Chloe Kelly: The Next Legend for the Lionesses

July 27, 2023
By Sofia Medrano

One year ago, Chloe Kelly scored the game-winning goal in the final Women’s Euro 2022 game against Germany. This year, she is leading the England Women’s National Team in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

The young talent became a last-minute hero after coming on as a late sub in overtime of the European Championship game. Despite her young age, she has had a long road to where she is now.

Youth Soccer

Chloe Kelly grew up playing soccer with her brothers in inner-city London before playing youth club soccer for the Queens Park Rangers. From there, she joined Arsenal’s Centre of Excellence, where she remained for the rest of her youth club career.

Professional Start

Kelly began her WSL career with Arsenal in a Continental Cup game, debuting at just 17 years old. She quickly made a splash, scoring within just 22 minutes of being on the field. Her performance led to her signing a professional contract with the club, where she spent a few seasons before joining Everton on loan.

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It was with Everton that Kelly really began to make a name for herself. She scored her first professional hat trick before officially signing on with the club. The striker showed great potential for the club but was playing on an ankle injury, which she eventually needed surgery for in 2019.

Yet, Kelly didn’t let it impact her. The impressive striker came back to finish the season as the top goalscorer for the club after scoring nine goals in 12 games.

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The following year, she signed with Manchester City. She had a great debut season, earning Player of the Season and being named to the Premier League Team of the Year before suffering a season-ending ACL injury. Kelly was out for 11 months, missing the chance to represent England at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. She was officially ruled out of playing until 2022.

Making the National Team

Determined to make the national team roster for the Women’s Euro, Kelly worked her way back from injury and returned to the field in April. She had only six weeks to convince Sarina Wiegman to include her in the team. She did not only that but also proved her addition was necessary during the final game.

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Kelly was familiar with the international teams from playing at the U17, U19, and U20 levels and already had a taste of winning at a World Cup after securing the bronze medal with England at the 2018 U20 Women’s World Cup. Now, she’s a top contender for another World Cup win, this time with the senior national team.

The Manchester City forward is ready to show the world that she can lead the English team in place of some major players who will miss this year’s tournament. After all that Chloe Kelly has overcome and proven to earn her place with the Lionesses, we should all expect to see some serious skill come out of her throughout this World Cup!

Featured image via Getty Images