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Chris Willock

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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 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Waltham Forest, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Cardiff City
Number 16
Youth career
2003–2016 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Arsenal 0 (0)
2017–2020 Benfica B 64 (14)
2019–2020 → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 0 (0)
2020 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 14 (2)
2020–2024 Queens Park Rangers 140 (20)
2024– Cardiff City 13 (1)
International career‡
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)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2018

Christopher Anthony Willock (born 31 January 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Cardiff City.

Club career

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Arsenal

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Born in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, 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

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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 (loan)

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On 8 August 2019, Willock joined West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan with options to review the agreement in January; however, he did not make a single appearance for West Brom in the four months he was there.[11]

Huddersfield Town (loan)

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After struggling to break into the first team at West Brom, Willock joined Huddersfield Town on 31 January 2020. He went on to score 2 goals for the club with one of those being against West Brom, the team he had just been loaned at.[12]

Queens Park Rangers

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On 5 October 2020, Willock joined Championship side Queens Park Rangers for £750,000 on a three-year deal with an option for a further year.[13] He scored his first goal for QPR in a 1–0 win over Cardiff City on 20 January 2021.[14] On 10 December 2021, Willock was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for November 2021 after scoring three and assisting the other three of his side's six goals in the month. Willock's manager Mark Warburton was awarded the league's Manager of the Month award also.[15] Willock ended the 2021–22 season with the Supporters' Player of the Year, Ray Jones Players' Player of the Year and Junior Hoops' Player of the Year awards.[16]

The club exercised their contract extension for Willock at the end of the 2022–23 season.[17]

Cardiff City

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On 12 July 2024, following the expiration of his contract at Queens Park Rangers, Willock joined fellow Championship side Cardiff City on a three-year deal.[18]

Personal life

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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.[19] Willock is of Montserratian descent.[20]

Career statistics

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As of 16 March 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Arsenal 2016–17[21] Premier League 0 0 0 0 2 0 — 2 0
Benfica B 2017–18 Liga Portugal 2 30 3 — — — 30 3
2018–19 Liga Portugal 2 34 11 — — — 34 11
Total 64 14 — — — 64 14
West Bromwich Albion (loan) 2019–20 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2019–20[22] Championship 14 2 0 0 0 0 — 14 2
Queens Park Rangers 2020–21[23] Championship 38 3 0 0 0 0 — 38 3
2021–22 Championship 35 7 0 0 3 0 — 38 7
Total 73 10 0 0 3 0 — 76 10
Career total 151 26 0 0 4 0 — 156 26

Honours

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Arsenal Youth

Individual

References

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  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. ^ a b "Arsenal's Chris Willock gives masterclass as Under-21s are promoted to Division One". Metro.co.uk. 10 May 2016.
  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. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Benfica B: Willock's debut".
  11. ^ "Willock arrives at The Hawthorns". West Bromwich Albion FC. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  12. ^ "LOAN: CHRIS WILLOCK ARRIVES FROM BENFICA!". Huddersfield Town AFC. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Chris Willock completes QPR switch". www.qpr.co.uk. 5 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Cardiff 0-1 QPR". BBC. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Sky Bet EFL Manager and Player of the Month: November winners!". www.efl.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d "Chris Willock named QPR Supporters' Player of the Year". www.qpr.co.uk. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Amos among six players released". www.qpr.co.uk. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Chris Willock is a Bluebird!". www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  19. ^ "What Man Utd player Paul Pogba said to loan star when he took squad number". 16 October 2017.
  20. ^ "ForaDeJogo.net - Chris Willock (Christopher Anthony Willock)". ForaDeJogo.
  21. ^ "Chris Willock | Football Stats | Queen's Park Rangers | Season 2016/2017 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Chris Willock | Football Stats | Queen's Park Rangers | Season 2019/2020 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Chris Willock | Football Stats | Queen's Park Rangers | Season 2020/2021 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Under-17 - Technical report - Team of the Tournament". UEFA. June 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
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