Kane Leo Wilson (born 11 March 2000) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. Wilson joined the

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

aged 7, and would make his first and only appearance for the first team in 2016, he would have loan spells at

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

(twice),

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. In 2020, Wilson signed with

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

and in the 2021–22 season, Wilson would be named League Two player of the season in the 2022 EFL Awards, as Forest Green won the League Two title. In June 2022, Wilson signed with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

, an injury hit season would limit his appearances and in 2023, Wilson left to join

, where in his first season he helped the side win automatic promotion to the Championship.

Club career

West Bromwich Albion

Wilson came to

at the age of 7, alongside

Sam Field Sam Field may refer to: * Sam Field (baseball) * Sam Field (footballer) Samuel Edward Field (born 8 May 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Queens Park Rangers. Club career West Bromwich Alb ...

, and they were joined by

Jonathan Leko Jonathan Kisolokele Leko (born 24 April 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for club Milton Keynes Dons. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion, made his senior debut as a 16-year-old in 2015, and spent ...

three years later: all made their professional debuts in 2016. Wilson spent most of the 2015–16 season in their under-18 team, making only three appearances in the under-21 team, all as a substitute. However, he was fast-tracked into the first team for their summer tour to Austria. He played his first senior game against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

and his first start against

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

. Wilson made his competitive debut in the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

first round away to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

on 23 August 2016, coming on in the 70th minute for fellow debutant

Brendan Galloway Brendan Joel Zibusiso Galloway (born 17 March 1996) is a Zimbabwean professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Plymouth Argyle. A former youth international for England, Galloway represents the Zimbabwe national team. Club care ...

. The game ended as a 2–2 draw which his team lost 4–3 on penalties. Five days after his debut, Wilson was named in West Brom's squad for their

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

game against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. ...

. Had he come onto the pitch, he would have been the league's first player born in the 2000s.

Exeter City loan

Wilson joined

on loan for five months on the summer transfer deadline day. He did not make his league debut until 28 October, in a 1–1 draw at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

. He was sent off on his debut for accumulating two yellow cards, being given his marching orders in the 93rd minute.

Tranmere Rovers loan

On 9 August 2019, Wilson joined

on loan until January 2020, making his debut the next day in a 2–0 loss to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Forest Green Rovers

Wilson signed permanently with

on a two-year deal on 8 July 2020. The 2021–22 season brought success for Wilson on both a club and individual level. With promotion to League One secured for the first time in the club's history after a 0–0 draw with

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

, Wilson was awarded the League Two Player of the Season award the following day at the 2022 EFL Awards as well as being named in the 2021–22 League Two Team of the Season.

Bristol City

On 10 June 2022, Wilson signed a three-year contract for Championship team

. In a season hampered by injury, the full-back made seven appearances, providing one goal and one assist for the Robins.

Derby County

On 10 July 2023, Wilson signed a two-year deal with

for a undisclosed fee. Wilson picked up a minor knee injury in the match at home to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

on 15 August which ruled him out of action for four weeks. Upon his return, Wilson became a fans favourite with his skills and his desire to take opposition on as he showed in a substitute appearance in 3–0 victory against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on 11 November 2023. In a November 2023 interview to the

Derby Telegraph The ''Derby Telegraph'', formerly the ''Derby Evening Telegraph'', is a daily tabloid newspaper distributed in the Derby area of England. Stories produced by the ''Derby Telegraph'' team are published online under the Derbyshire Live brand. Hi ...

, Wilson appreciated the support he got from Derby fans since he joined and after difficult period at Bristol City under

Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English association football, football coach (sport), manager and former professional player. He last managed EFL Championship, Championship club Bristol City F.C., Bristol City. During his playi ...

due to injuries and not being in favour, Wilson was keen to follow the example of teammate Craig Forsyth and develop his game at Derby under head coach

Paul Warne Paul Warne (born 8 May 1973) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of League Two club Milton Keynes Dons. Warne started his playing career in his native Norfolk for Great Yarmouth Town, Diss Tow ...

long term. Wilson scored his first goal for Derby in a 3–1 League One win against Lincoln City on 21 December 2023, scoring to make the game 2–1 after he came on as a half-time substitute, he also assisted the third Derby goal scored by James Collins. On 16 March 2024, Wilson scored his second goal for Derby in a 1–0 win over promotion rivals

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Wison made 49 appearances, scoring three times during his first season as Derby as they finished runners-up in the division and earn promotion to the Championship automatically. On 9 August 2024, Wilson scored in Derby's first game of the 2024–25 season in a 4–2 defeat at

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in the Championship. On 17 August 2024, Wilson picked up a hamstring injury in the match against

. He returned a month later and scored his second goal of the season in Derby's 4–0 win over

on 13 December 2024. Wilson had another hamstring injury in January 2025 which ruled him out for six weeks. Upon his return from this injury Derby made a change at head coach, with

John Eustace John Mark Eustace (born 3 November 1979) is an English professional football coach and former player who is currently head coach of club Derby County. During his playing career, he played as a central midfielder for Coventry City, Stoke City, ...

utilising Wilson in a right-wing back role and his performance earned praise from Eustace. Derby avoided relegation by one point after improved form which coincided with Wilson's return to the team, after this feat it was announced the Derby had trigged a one-year extension clause to Wilson's contract which was due to expire in June 2025, as Derby and Wilson started talks over a longer-term deal. Wilson played 35 times for Derby during the season, scoring twice.

International career

Wilson has represented England at U16 and U17 level. In October 2016, Wilson represented England U17 in a 5–0 win over Croatia and an 8–1 win over Germany.

Personal life

Wilson received his

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

results in the week before his professional debut. His grades were two A's, four B's and five C's. He is of Jamaican descent.

Career statistics

Honours

Forest Green Rovers *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

: 2021–22 Derby County *

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

second-place promotion: 2023–24 Individual *

Player of the Season: 2021–22 *

Team of the Season: 2021–22 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2021–22 League Two

References

External links

England profile
at The FA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kane 2000 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players English Football League players English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent 21st-century English sportsmen