Lauren James

Many people might know Lauren James through her older brother, Reece James. However, it has been seen that her love for the game was not just through Reece or their father but also through herself. She insisted football was all she ever wanted. She told the Telegraph in 2021, “All I ever knew was football, football and football” Although her brother could take credit for her getting into football, her ambition to play drove her motivation. When Lauren was growing up, there was a field behind her house with two pitches, and every day; she would play football there or in the streets. Even when her brother Josh was at Fulham and Reece was at the Chelsea Academy, she would kick the ball against the fence herself. This led to her being a part of the Chelsea Academy under-10s to under-14s team. This helped her grow into the technical player she is and her ability to carry the ball past the plaster switch easily and use her body to shield the ball from the posing players.

It was not just the influence of her two older footballing-loving brothers that had an impact, but also her dad, Nigel. He is a UEFA-approved coach with an elite coaching business and works with the Grenada national team. It would be hard-pressed to say her dad did not help her development, with hundreds of hours of practising drills in the garden leading her to the Chelsea under-ten girls team and starting her career.

THE JOURNEY

Far outclassing her girl's age group, she went straight to playing for the boy's team and got invited to train with the senior team at 15. However, the forward moved to the London rivals of Arsenal, making her debut at 16 in October 2017, making her the second youngest Arsenal women's debutante. However, her time at the London Reds was short because, in July 2018, she moved up north to the newly created Manchester United to sign her first professional contract. She scored 13 goals in 18 championship league appraised to help United join the top flight of the WSL. But James's history-making nature did not stop there, as she scored their first-ever goal in the women's Super League and was United's top scorer in the 2019/20 season with six goals in 12 appearances. She was getting recognised for her skill on a larger scale now by being shortlisted for PFA Women's Young Player of the Year in the same season.

THE DESTINATION

James then moved again. She conquered the North and wanted to return to her native London and conquer that at a senior leave. She was joining her Brother Reece at her girlhood club in Chelsea at the end of the 2021 season. Although her start in Cobham was not as goalful as expected, she did make her mark in her first season, 21/22, making 12 appearances and netting once against Leicester City at the King Power stadium in a 9-0 thrashing. Again, for the second year in a row, she was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year and won, leading to a long-term contract with the Blues. In the current 23/24 season, she produced five goals in two marches, winning her the WSL Player of the Month award in November and was named in the prestigious FIFPro World. But the acknowledgement does not stop there. She also has the most goals from both genders, scoring at Stamford Bridge with seven goals and a hat trick at the bridge against her former club, Manchester United.

ENGLAND

Now, let's talk about Lauren James and England. She has 20 senior caps and six senior goals so far, as she starts to break through into the senior squad after excelling with England at the development level, picking up caps at wu17s and wu19. She got her first senior call-up in November 2020. But it was not until 2023 that she cemented her place in the squad by being named player of the tournament at the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup. Although it has not been easy facing constant comparisons to her older brother and criticisms of her inconsistency on the big stages, she proved that wrong with two goals and three assists in the final group match for England against China at the World Cup 2023. The praise doesn't stop with England Manager Sarina Wiegman hailing James for doing “special things '. However, it wasn’t all smooth. Sailing her red card in the quarter-finals was not her finest moment, proving she was still young and had much to learn. After being compared to the new Beckham, it's only right to get a red in an important international game, right? However, she has carved out a nail for herself in the women's games, with Leah Williamson calling the Chelsea forward England's “ cheat code”. May her success continue and her rash decisions fizzle.