# Will Alves

William Thomas Alves (born 4 May 2005) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL Championship club Cardiff City, on loan from Leicester City.

## Club career

Alves joined Leicester City at under-9s level and progressed through the Academy before making his senior debut at age 16. On 8 January 2022, Alves made his professional club debut for Leicester as an 86th minute substitute for Ademola Lookman during a 4–1 win against Watford in the third round of the FA Cup.
On 21 December 2022, Alves suffered a torn ACL in the second half of extra time in a 3–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Youth Cup. The injury was caused by a foul from Caden Voice and caused a public outcry. Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers called the challenge "one of the worst I have seen".
Alves returned to the U21 team on 3 November 2023, scoring in a 2–2 draw against Newcastle that was later abandoned. He followed this by playing the first half in a EFL Trophy match against Fleetwood Town that finished in a 4–0 defeat on 7 November.
In August 2024, Alves signed a new four-year contract for the club. Alves made his Premier League debut as a substitute in the 2–0 defeat to Manchester City on 29 December 2024.
On 3 February 2025, it was announced that Alves had moved on loan to Championship side Cardiff City for the rest of the season. He made his debut on 8 February in a FA Cup match against Stoke City. The match was 3–3 before going to penalties, which Cardiff won 4–2. He made his league debut on 11 February in a 2–1 defeat to Portsmouth.

## International career

Born in England, Alves is of Portuguese descent. In February 2022 he represented the England under-17 team against Scotland.
On 21 September 2022, Alves made his England U18 debut as a substitute during a 1–0 win over Netherlands at the Pinatar Arena.
On 7 June 2024, Alves made a goalscoring debut for the England U20s during a 2-1 win over Sweden at Stadion ŠRC Sesvete.

## Personal life

In 2018, while he was a Year 9 pupil at Brookvale Groby Learning Campus, Alves won the MOTD "Can You Kick It" competition to find the UK's best young technical freestyle footballer.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 13 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Leicester City U21 | 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Leicester City U21 | 2022–23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Leicester City U21 | 2023–24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Leicester City U21 | Total | Total | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Leicester City | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Leicester City | 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Leicester City | 2023–24 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Leicester City | 2024–25 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Leicester City | Total | Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Cardiff City (loan) | 2024–25 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
* 1 2 3 Appearances in EFL Trophy