It’s turned into a rebuilding year for Chelsea Women, with plenty of changes behind the scenes, quite a few disappointing results on the pitch, and multiple seismic shifts among the playing squad, but the future’s still looking bright given the ambition and the talent of the team.
Case in point: two of the six nominees for this year’s PFA Young Player of the Year award are Chelsea players, namely Alyssa Thompson and Veerle Buurman. They both played key roles this season at the ripe of old ages of 21
and 20, respectively, and certainly will be expected to keep doing so going forward. Thompson was our second-leading scorer after the departing Sam Kerr while Buurman made 24 appearances taking over from the retiring Millie Bright, after spending last season on loan at PSV.
There’s of course plenty of established talent still in the team as well, including our very own superstar, Lauren James. It may have been a slightly subpar season by her own lofty standards (just seven goals in all competitions), but James still earned a nomination for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award. She faces tough competition in Kirsty Hanson (Aston Villa), Jess Park (Manchester United), Alessia Russo (Arsenal), Yui Hasegawa, and Bunny Shaw (both Manchester City), but just the nomination is an honor, especially for the players’ award.
The winners for all PFA awards will be announced August 25. Congrats, all!
