It only took until the last day, but Emma Hayes and Chelsea Women got the outgoing they needed to get done completed. Before the 2022/2023 Women’s Super League campaign last year, five players moved away from west London for further development. It has almost doubled this time around. Four players at this moment in time will be contributing on clubs outside England. Five others will be a part of an English outfit with two taking their talents to a WSL team.
With the window shut until January, the west Londoners have young talent across not only England but Europe as a whole. The focus on leaders of the future has not only been a part of the men’s team strategy, but the women’s side as well. Though numerous players will not make it in west London, these opportunities provide budding stars a chance to prove they deserve a spot. Aggie Beever-Jones was a difference-maker during moments at Everton. Her reward, a potential rotational role within the four-time English champions.
Let’s take a look at each loanee as some have already begun their journeys away from Kingsmeadow.
2023/2024 Chelsea Women loan army members outside England
Alsu Abdullina
Club: Paris FC
It may be early in the campaign, but the Russian defender has already given every Chelsea fan something to smile about donning the Paris FC colors. Even though the traditional wing back did not appear in her team’s win over Kryvbas, Abdullina helped Sandrine Soubeyrand’s side to a penalty shoot-out triumph over the west Londoners’ biggest rivals, Arsenal.
The 22-year-old came on at the 81′, playing a part in the end of regulation and all of extra time before watching her team finish off the Gunners via a penalty shoot-out. Jonas Eidevall’s team may have snatched up Kyra Cooney-Cross on deadline day, but will be missing out on the Champions League thanks to Abdullina and her teammates in Paris. Her first league contest in France is on Saturday afternoon against Lille OSC, a recently promoted club who lost just three games in the French second division in 2022/2023.
The wing back’s performances at the international level in addition to her occasional outing in blue justify more playing time. A season with a quality Division 1 Féminine side seems like the perfect fit as she aims to carve herself out a role in England.
Wieke Kaptein
Club: FC Twente
Just a few months ago, Wieke Kaptein became the youngest Dutch player in its history to be called up to a World Cup roster. Now, she is viewed as one of the most promising pieces to the future of Hayes’ team. Just analyzing her on surface level, it is incomprehensible that Kaptein is just 18 years old. She signed a four-year contract with the west London outfit a few weeks ago, and is set to continue her rise at FC Twente in the Vrouwen Eredivisie.
The youngster has already experienced two full campaigns of senior football, accumulating over 3,000 minutes and eight goal contributions over that span. The box to box midfielder has to be considered one of the most established players that will be going out on loan this campaign. This is a player every fan of the west London outfit should consider watching during an off day. Kaptein is a true all around midfielder that has produced solid production both defensively and going forward before turning 19.
Alejandra Bernabe
Club: Real Sociedad
It seems like decades ago that the Spaniard Alejandra Bernabe made her move official with the Blues before heading back to her home country. The attacking-minded wing back has been out on loan the last two seasons. 2023/2024 will be her second with Real Sociedad.
Even with significantly less playing time, Bernabe has showed glimpses of promise flying down the flank. With the full-back talent within the first team in west London right now, the Spanish international will have to be patient if she wants to make her mark in blue. She started in 16 of her 21 league contests with Sociedad last season. The 21-year-old is prepared to build off that with the hope that her offensive mindset leads to more goal contributions.
Her club is coming off an uncharacteristic eighth place finish in Liga F after finishing behind Barcelona the campaign prior. The Spanish top-flight will resume action this weekend as the league and its players finally came to an agreement on minimum pay. Bernabe and the 2019 Copa de la Reina winners begin their journey to return into the top-three with a meeting into the south of Spain against Granada.
Charlotte Wardlaw
Club: Glasgow City
Coming off the back of an interesting 2022/2023 with two clubs, west London defender/midfielder Charlotte Wardlaw has traveled north to Scotland. This will be the English youth international’s third campaign on loan since signing her first professional contract in June 2021. Glasgow City’s No. 22 joined on August 15, and most recently played a part in all 90 minutes of the 5-0 drubbing of Scottish Premier League side Hamilton.
Similar to two of her fellow west London loan army members, Wardlaw will be moving onto the second round of Champions League qualifiers. After somewhat of an up and down campaign in England, this is a massive few months ahead for the 20-year-old. Her ability to play in the middle of the park and the center of the defense could be critical in Glasgow’s hope of hoisting a 17th Scottish top-flight title.
