Chris Willock

Christopher Anthony Willock (born 31 January 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Portuguese side Benfica B in LigaPro and the England national under-20 team.

Chris Willock
Willock playing for Arsenal U19 in 2015
Personal information
Full name Christopher Anthony Willock[1]
Date of birth (1998-01-31) 31 January 1998[2]
Place of birth Waltham Forest, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Benfica B
Youth career
2003–2016 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Arsenal 0 (0)
2017– Benfica B 64 (14)
2019–2020 → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 0 (0)
2020 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 14 (2)
National team‡
2013–2014 England U16 6 (1)
2014–2015 England U17 18 (2)
2015–2016 England U18 4 (0)
2016–2017 England U19 10 (3)
2017–2018 England U20 9 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 July 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2018

Club career

Arsenal

Born in Waltham Forest, London, Willock joined Arsenal's academy when he was five years old.[3] He, then aged 16, appeared for the Arsenal first team in a pre-season friendly in 2014 when Arsène Wenger described him as a "very interesting player".[4] At the end of the 2015–16 season, he scored and provided two assists in a victory over Aston Villa in the U21 Premier League play-off final held at the Emirates Stadium.[5][6] He made his first team debut on 20 September 2016 against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.[7]

Benfica

On 30 June 2017, Willock signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica.[8][9] He made his Benfica debut with the reserve team in a LigaPro match against Varzim on 23 August 2017.[10]

West Bromwich Albion

On 8 August 2019, Willock joined West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan with options to review the agreement in January.[11]

Huddersfield Town

After struggling to break into the first team at West Brom, Willock joined Huddersfield Town on 31 January 2020.[12]

Personal life

Willock has two brothers, Matty and Joe, who are also footballers. All three brothers shared a pitch when Manchester United played a reserve game against Arsenal in May 2017.[13] Willock is of Montserratian descent.[14]

Honours

Individual

  • UEFA European U-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2015 [15]

Arsenal Youth

References
  1. "Chris Willock - Mallorca Futbol". Mallorca Futbol. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  2. "Chris Willock". 11v11. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  3. "Introducing Chris Willock". Youtube.com.
  4. Bleaney, Rob (21 July 2014). "Arsène Wenger identifies 16-year-old Chris Willock as next Arsenal star". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  5. "Arsenal's Chris Willock gives masterclass as Under-21s are promoted to Division One". Metro.co.uk.
  6. "Christopher Willock: Profile". Arsenal.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  7. "Nottingham Forest vs. Arsenal - 20 September 2016 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  8. "Chris Willock joins Benfica". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  9. "Chris Willock: "Estou muito entusiasmado"" [Chris Willock: "I am very excited"]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 2 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  10. https://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/agora/noticias/2017_2018/08/23/benfica-b-estreia-oficial-de-willock/
  11. "Willock arrives at The Hawthorns". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  12. "LOAN: CHRIS WILLOCK ARRIVES FROM BENFICA!". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  13. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/man-utd-news-willock-pogba-13766528
  14. "ForaDeJogo.net - Chris Willock (Christopher Anthony Willock)". ForaDeJogo.
  15. "Under-17 - Technical report - Team of the Tournament". UEFA. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.