Why Lucy Bronze's move to serial champions Chelsea could take the Blues to another level of magnificence - and heaps more silverware; the England defender, a five-time Champions League winner, has signed a two-year deal with the reigning WSL champions
Wednesday 17 July 2024 12:44, UK
Lucy Bronze is a mercurial figure. Never someone to stay in one place too long. Throughout her illustrious trophy-laden career - arguably the most successful English female player of all time - she has played for seven different clubs. Chelsea will take that total to eight.
That includes two separate stints at Manchester City, never staying at a club longer than three successive seasons.
For that reason, and many more, Bronze can be characterised as somewhat of an enigma. A player who has won everything the domestic and European game has to offer, conquering multiple leagues in multiple lands, without ever staying long enough to be considered a bona fide legend at any.
What Bronze does have, though, is a taste for trophies. She is a five-time Champions League winner, and has celebrated league titles at Liverpool, Man City, Lyon and Barcelona, while also playing a starring role in England's Euro 2022 triumph. She is, above all else, an elite-level winner.
The phrase 'serial winner' was used twice in the statement announcing Bronze as a Chelsea player.
And so, her and Chelsea, appear on paper anyway, to be the perfect match. The Blues strike again. Just when all competing Women's Super League clubs thought they were finally nearing some respite from Chelsea's relentless monopolisation of silverware, having bid farewell to the dominance of the Emma Hayes era, in comes Bronze, the most decorated player of all.
The fact she elected to join Chelsea over all other WSL suitors is a statement in itself. Things are changing at Stamford Bridge, and, with Hayes gone, there is likely to be a period of transition and transformation. Just like any regular break up, there will also be some turbulence while newly-appointed Sonia Bompastor gets to work trying to fill Hayes' impossibly large boots. Exes have a horrible habit of lingering, don't they?
Despite that, Bronze believed Chelsea to be the strongest match. And she would be right. Although Hayes has departed, the core of a prize-winning squad remains intact and there is nothing Bronze enjoys more than surrounding herself with like-minded winners. The personal ad writes itself.
This is a move that appears custom-made. Chelsea felt they could not miss out on the chance to sign a player of Bronze's immense character and quality, when she was available in the market for free, while Bronze, at 32, was ready for a WSL homecoming.
The defender also reunites with Chelsea assistant manager Camille Abily, who was part of the coaching staff when Bronze won three European titles on the spin at Lyon between 2018 to 2020.
Important too, for new head coach Bompastor, that Bronze is a high-profile signing. Her addition acts as affirmation: Chelsea want to continue to be the force of the WSL, and ideally Europe too. The Blues' backline will now comprise of three of the Lionesses four starting defenders, presuming Bronze lines up alongside Millie Bright and Jess Carter. A compelling combination.
Indeed, the house that Hayes built remains strong and unyielding. But more than that, it is stable. One tertiary glance in the direction of Manchester United, for example, whose biggest players are abandoning ship, reveals the importance of stability, particularly as the women's game ventures into new and unchartered waters. By direct comparison, Chelsea is nirvana. A mecca for top players to thrive.
They may not yet have managed to implement the same 'one club' model that has seen London rivals Arsenal attract and cultivate a reliable fanbase, break attendance records, and consistently sell out main stadia (albeit they have achieved a Stamford Bridge sell-out), but as for the football, they are the undisputed champions. Bronze has elite mentality too.
And to add to that, the 125-capped England international is also the perfect profile of full-back to mirror Niamh Charles, who regularly plays down Chelsea's left. Both like to burst forward with energy, shuttle up and down the flanks, but are defensively perceptive and smart. Wide defenders who can defend - what a novelty.
Versatility is a welcome asset too, with Bompastor able to switch between systems that favour full-backs or wing-backs. Statistically, Bronze's many strengths - positive touches (over halfway), chances created and duels won, among them - still rank her as one of the best the female game has to offer.
A period of dearth often follows the end of a dynasty. There are plenty of footballing - and sporting - examples. And so plenty of eyes will be on west London to see how the club copes without the talismanic figure who shaped Chelsea into the powerhouse they are today.
What is clear, however, is that even without Hayes in the dugout, the Chelsea machine has no problem attracting the world's top talent. They remain far from the trappings of the comfort zone - five successive WSL trophies is not enough, they want six.
And yet, a deep curiosity exists. Can Chelsea ever be what they were - unerring, ruthless, fearless - without the very leader who instilled those habits? Can Bompastor inspire the same degree of impenetrability? And at the heart, are they still winners?
Bronze would not have joined if, for a single second, she doubted they were anything but.