2023/2024 Chelsea Women loan army members in England
Lexi Potter
Club: Crystal Palace
Upon confirming her place within the club until 2026, 17-year-old Lexi Potter headed out to the Women’s Championship for her first real taste of senior football. This will not be her only developmental experience during her time under contract as this move to south London will most likely be the first of many.
Potter was the captain of England Under-17 team this summer during the European championships, leading her nation to the semifinals before falling short against the runners-up Spain. In a recent Palace triumph over Durham, Potter came on in the 86′, stepping on the pitch for the first of what hopes to be several outings over the coming months. If the west Londoners are both patient and provide her with the right tools to succeed, she has the makings of becoming a talented central midfielder at the senior level.
Emily Orman
Club: Reading FC
20-year-old Emily Orman became the first of two stop-stoppers from Hayes’ side to go out on loan back in early August. After serving as the third-string behind Ann-Katrin Berger, and Zecira Musovic, Orman has packed her bags and headed west to Reading FC. With the departure of Grace Moloney to London City Lionesses this summer, the No. 1 spot with the Royals opened up.
Having already experienced what life was life in the Championship, Orman has taken the reins of that spot in the first three league fixtures. So far, so good for the English keeper as she has assisted her team to three straight draws. One of them being a clean sheet against Charlton with 10 players after the 49′. It is going to be tough to break through the ranks between the sticks in the next few campaigns given the sheer number of players at the position. All Orman can do is show up, work hard, and provide the west London outfit with every reason to believe in her for years to come.
Brooke Aspin
Club: Bristol City
Even with all the obstacles life has thrown her way, English youngster Brooke Aspin has found a path into the Blues’ system. Her contract is the same as Kaptein as the two validated their place with the west London outfit for four years with the first being out on loan.
At just 18 years old, the Bristol City defender has to be at the top of the list for most exciting loanees for this campaign. She has showed what she can do in the second-tier, and with a new contract with a new club, there is no telling what the Robins’ academy player will be able to do in the WSL. At every level, success has followed Aspin. This is another challenge, but one she has the will to take on. Though she won’t feature against Hayes’ team, Aspin is worth paying attention to as Bristol will be tested a whole lot defensively back in the top-flight.
Reanna Blades
Club: Lewes
Academy standout Reanna Blades has followed in the footsteps of Emma Thompson and Wardlaw, moving south to Lewes on loan. 14 goals in 22 games at the academy level tells you all you need to know. Championship football is challenging, but it has been clear since she signed that professional contract last October, an increase in difficulty is required for her growth.
Blades has made two appearances off the bench for Scott Booth’s team as the Rooks have struggled out of the gate. Paul Green and Hayes are massive fans of Blades’ pace, and athleticism, something she showed in a pre-season fixture a few years ago against Arsenal. The beginning of her loan has been rocky, but the hope is she earns more chances as the Championship progresses. On tap for the east Sussex side this week is Sheffield United, another team sitting on one point through three contests.
Nicky Evrard
Club: Brighton and Hove Albion
It took a while, but the decision on the No. 3 keeper has been made. Hannah Hampton is in. The Belgian Nicky Evrard will feature for Melissa Phillips’ Brighton and Hove Albion. Evrard received the chance in pre-season to meet her new team, heading off to Portugal with the Blues before her loan move. Evrard was one of two goalkeepers to join the Seagulls on deadline day as Sophie Baggaley added even more depth between the posts.
The 28-year-old standout from the 2022 European championships hopes to help a club that conceded 63 goals to lead the English top-flight last season. The former OH Leuven No. 1 has her eyes on Brighton’s No. 1 spot. The goalkeeping situation in west London is as confusing as it gets in football. Evrard just needs minutes in a top league. With this being potentially Berger’s last campaign for Chelsea, a spot will be open in August 2024 for the Belgian to potentially take.
Lucy Watson
Club: Crystal Palace
Just when the fans of the west London outfit thought Hayes was finished, another move was made. Former Sheffield United forward Lucy Watson is back on the pitch, prepared for a potential role in an attacking unit. The 19-year-old went out to Charlton Athletic after signing from Sheffield last summer but was forced to return to Cobham when she suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in August. Since, The youngster goes back to the Women’s Championship, joining Lexi Potter in south London at a club that is sitting at the top of the table following a 9-1 triumph over Durham.
The hope is that the former Blade will receive regular minutes with the Eagles as she slowly progresses back to the pace of senior football in England. Before she moved south for the campaign, Watson put pen to paper on a deal until 2025. Breaking into the rotation offensively at the west London side, but if she has the kind of season she did in the north of England two years ago, Hayes should feel a chance a warranted.