
He made his single appearance for the U19s on 4 September 2014, as a substitute in their 2–1 win over Norway national under-19 football team in Lyngdal.[21] On 9 March 2017, he was called up to the Denmark under-20 team to face the Czech Republic under-20 team and the Romania national under-20 football team.[22] He earned his first cap for the U21 team in a qualifying match for the 2019 European Championship against the Faroe Islands on 31 August 2017; it ended in a 3–0 win. He again featured a week later in another qualifying match, which the team won 6–0 against Lithuania.[23]
In November 2018, Billing turned down an approach to switch his international allegiance to the Nigeria national team.[24] In March 2019, he received his first call-up to the Denmark national team.[25]
Career statistics
- As of match played 21 July 2020
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Huddersfield Town | 2013–14[26] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2014–15[26] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2015–16[26] | Championship | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | ||
2016–17[26] | Championship | 24 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |
2017–18[26] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
2018–19[26] | Premier League | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | ||
Total | 81 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 6 | ||
AFC Bournemouth | 2019–20[26] | Premier League | 33 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 3 | |
Career total | 114 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 9 |
Honours
Individual
- Huddersfield Town Young Player of the Year: 2015–16,[27] 2016–17,[27] 2018–19[14]
- Huddersfield Town Goal of the Season: 2015–16[11]
- Huddersfield Town Players' Player of the Year: 2018–19[14]
References
- "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- "Philip Billing: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- "Philip Billing". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- "Philip Billing". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- bold.dk. "Prof-kontrakt til dansk Huddersfield-talent". bold.dk.
- "Huddersfield Town 0-2 Leicester City". BBC Sport. 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
- "Nottingham Forest 0-2 Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
- "Cardiff City 3-2 Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
- Billing forlænger med Huddersfield‚ bold.dk, 31 March 2016
- PL-interesse for formstærk Billing‚ bold.dk, 31 January 2017
- Flere priser til Philip Billing ved Huddersfields prisuddeling, tipsbladet.dk, 1 May 2017, Danish
- "Philip Billing: Huddersfield contact police after midfielder racially abused on social media". BBC Sport. 13 March 2019.
- "Transfer roundup: Bournemouth sign Huddersfield's Philip Billing for £15m". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- "AFC Bournemouth have completed the signing of Danish central midfielder Philip Billing". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- "Vote now for August Player of the Month". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "AFC Bournemouth 4-0 Luton Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "AFC Bournemouth 2-1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "Burnley 3-0 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Ikke god nok til U21 – nu kan han blive sommerens dyreste dansker".
- "DBU Profile". www.dbu.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-12-15.
- "Landsholdsdatabasen spiller information". DBU (in Danish). Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- David Threlfall-Sykes (9 March 2017). "BILLING RECEIVES FIRST DENMARK U20 CALL-UP". htafc.com. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- "Landsholdsdatabasen spiller information". DBU (in Danish). Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/i-see-myself-as-a-dane-huddersfield-town-denmark-u21/1kjhno1kzsnu119cn8o834rkum
- https://futaa.com/article/175145/phillip-billing-set-to-be-cap-tied-to-denmark
- "P. Billing: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
- "Swansea consider bid for £10m Huddersfield midfielder Philip Billing". Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
External links
- Philip Billing at Soccerbase
- Philip Billing – UEFA competition record