Chrisene, Ben
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Ben, from Exeter, became Exeter City's youngest first-team player in 2019 and joined Aston Villa the following year before later moving on to Norwich City.
Ben started in City’s academy as an under-11 and played for England at under-15 and under-16 level whilst registered with the club. He was reported as training with Liverpool in the summer before his final year at school with later talk of interest from Chelsea.
Following in Ethan Ampadu’s footsteps, and breaking Ethan’s record as City’s youngest-ever player, Ben played - ahead of starting year 11 - against Coventry City in the League Cup on 13 August 2019. He was aged 15 years 7 months, 1 day. He later made three substitute appearances in the Football League Trophy before making his league debut, as a substitute, against Cambridge United on 11 January 2020.
Ben moved to Aston Villa for an 'undisclosed fee' in August 2020 and, during his first season, appeared for Villa's under-21s in the EFL Trophy and played in the team that won the FA Youth Cup scoring in the final against Liverpool on 24 May 2021. He also made his first-team debut for a young Villa side against Liverpool in the FA Cup on 8 January 2021 before signing his first professional contract a few days later.
In 2021/22 Ben appeared in the EFL Trophy again and was an unused substitute for a number of Premier League games before signing a new contract in January 2022. He then joined Kilmarnock on a season-long loan in August 2022 but, after a promising start, suffered an injury playing against Celtic in the Scottish League Cup semi-final in January 2023 which kept him out for the rest of the season. Returning to Villa he appeared twice for the under-21s in the EFL Trophy during the autumn of 2023 prior to joining Blackburn Rovers on loan in January 2024 for whom he was to make 16 league and cup appearances during the second-half of the 2023/24 campaign. Impressing during his time at Ewood Park, Ben was subsequently selected for England under-20s during the summer of 2024.
By now aged twenty Ben left Villa Park in July 2024 after ageeing a four-year deal with Norwich City.
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