Star midfielder signs extension: Sophie Ingle stays at Chelsea

Blues fans can now breathe. During the summer there was plenty of speculation about where the Welsh captain would spend the next years of her career playing football. Following a standout first few months of the campaign where Sophie Ingle has been essentially undroppable, the Blues rewarded the 31-year-old midfielder with a new contract, keeping her in Chelsea blue until the summer of 2025. Along with Erin Cuthbert in the middle of the pitch, Ingle has been a leader, and orchestrator in the midfield, proving that she still has many years of world-class football left in her.

So far this season, Ingle has played in 15 matches and started 12 in all competitions, netting two goals to go along with an assist. Ingle leads the team in progressive passes, with an astounding 75, 14 more than any other CFCW player. She has the most passes into the final third of the pitch with 84 in all competitions.

Ingle is in the 98th percentile in progressive passes completed per 90 mins when comparing her to each midfielder around the world. The Welsh captain also ranks No. 1 on the Blues through the first few months of the season in interceptions in all competitions with 24. The midfielder is top-six in CFC this season in shot-creating actions and tied for second in goal-creating actions along with two others. This was supposed to be the campaign where Emma Hayes and the Blues saw some sort of regression in the Welsh international, but the complete opposite has transpired.