Ethan Chislett

Ethan Alexis Chislett (born 11 August 1998) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for club Port Vale. He plays with flair, creativity, and the ability to score goals with late runs into the opposition penalty area. His grandfather, Gordon, represented the South Africa national soccer team.

Chislett spent his formative years Southampton, Aldershot Town, Metropolitan Police and Basingstoke Town, though developed quickly with a spell in Spain with Reddis. He returned to Metropolitan Police and managed to win a move back to Aldershot Town, where he would score nine National League goals in the 2019–20 season. He was then signed to AFC Wimbledon in August 2020 and played 123 games in three seasons, top-scoring from midfield in the 2022–23 campaign. He joined Port Vale in July 2023.

Early life
Ethan Alexis Chislett was born on 11 August 1998 in Durban, South Africa. His grandfather, Gordon Chislett, represented the South Africa national soccer team. His father, Donovan, played soccer professionally in South Africa and was the head coach of the under-18's at Metropolitan Police until September 2021. The family moved to England in 2005.

Early career
Chislett spent time with youth team Guildford Saints before joining the academy at Southampton, where he was released at the age of 14 for being too small. He then spent two years with Aldershot Town, before joining Metropolitan Police, helping the under-18s to reach the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup before he progressed onto the senior team in the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2015. In October 2016, he briefly joined Southern League Premier Division club Basingstoke Town, before moving to Spain, where Chislett played for Reddis and also had a trial at Belgian club Eupen. He scored five goals in nineteen Segona Catalana matches for Reddis. He credited his career to his time in Spain, saying the change of culture taught him a lot. He was due to sign with Pobla Mafumet before the club dismissed their manager.

Chislett returned to England to rejoin Metropolitan Police for the 2018–19 season, with manager Gavin Macpherson expressing a wish to promote youth. He played in the FA Cup first round defeat to Newport County on 10 November, with BBC Sport reporting that "Ethan Chislett should have levelled for Met, but headed straight at Joe Day". He was part of the side that won the Southern League Premier Division South play-offs before losing to Tonbridge Angels in the one-off super play-off final, in which Chislett scored the opening goal. On 18 June 2019, he re-joined Aldershot Town in the National League. He said the move up two divisions went well as the "transition was quite smooth". He scored nine goals in 38 games in all competitions in the curtailed 2019–20 season to finish as the club's top-scorer. Manager Danny Searle said the club was proud to have given him a platform to secure a move into the English Football League. Italian club Avellino had also reportedly offered him a deal.

AFC Wimbledon
On 12 August 2020, Chislett signed for AFC Wimbledon, with manager Glyn Hodges impressed by his creative spark and the prior success of former Met Police signing Nesta Guinness-Walker. He made his debut at Plough Lane in the EFL Trophy against Charlton Athletic on 1 September. He scored his first goal for the Dons in a 2–2 draw with Northampton Town on 12 September; he scored just twenty seconds into the match in what was his EFL League One debut. He set a goal target of ten for the 2020–21 campaign, though would instead score three goals from 36 games. He lost his first-team place under Mark Robinson in the 2021–22 relegation season, though won back a starting place in January following a run of 13 games on the bench.

He was given more freedom to join the attack by new manager Johnnie Jackson in the 2022–23 season, playing on the right side of midfield in a partnership with Harry Pell as the club struggled to adapt to EFL League Two. He was offered a new contract as he finished as the club's top-scorer with eleven goals and three assists in 51 games, also being named as Players’ Player of the Year. He was reported to be a target for Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers and Wycombe Wanderers.

Port Vale
On 3 July 2023, Chislett signed for League One side Port Vale on a two-year deal, and was hailed by manager Andy Crosby as "an incredible asset". He scored two goals on his home debut at Vale Park, a 3–2 victory over Fleetwood Town in the EFL Cup on 8 August; his first was described in The Sentinel as a "wonderful flighted shot from the edge of the penalty area" and the second was a diving header. The first goal won him the competition's goal of the round award. On 16 December, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 3–2 win over Wigan Athletic, showing the end product that had previously been lacking in what was statistically the club's most effective player by the mid-season stage. Having been dropped by new manager Darren Moore, Chislett won back his first-team place to help the Vale to record back-to-back wins at the end of March. He scored eleven goals from midfield, though could not prevent the club from being relegated at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Style of play
Chislett is a midfielder with flair and elegance on the ball, though he is weak at heading the ball. David Flitcroft, the director of football at Port Vale, said that Chislett "is a player that loves to find space in between midfield players and defenders... his timing of runs into the box to create goalscoring opportunities is outstanding". He is also an accomplished free kick taker.