William Thomas Alves (born 4 May 2005) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Leicester City.

Will Alves
Personal information
Full name William Thomas Alves[1]
Date of birth (2005-05-04) 4 May 2005 (age 19)[2]
Place of birth Leicester, England
Position(s) Left winger
Team information
Current team
Leicester City
Number 37
Youth career
0000–2022 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Leicester City 0 (0)
International career
2022 England U17 4 (0)
2022– England U18 3 (0)
2024 England U20 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:53, 8 January 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:31, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

Club career

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In 2018, while he was a Year 9 pupil at Brookvale Groby Learning Campus, Alves won the MOTD "Can You Kick It" competition to find the UK's best young technical freestyle footballer.[3] On 8 January 2022, Alves made his professional club debut for Leicester as an 86th minute substitute for Ademola Lookman during a 4–1 win against Watford in the third round of the FA Cup.[4] On 21 December 2022, Alves suffered a torn ACL in the second half of extra time in a 3–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Youth Cup.[5] The injury was caused by a foul from Caden Voice and caused a public outcry. Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers stated that the challenge was "one of the worst I have seen".[6][7] Other team members, such as James Maddison, also publicly commented in support of Alves, describing the tackle as "unacceptable".[8]

International career

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Born in England, Alves is of Portuguese descent.[9] In February 2022 he represented the England under-17 team against Scotland.[10]

On 21 September 2022, Alves made his England U18 debut as a substitute during a 1–0 win over Netherlands at the Pinatar Arena.[11]

On 7 June 2024, Alves made a goalscoring debut for the England U20s during a 2-1 win over Sweden at Stadion ŠRC Sesvete.[12]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 30 October 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Leicester City U21 2021–22[13] 3[a] 0 3 0
2022–23[14] 3[a] 1 3 1
2023–24[15] 1[a] 0 1 0
Total 7 1 7 1
Leicester City 2021–22[13] Premier League 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2022–23[14] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
2023–24[15] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024–25[16] Premier League 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
Total 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Career total 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 7 1 11 1
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

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  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Will Alves". Leicester City FC. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  3. ^ "WILL ALVES WAS CROWNED THE UK'S BEST YOUNG TECHNICAL FREESTYLE FOOTBALLER!". Brookvale Groby Learning Campus. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  4. ^ Blackwell, Jordan (9 January 2022). "'Or you're coming off!' – Brendan Rodgers' warning to Will Alves as big future predicted". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Leicester City confirm Will Alves injury". Leicester Mercury. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  6. ^ https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/will-alves-leicester-tackle-injury-28809591
  7. ^ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8gljfd
  8. ^ Reis, Bruna (24 December 2022). "Maddison slams Wolves horror tackle as Leicester City hit with huge injury blow". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Will Alves :: William Thomas Alves :: Leicester City". playmakerstats.com.
  10. ^ "Scotland U17 0–3 England U17". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Late winner seals victory for MU18s over Netherlands". England Football. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Report: Sweden 1-2 England Elite League Squad". www.englandfootball.com. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Games played by Will Alves in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Games played by Will Alves in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Games played by Will Alves in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Games played by Will Alves in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 August 2024.