Can you really blame her? The answer is unequivocally no. The Chelsea Women’s second-highest scorer in club history, Bethany England departs the club to Tottenham, seeking more time on the pitch as Emma Hayes continues her relentless effort to better the squad at all levels of the pitch. Rehanne Skinner and Spurs paid a jaw-dropping £250,000 to secure the English international move to north London, breaking the Women’s Super League transfer record previously held by Lauren James, who moved from Manchester United to CFC for £200,000 in 2021.
Just like Deanna Cooper just a few years ago, England becomes yet another player to depart west London for more playing time with Tottenham moving in the entirely wrong direction, especially in the attack. The former Doncaster Rovers Belles’ first-team player leaves west London as one of the best strikers in the history of the Chelsea Women. She earned the 2019/20 CFC Player of the Season, putting in 14 goals and collecting four assists in just 15 WSL matches during that domestic season. She won the 2022 FA WSL Player of the Season, and as the campaigns went on, her amount of time on the pitch began to decrease due to the inclusion of more and more world-class players each season.
From her days making low wages at Doncaster and working at a local fish and chip restaurant just to earn a little extra money to growing her talent up top for the Blues to begin to be noticed on the national stage. Tottenham is currently in eighth in the WSL, having lost four straight matches in the English top flight, while conceding nine goals in the process. In total, Skinner’s squad has put just two goals into the back of the net over the last six matches and ranks tied with the third-lowest goal total in the WSL along with Liverpool and regressing Brighton and Hove Albion.
England should add that much-needed goal threat to the attacking line of Spurs, after losing Rachel Williams to Manchester United over the summer. 26-year-old forward, Rosella Ayane has been part of Skinner’s rotation, but England brings both an unprecedented amount of experience, and class to the attack that now adds its second former CFC player in a matter of months.
England is one of those players that are still very much in the prime years of their career, and due to the particular style the team is forced to play given her inclusion, Hayes may have been content to let a seven-year CFC legend go, especially with the compensation coming the other way. From afar this amount of money in the transfer may be jaw-dropping, especially for a player that has not been in favor with her former club. Tottenham still knows how much quality England still possesses, and with her resume, she could be the one that finally takes this club to the next level.
On every level of this exchange, each party wins in some way or another. England gets to go someplace she will be the main threat, Tottenham demonstrating its intentions in the women’s game going forward, and the Blues receive a record fee in exchange for a player that is not even in their first-choice starting XI. Women’s football as a whole also wins, and in a little over a year, the previous British transfer record has now been broken. The game each season becomes more and more valuable, and it is clear that Spurs is tired of their club team being closer to the relegation zone than the top three. This has to be one of the many moves for Tottenham in order to get back on track, but at least this is a great place to begin.
Drew Spence has arguably been Tottenham’s best player since her arrival from west London, and with now two proven players in both the midfield and attack, Spurs believe they could rebound from a disappointing beginning to the season. CFC fans were calling for England to receive more playing time in the midst of Sam Kerr’s struggles, but after making just two starts for Hayes’ side, England was clearly not happy with the role she had been given from the get-go of the campaign. No Blues fan should blame her for wanting a move elsewhere. What she has done to bring this club to the level it is currently at should not go unnoticed.
70 goals in 148 contests in blue for the English international. Whether it was her goal against Spurs at the Bridge in 2019 or her first hat trick for the club in 2018, there will always be moments on which to look back fondly. After there were many doubts about her success in west London, England’s loan campaign with Liverpool revived her career, and just a few years later she departs Chelsea with the second-most goals in the club’s history.
From every Chelsea fan out there, we thank England for her time and passion for the game during her tenure with the Blues. Who knows where CFC would be right now without the inclusion of England into the side back in 2016? Three club legends have left the club since the beginning of the summer, but none of them, especially England will be forgotten for their contributions on and off the pitch to the progression of this club.