Why has she not got a thread already!

Signed another 3 year deal with the club today….

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/niamh-charles-commits-to-chelsea

I think people take her for granted. Puts in consistent performances every game so gets overlooked because we’re just used to her being brilliant.

Bang on! Always been one of my favourite players! She doesn't stop!

Niamh looks very focused. The type of stare that you see when someone means business.

What a player!

She’s come on leaps and bounds and so energetic.

BBC Sport

Women's sport: Niamh Charles, Ellie Kildunne and Sarah Gl...

Niamh Charles, Ellie Kildunne and Sarah Glenn each have huge summers ahead of them in an England shirt - they chat about the impact the spotlight can have on their sports.

An 'exciting summer' of women's sport lies ahead

Image source,Getty Images

Image caption,

Cricketer Sarah Glenn (left), rugby union player Ellie Kildunne and footballer Niamh Charles

Jo Currie

Women’s sport reporter

• Published

  2 hours ago

Sitting together, laughing and chatting, at The Oval cricket ground in south London, Ellie Kildunne, Niamh Charles and Sarah Glenn could pass for any other 25-year-olds.

But they are professional sportswomen who each have huge summers ahead of them in an England shirt.

Footballer Charles is hoping to help the Lionesses defend their Women's Euros title in Switzerland in July, before Kildunne aims to lift the Women's Rugby World Cup in England in September and Glenn targets Cricket World Cup glory in India in the same month.

Women's sport takes centre stage across the BBC this summer and it is an ideal time to bring the trio together, to compare and contrast stories and hear how preparations are going.

• BBC gears up for stellar summer of women's sport

  • Published

    19 May

• Will Red Roses have their Lionesses moment?

  • Published

    19 May

How big could this year be for your sport?

02:35

Media caption,

Logan hopes Rugby World Cup has similar impact to Lionesses' Euros win

Footballer Niamh Charles: We know that the expectation is going to be there after winning in 2022. It's such an exciting prospect but it's not the exact same as we're a new team.

The women's game is growing so much. All the other teams have got so much better as well. It's about who turns up in the tournament.

We're lucky we've had lots of good games before to prepare so I think we're not looking to peak right now, but when it comes to the Euros we're going to hopefully have used all those games to be in the best position from that first game and see what happens.

Cricketer Sarah Glenn: We had a really tough winter [England lost 16-0 to Australia in the Women's Ashes]. We've got the India series coming up this summer at home and those games can be quite chaotic sometimes.

We're good rivals, we get good crowds in and obviously there will be that pressure there.

But for us, it's just a great opportunity to show how good we are and to get those wins and, obviously with Lottie [head coach Charlotte Edwards] coming in and Nat Sciver-Brunt as the new captain too, it will be like a breath of fresh air for the group.

It's a really exciting summer. I trust in the process and let the outcome take care of itself.

Rugby union player Ellie Kildunne: People expect a lot from us, being a successful team.

But we were expected to win the last World Cup and we didn't, so it is a really huge tournament.

Everyone shows up for major tournaments so it doesn't matter what the world's saying about how well they expect us to do, we know there's a lot of work to be done.

The fact that people are expecting something massive from us is a very cool and special place to be, but we know that there's work to be done still.

We're still looking to improve, we can still get better and as long as we can keep striving for better and the best, I think we'll be in a very good spot come this World Cup.

When did you decide to become a professional athlete?

Kildunne: I played quite a lot of sports growing up and I didn't really know what path to go down, because I just loved playing sport.

When I was playing rugby for Gloucester, I was also sneaking home on the weekends and playing football.

Then I got asked to play rugby for England and was given a contract. That's when I knew that it could be a profession, and I could be a full-time athlete.

We're really getting into that place now where the game is definitely growing. There's more investment going into it and you can see that professionalism, and how that can really accelerate the growth of the sport.

Glenn: I played cricket and hockey. Balancing those two was pretty tough and I did think about which path I wanted to take.

