After an impressive season in which she won the Women’s Super League with ChelseaAggie Beever-Jones is the latest youngster to earn a chance for England.
The 20-year-old striker was called up to the Lionesses’ senior squad for the first time ahead of back-to-back European Championship qualifiers against France following a strong domestic campaign and could make her debut at St James’ Park on Friday.
Among English players, only Lauren James (13 goals) and Alessia Russo (12) have scored more times in the WSL campaign than Beever-Jones with 11. This has seen her score a goal every 62 minutes on the field, giving her the best minutes-to-goal ratio of anyone in the division with more than four goals.
Chelsea and now England team-mate Millie Bright feels Beever-Jones’ technical skills have “skyrocketed” this season, adding: “We’ve seen her throughout the season coming in as a substitute and being really influential in the game, whether that’s for 10 minutes, 15, she did her job and adapted very quickly to know how to be the best she can be in a few minutes. And ultimately, it’s how mature she is.
“She’s like a sponge in this kind of environment. [international camp]she takes it all in and has fun while doing it, which is the most important thing.”
‘ABJ’ can play anywhere on the front line
Following Rachel Daly’s retirement from international football, Beever-Jones’ chances of taking to the field for England are increasing and she could be seen as a back-up central striker behind Russo.
Beever-Jones can also play on the wing or drop deeper as a number 10. Asked what her favorite position is, she replied: “At my club I sometimes play nine, sometimes wing, and with the conversations I’ve had with Sarina (Wiegman ) we are seeing this as something positive, that I can play anywhere on the front line. I myself like to play all three and I see it as: ‘If I can play more positions, it will be more opportunities for me’. So, to be honest, I don’t know, but if I’m on the field, I’m happy.”
A loan system success story
After joining Chelsea’s youth system at the age of nine, once he signed professional contracts with the club in 2021 at the age of 18, Beever-Jones had to wait to break into the first team. She was loaned to Bristol City in 2021-22 in the Championship and then undertook another loan spell for the 2022-23 campaign with Everton in the WSL.
Chelsea’s coaching staff were always optimistic about her prospects once she gained enough experience and Beever-Jones herself said: “I think I always knew what I was capable of and so it was just about being able to show it. I think that’s where I owe a lot of my success to Emma [Hayes].
“I remember one time she said, ‘For some people, the weight of [Chelsea] The badge is too heavy,’ and I thought, ‘I want to be able to show what I can do in high-pressure situations.’ I credit a lot of my success to all of Chelsea and helping me develop.”
Marbella training camp boosted their chances
England’s prep coaches have also played an important role in the development of Beever-Jones, who has played youth international football since under-15 level.
In February, a big chance came for Beever-Jones when the England Under-23s went on a joint trip with the senior team to Spain, and during that training camp Wiegman promoted her to the senior bench for a friendly against Austria.
“Being a part of that and getting a taste of what it’s like to be a senior, it kind of solidified what I wanted and what I needed to do to get there,” Beever-Jones said.
A ‘cheeky’ but humble young man
“She’s quite sassy, actually,” Bright said of Beever-Jones’ character. “I know she may look like an angel, maybe because it’s her first cap she’s a little shy, but she’s a very good character, a very good girl. I think she is super humble, super caring and committed and whatever task you give her, she will do it to the best of her ability.”
Beever-Jones revealed that he almost missed his first call from Wiegman because he mistook the head coach’s phone number for a spam caller, explaining: “Originally, I wasn’t sure who it was and I thought, ‘It’s probably one of those people calling about windows or something’, because I’ve heard it hundreds of times. Then I got the call again and I thought, ‘Maybe I should answer it.’
“So I said ‘Hello’, perhaps not in the most polite way, thinking it was the people at the window. I didn’t actually hear a response, so I finished and then I listened again and I saw Sarina’s face appear and I thought, ‘Oh God, I better answer it!’ So I was smiling from ear to ear.
“This is what dreams are made of as kids, and I’m trying not to get ahead of myself and I’m just focusing on what I can control and training well, and then we’ll see what happens.”
