Classy Chilwell much better at BUT FOOTBALL WAS HIS LOVE
Dave Armitage
ENGLAND defender Ben Chilwell might be one of the hottest properties in football but he could have been lost to the game.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham are all expected to head a £50million chase for the Leicester man’s signature this summer.
But sports-mad ‘Chilly’ could easily have ended up as a cricketer. He showed such promise with the bat as a teenager that he was taken on as an academy player by Northants.
The 23-year-old who has 11 England caps said: “Maybe I could have done better at cricket. I had a lot more natural talent, didn’t have to work as hard. I was a batsman but I could bowl as well.
“Nothing came of it because I wanted to play football. I played men’s cricket when I was just 15 but I didn’t enjoy it as much as football.” His sporting prowess is hardly surprising given his father Wayne is a Kiwi and had another sport in mind for his boy. Chilwell, below, added: “Dad wanted me to play rugby. It’s in his blood, being a New Zealander. I played it for a bit but didn’t enjoy getting my body battered.”
Chilwell isn’t your average footballer. While he was active in anything involving a ball, he still managed to find time to cram in his academic studies at school. “I passed all my GCSEs – nine. I could have done better if I’d pushed myself more but I wanted to play football.” He seems to take everything in his stride but said: “I get nervous before games. I put a lot of pressure on myself.” He joined a rare club when making his first England start in a