Ben Chilwell: My first game as left-back was against Chelsea | OneFootball

Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell admits his first serious game as a left-back was against his current club.

Chilwell spent a couple of years at Rushden & Diamonds before getting his big move to Leicester City just before entering his teenage years. Initially a striker and then a central midfielder, it was a run-out at left-back as a visiting player at Cobham that changed his burgeoning career.

"I went on trial to Leicester as a midfielder but then my first match was against Chelsea at Cobham and our left-back was injured," he told chelseafc.com. "As the only left-footed player in the team, I got moved to play back there and for the rest of my six-week trial I just stayed there.

"For the next few years, up until the age of about 16, I was always asking the coaches to give me another chance in midfield because it was the position I'd always played and I really enjoyed it. If we were 3-0 or 4-0 up, I might get 10 minutes there at the end but once I got my scholarship I really started to enjoy playing at left-back and found that position as my own.

"It isn't all about defending and being a midfielder previously I had enjoyed going forward trying to score goals. I realised that being a full-back in the modern game is a lot about attacking as well and that's when I really started to enjoy it."