Undercooked England star Chloe Kelly must take opportunity to shine against the USWNT or risk being missing out on Lionesses Euros title defence

When Wiegman announced her squad earlier this month, for games against the U.S. and Switzerland, she did not hide her feelings when asked at what point Kelly’s lack of game time would become a concern for her.

"I think it's a concern right now, already,” she admitted. “But that's a hard situation. Competition at Man City is high too. But it's also to have a look at what's available. What players do we have available for our squad? We have some injuries up front. Lauren Hemp is injured, Lauren James is injured, so that competition is still going on too. Chloe knows that she's not in the best position at club at the moment, but [she has] enough credit to bring her in, related to the whole team and the availability of players."

It's no wonder the England manager feels like that. After all, Kelly has started one game in the Women’s Super League, one Champions League qualifier and one Champions League group-stage game across Man City’s first 14 matches of the season.

On four occasions, she’s not even got on the pitch. Kelly went almost six years without being an unused sub in the WSL prior to this year, but now it’s becoming a much more common occurrence, which will be of great concern to her as well as her national-team coach.

Amid it all are rumours of a breakdown in relationship with Man City boss Gareth Taylor. It is all casting doubt over Kelly’s future at the club, with her contract to expire at the end of the season.

That’s not just a situation for the winger to deal with once the current campaign is over either, because if she wants to be on the plane to Euro 2025 next summer, she’s going to need to be playing in order to stay in Wiegman’s plans between now and then, never mind earn a ticket.

As the January transfer window approaches, it would be a surprise if Kelly and her team were not at least tentatively looking at potential switches, in order to increase her game time ahead of that major tournament.

However, there is a window of opportunity for Kelly at City right now too, after Hemp had to undergo surgery for a knee injury. It means that instead of Kelly being one of four wingers – alongside Mary Fowler and Aoba Fujino – competing for two spots in attack, she is one of three. She’ll still have to fight to get minutes ahead of the aforementioned pair, but the chances of playing are at least higher while Hemp recovers, and some good form could change her standing in Taylor’s plans altogether.

One positive for Kelly is that Wiegman will give her the benefit of the doubt. The England boss has spoken before about players building up "credit" with her and her staff for their exploits with the Lionesses, meaning they will not be simply cast aside without thought if things aren’t working out at club level for a spell.

Kelly is the latest player that Wiegman has talked about in this manner and that will help her stay in the picture for the time being, with her still getting chances this season for her country.

The winger was one of the subs Wiegman turned to in the defeat to Germany at Wembley last month, ahead of the in-form Grace Clinton and exciting Beever-Jones, and she got a start against South Africa a few days later too, in which she impressed. She has the trust of the Lionesses boss.

As a result, it would not be a surprise to see Wiegman turn to Kelly on Saturday against the United States, as she ponders what to do with her frontline while James and Hemp are both sidelined.

Kelly will bring all the traits that have marked her out as one of England’s best forwards in recent years, but with additional hunger. Given her problems at club level and that lack of game time, the 26-year-old will be chomping at the bit to make an impact and impress.

That attitude could help breathe some life into a Lionesses team that has felt a little stale in recent windows, too.

If Kelly is granted that chance, what an opportunity it will be for her to remind Wiegman of what she can do. The USWNT might be without their ‘triple espresso’ attack of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson, but the squad is at full-strength in defence, with Arsenal full-back Emily Fox and the world-class Naomi Girma tasked with keeping the Lionesses’ frontline quiet.

Despite being the player who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2022 final, despite having made the PFA Team of the Year twice in the last five years and despite being on the cusp of a half-century of caps for England, Kelly is in a position right now where she’s almost got to prove herself again, and show everyone that she is still one of the best wingers in the country.

Given the frustration that will have built up at club level over the first few months of this season, and that end goal of making the squad for next summer’s Euros, going up against a top-quality back line like the one the U.S. possesses is sure to be a challenge that she will only relish. If Kelly can turn that determination into a top performance, it’ll certainly improve her chances of fulfilling that aim.