I played in the Kia Super League in 2017 and it was my first professional tournament. It was really inspiring because we were getting crowds in and there were young kids coming to watch us, and we could chat to them afterwards.

When I picked up my first England contract, even though that was amazing, there wasn't too much structure to the domestic game. There was a huge amount of pressure on that England contract because otherwise I'd have to pick up a job alongside that.

Now, more contracts have come into our domestic league. I can represent England and my county, which I'm really proud to do as well. And that for me was the biggest turning point. No matter who I was, I could make cricket my lifestyle.

Today is the 5th anniversary of Niamh signing for the club. In my opinion she is one of the team's most consistent players. Always gives her all for the team.

So now Niamh has left the club. A wonderful player who always gave her all for the club. Thank you for the great times Niamh. A shame that fans weren't able to give Niamh, JRK and Guro a good send-off. Hopefully no one else leaves but you can't tell with the club.

Niamh Charles departs Chelsea

Niamh Charles has today completed a permanent transfer to Manchester City, bringing a trophy-laden six-year spell at Chelsea to an end.

Charles leaves the Blues having won five WSL titles, four FA Cups and three League Cups. She played 178 games for us and scored 13 goals, with her consistent, high-quality performances for Chelsea ensuring she has become a regular member of the England squad.

Charles was 21 years old when she arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2020, joining from Liverpool for whom she had impressed against us on several occasions.

Initially used in an attacking role, Charles soon found a home at full-back, with her versatility and two-footedness ensuring she could play on either side. Her maiden campaign at Chelsea concluded with her in the starting XI in the Champions League final.

Charles quickly established herself as an invaluable member of Emma Hayes's all-conquering side, and she marked her 100th Chelsea appearance by scoring in a 4-0 win at West Ham in May 2023 as we closed in on yet another WSL title.

Niamh Charles snaps a selfie of her team-mates after winning the Women's FA Cup in 2023

The following campaign, 2023/24, was arguably Charles' best in blue. She started each of our 22 WSL games as we won the league in style, thrashing Manchester United 6-0 on the final day. With Millie Bright out injured for much of the season, Charles wore the armband on several occasions, and it was no surprise when our No.21 was named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year.

Though Charles was affected by injury in each of the past two campaigns, she still brought up the milestone of 150 Chelsea appearances and more than played her part in further domestic success.

Last summer she featured in five of England’s games at Euro 2025, coming off the bench in the final to net a nerveless penalty in the shootout triumph against Spain as the Lionesses retained their crown. She has accrued 34 international caps, all won during her time with Chelsea.

We would like to thank Niamh for her efforts in blue and wish her every success for the rest of her career.

Seeing the soul and identity of the women’s team slowly being stripped away piece by piece is definitely hurting a lot more than when they decimated the men’s team.

19 minutes ago, Munkunku said:

Seeing the soul and identity of the women’s team slowly being stripped away piece by piece is definitely hurting a lot more than when they decimated the men’s team.

Spot on. As I've already mentioned I hope no one else leaves. f**king owners haven't a clue.

If Erin goes I’m doing a dirty protest at Cobham.

3 hours ago, Munkunku said:

Seeing the soul and identity of the women’s team slowly being stripped away piece by piece is definitely hurting a lot more than when they decimated the men’s team.

I don't even think it is slow. The women's team is the clearest indictment on this rancid cancerous ownership that we are saddled with.

The complete destruction of this area of the club straight after the money laundering level of over pricing and sale to ourselves surely cannot be viewed as anything other than sinister. They are literally torpedo-ing every vestige of the success and heritage that has taken years to develop.

There are many reasons why I despise these fking w*nker owners and directors but the women's team is a glaring embodiment of why we can never progress as a club until these pr!cks are gone.

16 hours ago, Munkunku said:

If Erin goes I’m doing a dirty protest at Cobham.

You can feel it coming unfortunately. 😡