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Luther James-Wildin

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Luther James-Wildin
Personal information
Full name Luther Ash James-Wildin[1]
Date of birth (1997-12-03) 3 December 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth Leicester, England[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Stevenage
Number 2
Youth career
2005–2014 Highfield Rangers
2014–2016 Notts County
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Notts County 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Grantham Town (loan) 35 (2)
2017–2018 Nuneaton Town 35 (2)
2018– Stevenage 191 (7)
International career‡
2016 Antigua and Barbuda U20 3 (1)
2018 Antigua and Barbuda 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:24, 25 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2018

Luther Ash James-Wildin (born 3 December 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for EFL League One club Stevenage. Born in England, he represents the Antigua and Barbuda national team.

James-Wildin joined Notts County's academy in 2014 having previously played for Highfield Rangers in Leicester. He signed his first professional contract with Notts County in May 2016, and spent the 2016–17 season on loan at non-League Northern Premier League club Grantham Town. He was released by Notts County at the end of the season and subsequently joined Nuneaton Town of the National League North in July 2017, where he spent one season. James-Wildin joined Stevenage for an undisclosed fee in May 2018 and helped the club earn promotion into League One during the 2022–23 season.

Early life

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Born in Leicester, England, James-Wildin is of Antiguan heritage.[3] He started playing football competitively at the age of seven with Sunday league youth team Highfield Rangers.[3] Wildin stated he was part of a "very successful young side" at Highfield Rangers that remained together for nearly ten years.[3] At the age of 14, he wanted to play at a higher standard after realising he was performing to a high level when playing for Highfield Rangers.[3] Prior to playing professional football, he was in an orchestra and also performed in a jazz band; playing the trumpet to a grade-8 level.[4]

Club career

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Notts County

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James-Wildin was offered trials at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, which were ultimately unsuccessful.[3] He was scouted by Notts County whilst playing in an under-16 match in 2014.[3] He was offered a one-week trial, which proved successful, and he signed a two-year scholarship to join the club's academy.[3] Despite having not made a first-team appearance, James-Wildin signed his first professional contract at Notts County in May 2016.[5]

A month into the 2016–17 season, on 19 September 2016, James-Wildin joined Grantham Town of the Northern Premier League on an initial one-month loan deal, in order to gain first-team experience.[6] The loan agreement was later extended until the end of the season.[3] James-Wildin made his debut for Grantham in a 4–0 victory over Stratford Town in the FA Trophy on 1 November 2016, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute in the match.[7] He established himself as a first-team regular thereafter, scoring his first goal for the club when he gave Grantham the lead in an eventual 2–1 away victory over Coalville Town on 11 April 2017.[8] James-Wildin made 42 appearances in all competitions during the loan spell, scoring twice.[9]

Nuneaton Town

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Whilst still on loan at Grantham Town, James-Wildin was told that his one-year contract at Notts County would not be renewed and he subsequently left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season.[3] He signed for National League North club Nuneaton Town on 14 July 2017, joining the club alongside his brother, Courtney Wildin.[10] He made his debut for Nuneaton in the club's 1–0 win over Kidderminster Harriers on 8 August 2017.[11] Whilst contracted to Nuneaton, James-Wildin became the first player signed up to Jamie Vardy's V9 Academy on 14 February 2018, a week-long academy that takes place at the end of the season to help non-League footballers into the Football League.[12][13] He scored his first goal for Nuneaton on 27 February 2018, his second-half strike proving decisive in a 2–1 away win against AFC Telford United.[14] James-Wildin made 38 appearances during the season, scoring twice.[2]

Stevenage

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James-Wildin signed for League Two club Stevenage for an undisclosed fee on 16 May 2018.[15] The move reunited James-Wildin with Stevenage manager Dino Maamria, who had previously managed him at Nuneaton.[16] He made his Stevenage debut in the club's opening match of the 2018–19 season, a 2–2 draw with Tranmere Rovers at Broadhall Way.[17] James-Wildin scored his first Stevenage goal in the club's 2–1 away defeat at Newport County on 13 October 2018.[18] He was the club's first choice right-back throughout the season,[19] making 41 appearances in all competitions as Stevenage finished in tenth position in League Two, one point off of the play-off places.[19][20]

Remaining at Stevenage for the 2019–20 season,[21] James-Wildin scored with a shot from 30 yards (27 m) in Stevenage's 2–2 draw against Macclesfield Town on 31 August 2019.[21][22] The goal won the EFL League Two Goal of the Month award.[23] He made 29 appearances during the season, which was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.[21] He played 43 times during the 2020–21 season, scoring two goals, with Stevenage finishing the season in 14th place in League Two.[24][25] James-Wildin signed a contract extension with Stevenage on 26 June 2021[26] and made 49 appearances during the 2021–22 season.[27] James-Wildin played 46 times under manager Steve Evans during the 2022–23 season, as Stevenage earned promotion into League One after finishing in second place in League Two.[28][29] His first goal for two years helped clinch promotion in the club's 2–0 home victory against Grimsby Town on 29 April 2023.[30] Out of contract at the end of the 2022–23 season,[31] James-Wildin signed a contract extension with Stevenage on 13 June 2023.[32] Initially undisclosed,[32] Stevenage chairman Phil Wallace stated the length of the new contract was two years.[33]

