Han Willhoft-King

Han Willhoft-King

Personal information
Full name	Gabriel Han Willhoft-King [1]
Date of birth	(2006-01-24) 24 January 2006 (age 19)
Place of birth	London, England
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Position	Midfielder
Youth career
2012–2024	Tottenham Hotspur
2024–2025	Manchester City
International career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021	England U16	2	(0)

Gabriel Han Willhoft-King (born 24 January 2006), commonly known as Han Willhoft-King, is an English former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Manchester City.

Early life

Willhoft-King was born in London to a British-Indian father who grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia and Chinese-American mother with parents from Liaoning and Taiwan. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Club career

Willhoft-King joined the academy of Tottenham Hotspur at the age of six, progressing through their academy and being named by English newspaper The Guardian as the best player in his age-group at the club in September 2022. ^{[5] [6]} He turned down a contract offer from Tottenham and left the club at the end of the 2023–24 season following the conclusion of his scholarship. ^{[7] [8]} After leaving Tottenham, he planned to go to University of California but instead joined Manchester City during the summer of 2024. ^[9]

After a season at Manchester City, Willhoft-King confirmed in a 2025 interview with The Guardian that he had retired from professional football and had matriculated as a law undergraduate at Brasenose College, Oxford. ^[10]

International career

Due to his ancestry, Willhoft-King is eligible to represent England, China, Germany, the US, Indonesia, and India at international level. ^[11] He made two appearances for the England under-16 side in 2021, featuring in a 3–2 win over Scotland and a 3–1 win over Turkey. ^{[1] [12]}

In July 2023, he was considered for selection to the Indonesia under-17 side by manager Bima Sakti ahead of the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, with Sakti stating that Willhoft-King's parents had been contacted. ^[13] However, later in the same month, Sakti announced that Willhoft-King's call-up had been cancelled, after his parents confirmed that he did not have an Indonesian passport, and the naturalisation process would take too long. ^[14]

References

1. Han Willhoft-King at WorldFootball.net
2. "有华人血统，17岁热刺小将获评英超新星！盘点英籍华裔精英运动员..." [With Chinese ancestry, the 17-year-old Tottenham youngster was named a Premier League Rising Star! Taking stock of elite British-Chinese athletes...]. sohu.com (in Chinese). 23 January 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
3. Adinegara, Raden Dikky (26 May 2023). "Profil Gabriel Han Willhoft-King, Wonderkid Tottenham Hotspur yang Memiliki Keturunan Indonesia" [Profile of Gabriel Han Willhoft-King, Tottenham Hotspur Wonderkid Who Has Indonesian Ancestry]. indonewstoday.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
4. Syaeful, Andre Bagus (15 August 2023). "Sulit Datangkan Gabriel Han Willhoft-King untuk Perkuat Timnas Indonesia U-17, Bima Sakti Beberkan Penyebabnya" [Difficult to Bring in Gabriel Han Willhoft-King to Strengthen the U-17 Indonesian National Team, Bima Sakti Explains the Causes]. bola.okezone.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
5. Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (27 September 2022). "Next Generation 2022: 20 of the best talents at Premier League clubs". theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
6. "'Smooth' Tottenham teenager picked out for praise with big future predicted". hitc.com. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
7. "Player update". Tottenham Hotspur. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
8. "Premier League clubs publish 2023/24 retained lists". Premier League. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
9. "Manchester City sign Tottenham midfielder destined for University of California". yahoo sports. 10 September 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
10. "The teenager who quit Manchester City for Oxford University: 'I felt I could do more'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
11. "The England U16 national team has a young player born in 2006, Gabriel Han Willhoft-King, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, which belongs". laitimes.com. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
12. "华裔球员金瀚签约热刺两年！已入选英格兰青年队，但国足仍可征召" [Chinese player Jin Han signs with Tottenham for two years! Has been selected for the England youth team, but can still be called up by the national football team]. sohu.com (in Chinese). 2 June 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
13. "Profil dan Agama Gabriel Han Willhoft-King, Dari Tottenham ke Timnas demi Piala Dunia U-17" [Profile and Religion of Gabriel Han Willhoft-King, From Tottenham to the National Team for the U-17 World Cup]. indosport.com (in Indonesian). 21 July 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
14. "Pemain Tottenham Gabriel Han Batal Bela Timnas U-17 karena Paspor" [Tottenham player Gabriel Han cancels defending the U-17 national team due to passport]. cnnindonesia.com (in Indonesian). 27 July 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.