Aggie Beever-Jones is showing why she deserves England Euros spot as Lionesses starlet shines for Chelsea in Sam Kerr's absence

Every academy talent has a different path into senior football and Beever-Jones' came through the loan system, with her steadily progressing to the level required at Chelsea through a spell in the second tier with Bristol City and a season in the top-flight at Everton. A quick look at the numbers from both stints and neither jumps off the page, but it was the experience accrued, rather than the goals scored, that laid the foundation for her Chelsea breakthrough.

"You need that game time to experiment, try new things and make mistakes," Beever-Jones would later tell Sky Sports of the benefits of going to Bristol, while highlighting her time at Everton as important to develop her defensive traits.

When she came back to Chelsea for pre-season in the summer of 2023, then, she was an improved player in many areas. Still, she wasn't going to be granted game time in such a competitive squad. Beever-Jones had to work hard for every minute she got and take her opportunities when they came her way. It's fair to say she did that.

Despite being granted just six starts in the WSL, the rest of her 17 appearances coming from the bench, Beever-Jones ended the 2023-24 campaign with 11 goals, a tally only bettered on the Chelsea team by James' 13. She also scored in every league start, a feat she has continued into the new season after netting against Crystal Palace last month.

"For me, it's all about her attitude and her mentality," Chelsea captain Millie Bright said this week. "It all comes down to that. She's always been like a sponge in our environment, just trying to learn from some of the best players that we've got in terms of her position and then executing in training and when she gets her opportunity. Whether it's five minutes, 10, 20, starting games, she takes her chances."

This year, it looks like the starts will become much more regular. Kerr's ACL injury in January was followed by Mia Fishel suffering the same devastating fate just a few weeks later, depriving Chelsea of two senior international strikers not just for the second half of Emma Hayes' final season in charge, but also for the first half of Sonia Bompastor's first campaign.

Hayes dipped into the January market and splashed the cash on Mayra Ramirez, an outstanding talent who has been at the forefront of Colombia's rise in women's football. However, she has picked up a few knocks while getting used to the rigours of playing every three days, and in a more physical domestic league, meaning all three of Chelsea's natural No.9s have been sidelined at the same time on numerous occasions.

Fortunately, in a squad with the quality and depth of the Blues', both coaches have other options. Macario, the United States star who can play essentially any attacking role, is one and Beever-Jones, who came through as a wide player, is another.

That said, Beever-Jones has earned her chances. She has not just been given them because needs must, though it is worth mentioning the absentees because she has had big shoes to fill and has done so admirably. Her performances in the No.9 role are all the more impressive because it's not something she is particularly natural in, either.

“Being in a squad like we are, you have to get used to sometimes playing out of position," she said last season. "I’ve grown up playing on the wing, but I’ve come here and transitioned more into a nine. I see it as a positive that I can understand the game from different aspects."

That versatility is an asset when it comes to getting minutes in a competitive Chelsea team, and a competitive England team, and it is useful for her coaches, too. During last month's 7-0 thrashing of Palace, it was as a No.9 that Beever-Jones started the game and in that role that she scored with a well-taken finish. But after the second-half introduction of Ramirez, she ended the match out wide, where she continued to be a menace - just a more creative one.

That flexibility will certainly have caught the eye of Wiegman, who likes to mix things up in her forward line from time to time. When England were facing must-win, and must-win by a lot of goals, fixtures in December of last year, she opted to place the direct threat of Hemp, an out-and-out winger, through the middle of her attack, at the expense of Alessia Russo. Beever-Jones will be able to offer her something similar, albeit with different traits to Hemp and the bonus of playing in both roles more often than the Manchester City star.

It might also give her the edge over some of the other attackers competing for a place in the Lionesses' squad ahead of next summer's Euros, as most only play in one specific position at club level on a regular basis.

But the most important thing for Beever-Jones right now, and the most important thing for her when it comes to keeping her place in the England squad, is her Chelsea form. Bompastor was admittedly impressed with the 21-year-old during pre-season and she will have been with her start to the new campaign, too.

Now, it's about to go up a notch. The Blues will play their first Champions League fixture on Tuesday when they welcome Real Madrid to London. It's a competition Beever-Jones got a couple of starts in last season, to go with a handful of substitute appearances, but one that she is yet to score in.

She's already stepped up admirably to help Chelsea cope with the absences of Kerr, Fishel and, at times, Ramirez, and to continue to do so against Europe's elite would be another sign of progress. It'd be further evidence that she has what it takes to be a big player for one of the biggest clubs in the women's game, one which is still searching for a first Women's Champions League title. It'd surely impress Wiegman, too.