International career

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James-Wildin qualified to play for Antigua and Barbuda through his ancestry.[3] He was offered the chance to play for Antigua and Barbuda when the national football association of Antigua and Barbuda (ABFA) asked his brother, Courtney, if he had any brothers who were eligible to represent the country.[3] A month later, James-Wildin was subsequently called up to represent the Antigua and Barbuda under-20 team at the 2016 CFU under-20 Tournament.[3] He scored one goal and provided two assists in his three appearances.[5]

In March 2018, he was called up to the Antigua and Barbuda senior team for a pair of friendlies against Bermuda and Jamaica respectively.[34] He made his debut in a 3–2 home win over Bermuda on 21 March 2018, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute in the match.[35]

Style of play

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James-Wildin has predominantly been deployed as a right-back and right wing-back throughout his career.[4] Initially utilised as a central midfielder at the start of his career at Grantham Town, he made the transition to right-back at the start of his time at Nuneaton Town.[4] He has been described as a possessing "athleticism, pace, power and technique" and has also been praised for his temperament in matches.[4] Wildin states he considers his defensive strengths to be one-versus-one defending and stopping crosses early;[4] and his attacking strengths to be providing overlapping runs.[4]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 23 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Notts County 2016–17[36] League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Grantham Town (loan) 2016–17[9] NPL Premier Division 35 2 0 0 — 7[a] 0 42 2
Nuneaton Town 2017–18[2] National League North 35 2 2 0 — 1[b] 0 38 2
Stevenage 2018–19[19] League Two 39 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 41 1
2019–20[21] League Two 21 1 0 0 1 0 1[c] 0 23 1
2020–21[24] League Two 39 2 2 0 1 0 1[c] 0 43 2
2021–22[27] League Two 40 0 3 0 2 0 4[c] 0 49 0
2022–23[28] League Two 36 1 4 0 3 0 3[c] 0 46 1
2023–24[37] League One 16 2 2 0 1 0 2 0 21 2
Total 191 7 12 0 9 0 11 0 223 7
Career total 261 11 14 0 9 0 19 0 303 11
  1. ^ Two appearances in the FA Trophy and five appearances in the League Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in the FA Trophy
  3. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Season Apps Goals
Antigua and Barbuda 2018[38] 2 0
Total 2 0

Honours

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Stevenage

References

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  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Stevenage" (PDF). English Football League. p. 68. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Luther Wildin – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Sports journalist student Nathan Carr profiles Grantham Town defender Luther Wildin". Grantham Journal. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Stevenage's rising star Luther James-Wildin makes waves on and off the pitch but is far too modest to blow his own trumpet". The Comet. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Notts County's Luther Wildin plays and scores for Antigua". Notts County F.C. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Wildin joins Grantham". Notts County F.C. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Grantham Town 4–0 Stratford Town". Grantham Town F.C. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Coalville Town 1–2 Grantham Town". Grantham Town F.C. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Grantham Town – Luther Wildin". Grantham Town F.C. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Courtney Wildin: Brothers in arms – News – Nuneaton Town". Nuneaton Town F.C. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Nuneaton Town 1–0 Kidderminster Harriers". Soccerway. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  12. ^ Philpotts, Chris (14 February 2018). "Leicester City man looking to non-league again". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  13. ^ Dutton, Louis (16 February 2018). "Jamie Vardy snaps up Leicester hopeful for V9 Academy". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  14. ^ "AFC Telford United 1–2 Nuneaton Town". Soccerway. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Luther Wildin signs for Stevenage". Stevenage F.C. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Luther Wildin: Stevenage sign Nuneaton Town defender". BBC Sport. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Stevenage 2–2 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Newport County 2–1 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  19. ^ a b c "Games played by Luther James-Wildin in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  20. ^ "League Two Table – 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  21. ^ a b c d "Games played by Luther James-Wildin in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Stevenage 2–2 Macclesfield Town". Sky Sports. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Luther James-Wildin wins Goal of the Month". Stevenage F.C. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Games played by Luther James-Wildin in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  25. ^ "League Two – 2020–21 – League Table". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Luther James-Wildin and Chris Lines sign new Stevenage deals". BBC Sport. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Luther James-Wildin in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Games played by Luther James-Wildin in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  29. ^ "League Two – 2022–23 – League Table". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Stevenage 2–0 Grimsby Town". BBC Sport. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  31. ^ "Stevenage FC Retained List 2022/23". Stevenage F.C. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  32. ^ a b "Stevenage: Luther James-Wildin & Jake Forster-Caskey agree new contracts". BBC Sport. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Terence Vancooten signs new Stevenage contract". Stevenage F.C. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  34. ^ Knight, Carlena (20 March 2018). "Training squad announced". Antigua Observer. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  35. ^ "Antigua & Barbuda 3–2 Bermuda". Soccerway. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  36. ^ "Games played by Luther James-Wildin in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  37. ^ "Games played by Luther James-Wildin in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  38. ^ "Luther James-Wildin – National Football Teams". National Football Teams. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  39. ^ "Reeves goal secures Stevenage second spot". BBC Sport. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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