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The England midfielder returned to the Women’s Super League at the end of January after two-and-a-half years at Barcelona. Now she has a chance to win immediate silverware when Chelsea bid for the first leg of a possible quadruple, but standing in their way are Manchester City, the club Walsh followed as a child and represented for eight years. The final awaits.
👀 pic.twitter.com/7UVuJ0usUL — Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 12, 2025 “It is a little bit weird,” the 27-year-old told the PA news agency.
“It’s the team that my family support so it’s a strange one, but I’m a Chelsea player now and I love being here and I want to do everything I can to help this team win. “As soon as you cross that white line, nothing else really matters than winning for Chelsea.” Walsh first joined City in 2014, having impressed coach Nick Cushing, who is back in charge after the surprise sacking of Gareth Taylor this week.
She helped them win the WSL in 2016 and also lifted the FA Cup three times and League Cup four times, but joining rivals Chelsea necessitated more of an adjustment for her father Peter than for Walsh. “Once I spoke to (head coach) Sonia (Bompastor) and (assistant) Cami (Abily), I think my decision was always to come to Chelsea,” she said. A post shared by Keira Walsh (@keirawalsh) “My dad had to get used to the idea more than me to be honest.
I’ve been away for two-and-a-half years so I’m used to it now, but I think he always had in his head that I would go back to City. “I think he’s happy that I chose Chelsea, though. He used to tell me when I was younger to watch Cami play so I think he was a bit starstruck when he saw her the other day, he was a bit shy, which I’ve never seen him like before.
“He just wants the best for me and I think he knows I’m really happy here and that’s what’s most important to him.” Two of the most expensive transfer fees in women’s football history have been paid for Walsh in the last three years, with Chelsea’s investment in January also seeing them break a milestone by bringing in American defender Naomi Girma as the first one million euro player. Bompastor is yet to taste defeat in charge of the Blues and Walsh, who twice won the Champions League with Barcelona, believes the quadruple could be on the cards.
“The squad is obviously unbelievable here, it’s obviously very competitive,” she said. “But you’ve also got to pay respect to the teams that are in Europe and the teams that are in the league. Although I think we can do it and we can compete, it’s going to be tough.
“This is the first one that’s up for grabs, so I think we can show our intent for the rest of the season if we go out on a strong front. We’re looking to definitely bring that trophy back to London.” Regarding the battles on the pitch on Saturday, Walsh highlighted the clash between prolific City striker Khadija Shaw and Chelsea defender Millie Bright and backed the England star to come out on top.
“I have faith in our defenders,” said Walsh. “Millie always has an outstanding game when she plays Bunny (Shaw), I think Millie physically is one of the best defenders in the world.”.
