Ben Wilmot

Stevenage

Wilmot joined Stevenage as an academy scholar, and progressed through the youth system of his hometown club. As a first-year scholar, he signed his first professional contract with Stevenage in April 2017, after playing regularly throughout the club's FA Youth Cup run in the 2016–17 season. He made his first-team debut on 3 October 2017, playing the whole match in central defence as Stevenage drew 0–0 away at Milton Keynes Dons in the EFL Trophy. Wilmot established himself as a first-team regular in January 2018, helping Stevenage keep three clean sheets in six matches. During the January 2018 transfer window, the club's chairman Phil Wallace stated that Stevenage had rejected three bids from Premier League clubs for Wilmot, including a £500,000 offer from Watford, whilst Tottenham Hotspur offered "slightly less". Wilmot did not feature in any matches from the start of April 2018 until the remainder of the season with a transfer nearing completion. He made 15 appearances during the season.

Watford

Wilmot signed for Premier League club Watford on 24 May 2018, for an undisclosed fee on a five-year contract. Stevenage stated that the transfer constituted a club record fee received and that the total could increase significantly based on Wilmot's future appearances. Wilmot made his first-team debut for Watford in the club's EFL Cup tie away to Reading on 29 August 2018, starting and playing the full match in a 2–0 victory.

Loan spells…

Wilmot was called up to represent the England under-19 team in March 2018 for their three 2018 UEFA European under-19 Championship qualification matches in Skopje. He was the only player in the squad not contracted to a club playing in the top two divisions of English football. Wilmot made his England under-19 debut in a 3–0 victory over Latvia on 24 March 2018, appearing as an 84th-minute substitute. In doing so, he became the first Stevenage player to represent England at youth level. Wilmot was included in the England under-21 squad on 30 August 2019. Wilmot received another call-up in October 2019 and made his under-21 debut in a 2–2 draw against Slovenia under-21s in Maribor on 11 October 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute. He scored his first goal at under-21 level during a 3–1 victory over Andorra under-21s at Molineux on 13 November 2020. Through FIFA's grandparent rule, Wilmot is also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland.

Described as a "ball-playing midfielder" during his time in the youth system at Stevenage, Wilmot later moved into central defence, where he was deployed during his breakthrough season with the club's first team. Following his transfer to Watford, manager Javi Gracia stated that Wilmot "has the intelligence" to play in a holding midfield role positioned in front of the two central defenders. He was subsequently utilised there during the 2018–19 season for both Watford and Udinese. Wilmot considers himself primarily a defender, although he has stated he is also comfortable playing in midfield. He has said he does not model his game on any other player, but instead "takes inspiration from technically-gifted players" such as Sergio Busquets.

Born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Wilmot is the son of former Stevenage goalkeeper Richard Wilmot, who made over 150 appearances for the club. He attended Hitchin Boys' School and played in the youth teams at Hitchin Town.