Chloe Sarwie: Chelsea's ambitious teenager who can be the answer to the Lionesses long-standing left-back problem

Sarwie's interest in playing football came from going to watch her older brother's games, but it was not the only activity she enjoyed as a young girl. The Chelsea starlet was also a proficient dancer, mainly in ballet but also in some tap dancing. This was not just some passing hobby, either, with Sarwie performing every year at His Majesty's Theatre on the West End.

There are elements from her dancing path that are linked to the England youth international's footballing path, and things learned in that realm that have helped her into Chelsea's first team. For one, she knows all about the nerves of performing on a big stage from those experiences at His Majesty's Theatre, and how to deal with them.

"At points, you use certain breathing techniques and that helps really well," she explained on the We Are Chelsea podcast. "I started doing that in ballet and carrying that on has been really helpful." From a technical perspective, Sarwie believes her "dribbling style kind of links back to" her time dancing, too. "Ballet made me light on my feet," she told the Guardian.

One day, while kicking a ball around in the park as her brother was playing a match, a coach approached Sarwie and said: "You should be playing for an academy by now." Aged nine, she would be, at Chelsea. Previously a winger and an attacking midfielder, the 17-year-old has since settled into a left-back role during her rise up the ranks with the Blues and the England youth teams.

Milestones aplenty came Sarwie's way during the 2025-26 season. Having first made a matchday squad the previous campaign, it was in October of last year that, aged 16, she made her senior debut, as a substitute in the second half of Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Twente in the Champions League.

It said a lot about head coach Sonia Bompastor's belief in Sarwie that she chose to introduce her into the game despite the result being in the balance, belief shared by other players in the squad. "She’s such a young, exciting player and she’s so talented," Carpenter, Chelsea's Australia international full-back, said of Sarwie after the match. "Hopefully we can see more of her."

We would. In March, after a few more substitute appearances, and the signing of her first professional contract a month prior, Sarwie made her full senior debut when she started against London City Lionesses.

"It means everything to me," she said afterwards. "I’ve been working so hard throughout the academy and to finally be part of the first team, sign my contract and get my first start. I’m forever grateful. I just need to keep working hard and keep showing that I should actually be in that starting XI."

It's not just Sarwie's standing the Chelsea team that has grown a lot in the last year, either. Her status in the national team set-up has also improved dramatically. Last summer, the teenager was the youngest member of the England squad that went to the Under-19 Euros, albeit without seeing a minute of action.

Five months later, still aged just 16, she was in the Under-23s squad. In April, as England beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the semi-finals of the U23 European Competition, Sarwie was named Player of the Match. A few days later, she was again a starter as the Young Lionesses beat Sweden 3-0 in the final to win the tournament.

"It's mental," she said on the We Are Chelsea podcast, reflecting on the games. "The oldest player is six years older than me!"

Having played further up the pitch in her earlier years, it's no big surprise that Sarwie's attacking qualities catch the eye in particular. Technically superb, she loves a mazy dribble down the wing to set up the opportunity to cross, with her left-footed deliveries excellent both in open play and from set-piece situations.

Keen to express herself on the pitch, the 17-year-old has great flair to her game and a positive, forward-thinking mindset that allows her to beat defenders in one-v-one situations.

"As soon as I get the ball, I want to make something happen when going forward," she said last season. Sarwie is improving a lot when in the other role in those scenarios, too, timing her tackles well to thwart opponents while having the energy and work-rate to cover ground up and down the wing, as any manager wants in a modern-day full-back.

Then there are all the psychological qualities Sarwie possesses. She speaks impressively about pressure and how to cope with it, drawing on her experiences in ballet as part of that, and also has a really healthy mindset that will stand her in good stead as she continues to make strides in the senior game.

"There is no such thing as failure. You either succeed or you learn," she told the Women's Soccer Podcast. "Once you realise that, you can succeed in anything.”

There are several things that Sarwie is still adapting to in the senior game, which is to be expected of someone who debuted at just 16 last season.

“It’s a massive step up," she admitted on the We Are Chelsea podcast. Asked about some of those differences, she picked out "the speed of play", that "your decision-making has to be 10-times quicker" and the fact that "you have to keep the quality up with it" as stand-out elements she has been adjusting to. "It’s a lot compared to academy football," she said.

There are the physical aspects, too, with Sarwie still developing when it comes to her strength but also how to use that in the WSL.

"She's really good. A very good full-back," Nathalie Bjorn, the Chelsea defender, told GOAL of her talented teenage team-mate this summer. "She just keeps working hard and is very technical. Being a full-back isn't easy either, especially in this league when there are so many players who are so physical. She just needs to learn how to use her body but I think she will grow into that, 100 per cent."

Even things off the pitch take some time to get used to when you come into the senior game so young. “Initially, it was very scary. Just trying to socialise with [first team players], it’s like, ‘What do I say?’" Sarwie said on the We Are Chelsea podcast, reflecting on her breakthrough in an endearingly relatable way. But that is something she's clearly getting used to now, as she becomes more accustomed to being a first team player at the club.

Funnily enough, there are elements of Sarwie's game that are reminiscent of Katie McCabe, the former Arsenal defender who joined the Blues this summer. The teenager always seems to take a very intentional first touch, always out of her feet and with the clear desire to play forward, akin to McCabe. Both are front-footed players possessing real attacking threat, aided by their work-rate up and down the wing and boosted by excellent crossing ability, from open play and set-pieces.

But while Sarwie is still developing the defensive side of her game and the consistency of delivery, she does have dribbling ability that gives her the potential to beat several players on a mazy run, in a way McCabe doesn't. That is something more akin to team-mate Sandy Baltimore, who is a natural wide player. Sarwie's skilfulness and confidence in taking players on is a real stand-out.

Sarwie's exposure to first team football last season came in small doses and so an increase in general minutes and number of opportunities will surely be a target for the 17-year-old during the 2026-27 campaign. Bompastor will hope that she can turn to the teenager as a rotation option, too, in order to keep Baltimore further up the field, where she is most effective.

Before her attention turns to club matters, though, Sarwie's focus will be on England and the U20 Women's World Cup, which, despite threats of a UEFA boycott, is set to go ahead as planned on September 5. The Young Lionesses qualified via last year's U19 Euros, a tournament in which Sarwie didn't get on the pitch. She's become a more important player for England in the time since, though, and will have a big part to play in Poland.

Given that context, predicting a leap into the senior England team might feel premature, but Sarwie plays a position of real need in the Lionesses' set-up. Sarina Wiegman has lacked options at left-back throughout her five years in charge, so there are already some pundits predicting a senior call-up sooner rather than later if the teenager can take strides forward this season.

It'd be another big step for a player who has had to adapt to plenty of new environments in the last 12 months, but the way she speaks, it's clear Sarwie's confidence and self-belief are only improving alongside her talent.

“I want to be that player who can amaze people constantly, who is up there as one of the best," she told the Guardian earlier this year. Keep working hard and Sarwie certainly has the potential to get there.