Chris Willock

Last updated

Chris Willock
Chris Willock 2015.jpg
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*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2016–2017 Arsenal 0 (0)
2017–2020 Benfica B 64 (14)
2019–2020West Bromwich Albion (loan) 0 (0)
2020Huddersfield Town (loan) 14 (2)
2020–2024 Queens Park Rangers 140 (20)
2024– Cardiff City 19 (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 26 December 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.

Contents

Club career

Arsenal

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

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)

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)

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

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

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

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

As of 16 March 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2016–17 [21] Premier League 00002020
Benfica B 2017–18 Liga Portugal 2 303303
2018–19Liga Portugal 234113411
Total64146414
West Bromwich Albion (loan) 2019–20 Championship 00000000
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2019–20 [22] Championship1420000142
Queens Park Rangers 2020–21 [23] Championship3830000383
2021–22 Championship3570030387
Total731000307610
Career total15126004015626

Honours

Arsenal Youth

Individual

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References

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  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. 1 2 "Sky Bet EFL Manager and Player of the Month: November winners!". www.efl.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "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.
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  24. "Under-17 - Technical report - Team of the Tournament". UEFA. June 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2019.