Premier League 19/20: Top 5 young defenders to look forward to this season

Modified Jul 23, 2019 05:30 GMT

Manchester United v Leeds United - Pre-Season Friendly

#4 Ben Chilwell

Ben Chilwell training with England's team.

The Leicester City academy product has become one of the most consistent players in the Premier League. Going on loan once to Huddersfield City has certainly helped his development, and Ben Chilwell has grown in leaps and bounds whilst being sure of a starting position in the Foxes' starting eleven.

Chilwell made only 12 appearances for Leicester three years ago, but his progress and performances have been very convincing. Since then, he has made a total of 72 appearances. Thanks to his consistent club form, he was called up to the England squad for the Nations League where he made four appearances for the national side.

Ben Chilwell racked up 36 appearances for Leicester last season, and he averaged three aerial duels won and just over one key pass in each game. While he has a lot of work to do especially in his attacking contributions, young Chilwell is on his way to becoming a star left-back.

If last season and his recent England outing has shown anything, it is that Chilwell has stepped up his game and will be looking to impress next season.

About the author

Nnanna is a European and international football journalist who has been covering news and transfer rumors at Sportskeeda for around 5 years. A keen interest in reading and football since an early age, watching games at local stadiums with family paved the way for him to take up the sport professionally.

Nnanna’s favorite club is English team Bolton Wanderers because he witnessed Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha's play for them between 2002 and 2006. His favorite footballer is Ronaldinho due to the Brazilian's love for the sport and admires Pep Guardiola for redefining football tactics. As a former literature student, Nnanna reckons that the best way of connecting with the readers is to add a bit of empathy in his writing, and relies on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and WhoScored for his articles.

Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup trophy in 2022 is Nnanna’s favorite FIFA World Cup moment, and also follows Major League Soccer due to the diminutive Argentine. He strongly believes that Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could be the next two superstars in the same light as legendary pair Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

When not writing, he likes to play Football Manager and other simulation games.

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Edited by Zaid Khan