Chelsea full-back Niamh Charles has been named the London Women’s Young Player of the Year 2021 at the London Football Awards this evening.
The 21-year-old has beaten off competition from Arsenal’s Malin Gut and Tottenham Hotspur’s Angela Addison to win the award in what has been her first season playing in London.
Charles joined Chelsea following former club Liverpool’s relegation from the Barclays FA Women’s Super League last summer. The youngster initially found game time difficult to come by at her new club but Charles has been transformed by manager Emma Hayes from a forward into one of England’s best right-backs.
The player’s form in her new position has been so impressive that Charles was handed her senior England debut by Hege Riise in the Lionesses’ 3-1 defeat to France in Caen earlier this month. Charles is also thought to be on the shortlist for a place in the Team GB squad for this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo and you wouldn’t rule her out of making the final selection.
For her club, Charles has already picked up FA Women’s Community Shield and FA Women’s Continental League Cup winners’ medals this season and she could yet add further silverware to her tally with The Blues still in the running for the Barclays FA Women’s Super League title along with the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the Vitality Women’s FA Cup.
Charles has proved to be one of the most promising young talents in the English game this season and she is a deserving winner of the London Football Awards’ London Women’s Young Player of the Year 2021 award.
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