TOFFEE DAYS ARE SO SWEET FOR CHLOE
WHEN Arsenal Ladies youngster Chloe Kelly signed a new contract with the club back in February, she’d have been hoping to build on last season when she broke into the Gunners first team.
But with an abundance of attacking options available to head coach Pedro Losa which includes the likes of Asisat Oshoala, Jodie Taylor and Kelly Smith, opportunities proved few and far between at the start of the season for the 18-year-old.
So when one did present itself to join FA WSL 2 side Everton Ladies on loan, Kelly saw it as the perfect chance to show what she was made of, while also gaining some match sharpness after spending a part of the season on the sidelines through injury.
“Everton is like a family, they bring you in and treat you really well, so it has been nice to get some game time after a period out with injury,” she said.“I hope to show what I can do in this league and hopefully give Pedro a message that I am knocking on the door, and that I want to be part of that Arsenal team.”
Kelly was playing only her third game for the Toffees last week when she bagged a first-half brace in an impressive 3-0 win over league leaders Yeovil Town Ladies, who had only lost one league game before the defeat in Widnes.
Speaking about the impact of the England youth forward, head coach Andy Spence was full of praise for his new acquisition, particularly as she hadn’t trained with the team all week due to England duty.
“Maybe that’s the secret, send her away every week with England,” he joked.“Chloe has come in and impressed us all. She’s an exciting talent who you feel is going to make something happen ever y time she gets the ball.We now have three or four players in the squad like that who give us that cutting edge.”
Spence is no stranger to developing young players having had to work on a shoestring budget for most of his two spells in charge of the club.
He confesses that getting the balance right between obtaining positive results and nurturing young loan players like Kelly is a challenge he relishes.
“You’re tr ying to find that balance all the time, you always want to get positive results,” he said.“But we have a very strong culture in our club that we must develop young talents, and the fact clubs like Arsenal entrust us with one of their players, it’s only right we challenge and push them.”
While it’s still early days, Kelly is equally complimentar y of her temporary boss, who she hopes can make her a better player for when she returns to London.
“Andy is a great manager and he’s got a lot of experience in the game,” she says.
“He’s got great ambition for young players and he really believes in us.”