Ben Chilwell talks about the prospect of an England call-up and life in Strasbourg

Fellow Englishman Rosenior has impressed since taking over at Strasbourg and is helping to relaunch Chilwell’s career.

Chilwell explained: “It wasn’t my best choice, but then I spoke to the manager. It was only a 10-minute call, and I called my agent immediately after that and said: Yes, let’s finish Strasbourg.”

“Liam said I would be surprised by how much I enjoyed the film. He still thought I could improve and said he would ask me to play certain roles I hadn’t played before, which is already starting to happen.

“Then there’s the leadership side of it. I’ve been in changing rooms with serial winners and I know how to be in a group that wins things. It just seemed like a no-brainer and so perfect.

“I was definitely shocked by the quality. There are a lot of people going straight to the top here, and I include the manager in that. The league is good and the stadiums are full.”

“We have shown that we can compete with Paris Saint-Germain, and the coach has big ambitions to win things this season and qualify for the Champions League.”

Chilwell is fulfilling his dream of playing abroad, but that has not stopped his mother worrying about the move – a person whose importance to Chilwell has increased since he lost his father Wayne in 2023.

“He’s the reason I’m where I am,” he continued. “I have to thank him for everything. The bright side is that he has brought me, my mother and my sister closer. I am more flexible and balanced when it comes to football.”

Since Todd Buhle and Clearlake bought Strasbourg for £65m in 2023, Chilwell is the oldest player to join the club, in what is now Europe’s youngest club in the top five leagues.

One of his lessons includes warnings about the dangers of social media: “I tell young players to trust me, it’s not a good way forward. I don’t have access to my Twitter or Instagram – I’ve let my agent do that.

“When I was younger, I would scroll through Twitter to find one bad comment and focus on it even though there were 50 good ones. I might have been told when I was younger and I still do it, but one day you just say, ‘I’m not going to do that anymore.’”

Chilwell is learning French, although all but two of the team’s players speak English, and is aware of the fact that Strasbourg Cathedral was the largest building in the world until 1874. He also feels mature enough to live abroad without the help of friends or family, and this adventure seems to have lit a fire within him.

“I had days where I said to my mom, ‘I’ve won almost everything, I’ve played for my country, what’s the point of going through all these ups and downs? Like, what’s the point?’

“Because of that feeling when you walk on the pitch, and I knew that anyway, but coming to Strasbourg brought back exactly that – the excitement of going to training and playing,” she said.

“I lost love of football because I didn’t play it – now there are 60,000 crazy fans in Lyon. I’ve been injury-free for two years and I just needed a chance.”

He added: “It makes me laugh that people think I’m an old player at 28 years old – I’m really at my best. That’s why the World Cup is ambitious… There’s a lot to achieve.”

“First things first, I want to play well here, be healthy, and then the rest – the World Cup – may follow. If I can say I gave everything but didn’t achieve it, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll still be enjoying my football, and I’ll only be 29.”