Lola Brown: The ‘ruthless’ Chelsea and England teen dubbed ‘one of the most talented young players’ in the Lionesses’ system

Born in Malta, Brown moved to England when she was eight years old and joined the All Stars Soccer Academy in Eastbourne, on the south coast. The academy has helped to develop several of England’s most talented young players – boys and girls – since opening its doors in 2014, including Tayo Subuloye, the England youth international who is captain of Chelsea’s Under-16s, and Sophie Harwood, the Arsenal teen who helped the Young Lionesses reach the U17 Women’s World Cup semi-finals last year.

“We’re about trying to get players to the next level and then trying to get players the opportunity to move on. Lola is a great example of that,” Anthony Storey, the director of football at All Stars, told GOAL. “She came straight in with the boys, training three or four times a week, and she played in there. She's exceptional.”

Asked what made her stand out even at that young age, Storey does like Bompastor and points to some of the off-pitch qualities that those who have worked closely with the young winger seem to be bowled over by. “Just an amazing attitude, fantastic focus,” he replied. “She's always had really good balance. Exceptional all round, to be honest. Her attitude and willingness to learn is absolutely outstanding.”

Brown’s move to that next level came in the 2019-20 season, when she joined Chelsea and started to play for the U12s. Her development within the youth teams was so impressive that after being named the women's academy's U18 Player of the Year for the 2023-24 campaign, she was bumped up into the first-team squad on a regular basis.

Following stand-out performances with England U17s in the summer, to reach the Euros final, and the autumn, to reach the World Cup semi-finals, Brown returned to Chelsea to sign her first professional contract in November, aged 17. Two days later, another milestone was hit in the Champions League group-stage fixture against Celtic, when the talented teenager made her first-team debut in an electric cameo from the bench.

Now part of England’s U19s, whom she helped qualify for this summer’s Euros earlier this month, Brown has been involved with Chelsea’s first team ever since that debut earlier this season, regularly making the squad as the Blues’ quest for a quadruple continues.

The 17-year-old has only made one more appearance, that also in the Champions League, but that she is in and around the team consistently as they play these huge matches every few days is providing her with an invaluable experience.

“She's been around the team since the beginning of the season and I think she's learning about how to become a professional player,” Bompastor noted last week. “She already knows a lot about it and I think just watching the example coming from some leaders in the team is really good for her."

It says a lot about how highly Bompastor rates Brown that she's been so regularly included in matchday squads at Chelsea this season. Goalkeeper Katie Cox is the only other academy prospect really getting those opportunities to be part of the game-day experience often.

It’s easy to see why the Blues’ boss is so taken by Brown, too. A quick and skilful winger who uses both feet brilliantly, and thus can be utilised on either flank, her final product is surprisingly efficient given her age and relatively limited experience at the top level. Brown spent her youth playing in the boys’ teams at the All Stars Soccer Academy and Storey believes that helped her to “make decisions quicker”, something that is certainly evident today, too.

The teenager’s off-ball movement to get into goal-scoring positions and her composure when on the receiving end of those chances also catches the key, while all the comments about her attitude and work ethic speak wonders of her character.

It’s hard to say that there are any glaring weaknesses in Brown’s game. She has spent a lot of time in her young career to date doing one-to-one coaching sessions to ensure that is the case and the progress she needs to make now includes just the natural steps that must be taken when moving from youth football to senior football.

Still only 17 years old, she will get stronger in order to better assert herself in the women’s game, she’ll accrue more experience of the big stages that teams like Chelsea and England so regularly grace, and her decision-making will become more refined as that game time increases.

Caroline Graham Hansen is a player who comes to mind when watching Brown, particularly because the youngster faces up to her marker and beats them with skill in a way that the Barcelona winger has mastered, rather than just knocking the ball past a full-back and getting by them with pace – though both can do that, too.

It’s by no means a perfect comparison. For example, Graham Hansen has traits that have tempted some managers to use her as a No.10, especially her eye for a killer pass from central areas. But Brown does also have great off-ball movement that she uses to get into goal-scoring positions regularly, just like the Norwegian.

It feels like Brown is in a great position to take the next steps in her career. At Chelsea, the somewhat heightened focus on developing young players bodes well for her, as does the fact that Bompastor is a coach with a great record of doing exactly that. “It is also special for me when I can give the opportunity to a young player to come in and show herself,” the Chelsea boss said in November, after Brown signed her first pro deal with the club.

There is a similarly clear pathway at national-team level, with England. It was only this month that Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman gave Arsenal teenager Michelle Agyemang a chance to shine on the big stage and she took it with both hands, scoring a stunning goal just 41 seconds into her senior debut. She was the latest player to impress with the U23s and then get her opportunity up another level, after the likes of Ruby Mace, Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aggie Beever-Jones. Agyemang was also in the same U19s team as Brown only four days prior to that dream debut, when the pair were in the starting XI that helped the Young Lionesses qualify for this summer's Euros.

If Brown can continue to work her way up the England ladder and make her way into that U23s team, she’ll only be one step away from the seniors. She’s got to continue to work hard and make that progress, of course. Nothing is a given. But with her attitude, and her wonderful talent, it’s with real confidence that one can predict Brown will make greater waves in the months and years to come, for club and country.