https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/02/09/
chilwell-recalls-his-big-break-in-yorkshire
Chilwell recalls his big break in Yorkshire
09 Feb 2021
Ahead of our trip to Yorkshire to face Barnsley, Ben Chilwell reveals how
a loan spell at another Championship side in that part of the country gave
him his first taste of senior football and was the launch pad for the
journey that would bring him to Stamford Bridge.
https://i.imgur.com/hkbp70S.jpg
We take on Barnsley at Oakwell in the fifth round of this season's FA Cup
on Thursday evening and, as Chilwell explains, it means a return to a
region that holds a special significance in his career.
As a youngster at Leicester City, attempting to break into the Foxes'
first-team squad during the 2015/16 season, as they headed towards the
Premier League title, was no easy task. As a promising member of their
youth system he was already earmarked for big things, but had managed just
the one League Cup appearance so far.
Shortly after making his debut in that penalty shoot-out defeat to Hull
City, Chilwell was handed his first chance to experience life in senior
football full time, when he was sent on a short-term loan to Huddersfield
Town.
As can often be the case with young players in his situation, the move
seemed to come about very suddenly as new Terriers manager David Wagner,
who would lead them into the Premier League the following season, moved to
make Chilwell his first signing for the club.
'It was a big move,' recalls Chilwell. 'I remember I was actually away
with England Under-20s at the time, flying back from somewhere, and when
we landed the manager Neil Dewsnip said to me you're going with the
Under-21s, which was obviously a massive step for me in my career.
https://i.imgur.com/vPHk5Bm.jpg
A young Chilwell representing England at Under-20s level in 2015
'So I went and met up with England Under-21s for the next two days, didn't
make the squad but it was nice to be involved, and when I was actually in
the car with my dad on the way back my agent rung me to say I was going to
Huddersfield the next day. So I literally drove back to my parents' house
with my dad, packed all my stuff and then the next morning I drove up to
Huddersfield.'
As a short-term deal, his time in West Yorkshire only lasted around six
weeks between late November and the start of January, making eight league
appearances before being recalled by Leicester to provide cover for
Christian Fuchs.
However, it was nonetheless a formative experience for the left-back,
which opened his eyes to the reality and pressures of professional
football.
'At 18 years old it was pretty daunting,' says Chilwell. 'I was going into
a first-team dressing room for the first time because at Leicester I was
still in the Under-23s dressing room. I remember going to the training
ground on my first day and David Wagner, who was the manager at the time,
called me into his office.
https://i.imgur.com/GSA5tZ2.jpg
Chilwell in action for Huddersfield against Brentford
'He was a great manager, I loved working for him, and we had a chat for
about half an hour about the way he wanted us to play, how it was going to
suit me, and that put me at ease a little bit. Then he walked me into the
dressing room and that was my first experience of being in a dressing room
with senior players where everything is about winning.
'Huddersfield was a very big step in my career in going from Under-23s
football, where it's all about improving as a player, to going into a
men's dressing room where it's all about winning and you're seeing that
it's not just for fun. It's people's livelihoods at the end of the day and
seeing that side of it was a big part of my growth in my career.'
While some may have been reluctant to miss out on part of Leicester's
fairy tale title-winning campaign, even as someone on the fringes of the
team, Chilwell says the opportunity to experience first-team football was
far more valuable and one he wouldn't change for the world.
In fact, despite getting to be part of the Foxes' Premier League
celebrations at the end of the season, the fact he made just two FA Cup
appearances against Tottenham in January during the remainder of 2015/16,
meant it was actually something of a disappointment not to be able to see
out the campaign with Huddersfield.
https://i.imgur.com/UDKqtvt.jpg
Celebrating Leicester's Premier League title win at the end of 2015/16
'Everyone presumes you want to go back to Leicester as they were doing so
well. There was obviously a part of me that wanted to do that because of
how well the team was doing, but I think people didn't realise that I
wasn't actually in the first team at the time, and at Huddersfield I was
playing every week.
'I was absolutely loving playing in the Championship week in, week out. I
loved the dressing room and everything about Huddersfield. To then go back
to Leicester was bitter-sweet because I was going back into a team that
was doing so well, which was good to see, but then also I wasn't playing a
lot. I don't think I played another minute of league football that season.
'Obviously it was great to see that winning mentality that the Leicester
changing room had and again that was a good learning experience for
myself, but the better thing for me at the time would have been to stay
and complete the whole season at Huddersfield on loan and get that
experience of playing men's football for the whole year.'
While his time at Huddersfield may have been short and sweet, the
experience he gained there proved invaluable as he played a much bigger
role for Leicester the following season. By the start of 2017/18 he had
succeeded Fuchs as a regular member of the Foxes side at left-back and was
well on his way to becoming the England international who has impressed
during his first campaign with Chelsea.