Derby County have made defender Kane Wilson their seventh signing of the summer ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Wilson, 23, has joined the Rams after an undisclosed
agreement was reached with Sky Bet Championship side Bristol City.
The right-sider, who was named as League Two’s Player of the Season in the 2021/22 campaign whilst with Forest Green Rovers, has penned a two-year deal which will run to the summer of 2025.
Wilson can play at full-back or further forward in the wing-back position and has recorded 200 appearances in club football to date.
The 23-year-old joins Joe Ward, Josh Vickers, Callum Elder, Curtis Nelson, Sonny Bradley and Conor Washington in joining Head Coach Paul Warne’s squad in the lead-up to the upcoming League One campaign.
Kane Wilson In Profile
Wilson, born in Birmingham, began his professional career with West Bromwich Albion and came right through the ranks with the Baggies after joining them at the age of seven.
After being involved in the first-team squad during pre-season ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, he made his senior bow in an EFL Cup Round One clash at Northampton Town in August 2016 as a substitute. That proved to be his only first-team outing for Albion, although he was named on the bench in the Premier League but didn’t enter the action.
Wilson spent time out on loan over the course of the next three seasons to gain first-team experience, starting with a half-season stint at Exeter City in League Two during 2017/18 and he made 22 appearances, scoring once, before returning to the Hawthorns.
He stepped up to League One in the first half of the 2018/19 season with Walsall and made 20 appearances before making a return to League Two with Exeter in the second half of the campaign, racking up a further 17 appearances.
Wilson headed back to League One in the 2019/20 campaign, playing 17 times for Tranmere Rovers before he left West Brom on a permanent basis in the summer of 2020 as a free agent.
He sealed a permanent move to Forest Green Rovers ahead of the 2020/21 season and he played on 33 occasions, scoring once, as they reached the Play-Offs but fell short at the Semi-Final stage.
The 2021/22 campaign was one of success for both Forest Green and Wilson. The team claimed the League Two title in impressive fashion while the full-back - who played 48 times, scored three goals and registered 14 assists - was awarded the division’s Player of the Season accolade by the EFL. He was also named in the EFL’s League Two Team of the Season and the PFA’s Team of the Season.
His performances for Forest Green attracted plenty of attention and Championship outfit Bristol City won the battle for his signature a year ago after agreeing to pay an undisclosed compensation fee for his services. His game time, however, was limited to just seven appearances and one goal in the 2022/23 campaign - with five of his outings coming off the bench in the league.
Wilson also has experience of international football after turning out for England at Under-16 and Under-17 level, recording six appearances in the process.
