Voted Chelsea’s Players’ Player of the Season and now Wembley-bound with a treble in sight, it might surprise some to learn that Nathalie Bjorn’s first full campaign in west London didn’t go entirely to plan.
Poached from Everton in January last year, the Swedish international arrived at Chelsea for the final stretch of Emma Hayes’ swansong season. Breaking her way past a crowded field of talented defenders and establishing herself in the heart of Hayes’ back-line, Bjorn capped off the season with a first league title under her belt.
But when Sonia Bompastor took over as head coach for the start of this season, Bjorn found herself in unfamiliar territory: relegated to the bench and forced to watch from the sidelines.