Chelsea Women: Taking a look at Aniek Nouwen and her loan at AC Milan

In late January, the Chelsea Women’s defender Aniek Nouwen signed a new deal with the west London side and went to Italy to receive essential playing time and experience.

While it would have been beneficial to have Aniek Nouwen on the pitch considering the injuries at center back late in the campaign, the Dutch defender needed consistent playing time. Not only was it important for the World Cup this summer, but with a veteran defender now at Bayern Munich, the Netherlands international is going to be called upon more in west London. Coming from PSV, Nouwen came with experience in more of a sweeper type of defensive role where she was forced to make some critical challenges in the final third. She went from a regular in the second half of 2021/2022 campaign to someone without a role given the introduction of Kadeisha Buchanan. Moving out of the Chelsea Women’s squad for a short period of time was the right move.

Just a few weeks after Maika Hamano signed with the west Londoners and went on loan to Hammarby IF, Nouwen became the second blue in 2023 to head off on loan outside the United Kingdom. Before Nouwen took her talent to Milan, she had played in only 120 minutes in the Women’s Super League, starting in just one match. It was the exact five months a player like this needed as she aims to play a more prominent role across all competitions for Chelsea Women next season.