There are obviously numerous differences between the men’s game and the women’s when it comes to football, but perhaps one of the biggest ones is that few male players could have Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea down as their list of clubs without it causing some major friction. Whilst it would be untrue to suggest that the supporters don’t give her some ‘banter’ when she turns up against her former clubs, the more positive nature of women’s football is such that Lauren James doesn’t get the same sort of hassle that other players might be expecting. Having won silverware with all three clubs, she won’t mind a bit of ribbing.
Who is Lauren James?
Lauren Elizabeth James was born on the 29th of September 2001 in London. Thanks to her father she is off Grenadian and Dominican descent, whilst her mother is English, giving her choices when it came to her international career. She went to Whitton School in Whitton and eventually decided to play for England. The younger sister of Chelsea and England player Reece James, they became the first ever brother and sister to represent the Three Lions at senior level in the modern game. Lauren cites her father as being a huge influence, with Nigel James boasting a UEFA coaching licence. Having grown up playing football, it seemed clear she would make it in the women’s game.
Starting Out in Football
Lauren James was just 13-years-old when she was scouted by Arsenal. Signed up with the club, she initially trained with the boys in the Academy system but within two years of being there was called up to train with the first team. On the 29th of October 2017, James being the second-youngest player in the history of Arsenal’s women’s side, replacing Lisa Evans in the 67th minute of a 2-0 win over Everton during the 2017-2018 season when she was just 16-years-old. Such was the buzz surrounding James that she began to draw the attention of other clubs and on the 13th of July 2019 it was confirmed that she was heading to Manchester United.
James was to make up the professional squad of the Red Devils for the newly restricted FA Women’s Championship ahead of the 2018-2019 season. Her competitive debut came in the 1-0 win over the club’s fierce rivals Liverpool in the League Cup, which was played on the 19th of August 2018. In United’s first game of the campaign she netted twice as the club went rampant against Aston Villa, running out 12-0 winners. The Red Devils went unbeaten during the month of September, with James scoring three goals and ending up named as the FA Women’s Championship Player of the Month, with better still to come.
Catching Chelsea’s Eye
On the 20th of April 2019, James scored four times as Manchester United ran out 7-0 winners against Crystal Palace. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Red Devils gained promotion out of the Championship and into the Women’s Super League, with James’ goals being a big part of the reason why. Her first WSL goal came against United’s rivals Liverpool, with the Manchester club winning 2-0 on the 28th of September 2019. A fortnight later and she was shown two yellow cards in a 3-0 away win over Tottenham Hotspur. In spite of this, her first professional contract with the club was signed on the 16th of December 2019.
By the end of the 2019-2020 season, James had ended up as Manchester United’s top scorer and was also named on the four-person shortlist for the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year. On the 27th of March 2021, the Red Devils played the first Women’s Super League match at Old Trafford, with James finding the net to open the scoring in what would prove to be a 2-0 win over West Ham United. Her goalscoring prowess and all-round performances had begun to earn the admiration of other WSL clubs, with one of the most successful in the competition’s history particularly keen to sign her: Chelsea.
Signing for the Blues
On the 23rd of July 2021, it was confirmed that Lauren James had signed a four-year contract with Chelsea. It took just over a month for her to score her first goal for her new club, netting in the 9-0 away win that the Blues enjoyed over Leicester City. It was in her second season with Chelsea that she really began to show her worth. She scored eight times in 33 appearances, which included five in the Women’s Super League. Such was the ability that she demonstrated that she was named the Young Player of the Year at the Women’s Football Awards, as well as being named the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year.
Lauren James has been named PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year 🏆
The future of women’s football 👏 pic.twitter.com/xmE1tP03pg
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 29, 2023
In the June of 2023, Chelsea confirmed that James had signed a contract extension that would keep her playing for the club until 2027. She rewarded the Blues with her first hat-trick, coming against Liverpool on the 18th of November 2023. It was part of the reason why she was named the WSL Player of the Month that month. In the summer of 2023, James had received criticism for stamping on the Nigerian player Michelle Alozie during the World Cup, being sent off as a result. On the tenth of December, James was involved in her second stamping incident, this time only being yellow carded for a stamp on Lia Wälti.
That came in a heavy 4-1 loss that Chelsea suffered at the hands of James’ former club Arsenal. In the wake of the incident the manager at the time, Emma Hayes, said that she was ‘not in a good place’ in reference to the ‘abuse’ that she had received from both the public and the media. It was against a different former club that James managed to get herself back on track, however, scoring a hat-trick against Manchester United in the first game of 2024, which was her second hat-trick in succession at Stamford Bridge. On the 27th of January she became the WSL’s joint-top scorer when she scored a brace against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Launching a Scholarship & Picking up an Injury
In the wake of the win over Brighton, which meant that James had scored 12 goals in 11 games, the then-Brighton & Hove Albion manager, Melissa Phillips, said that James was ‘performing at the top of her game right now’. When the 2023-2024 season reached its conclusion, with Chelsea having won the Women’s Super League for the third time in a row since James had signed for the club, she was named the Chelsea Women’s Player of the Year. It meant that she was full of confidence heading into the following season, with James’ first goal coming in the 58th minute of the 7-0 win that the Blues enjoyed over London rivals Crystal Palace.
In the September of 2024, Lauren James announced that she was launching a scholarship programme that was aimed at improving diversity in women’s football. Hoping to help young girls from minority backgrounds as they looked to navigate the world of football during the early stages of their career, James was looking to put something back into the sport that had offered her huge success at a relatively young age. The idea of karma being a real thing was soon nipped in the bud, however, when she suffered a calf injury ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League game against FC Twente that ruled her out until the start of 2025.