Lauren James (born 29 September 2001) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

club

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and the England women's national team.

Club career

Arsenal

James was scouted by

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

as a 13-year-old and trained with the boys' team, but within two years she began training with the first team. On 29 September 2017, James made her debut for Arsenal, coming on in the 67th minute, replacing

Lisa Evans Lisa Catherine Evans (born 21 May 1992) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for West Ham United in the FA WSL, the top-tier for women's football in England, and for the Scotland national team. She previously played club football fo ...

in a 2–0 win over Everton in the 2017–18 season. In doing so, she became the second-youngest player in Arsenal's history to make their debut.

Manchester United

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that James would be part of the first professional

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

squad due to compete in the newly restructured

2018–19 FA Women's Championship The 2018–19 FA Women's Championship was the first rebranded edition of the FA Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football in England, renamed from the FA WSL 2 which was founded in 2014. The season ran from 8 September 2018 to 12 M ...

. She made her competitive debut for Manchester United in a 1–0

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

victory against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, on 19 August. She scored the opening two goals in United's first game of the 2018–19 Championship season, a 12–0 win away to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. James was voted FA Women's Championship player of the month for September following her three goals across Manchester United's unbeaten opening month. On 20 April 2019, James scored four goals in a 7–0 league win against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. James scored United's first ever WSL goal, netting in the 71st minute in a 2–0 win against Liverpool on 28 September 2019. Two weeks later, James was sent off in United's 3–0 league win away to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

after receiving two yellow cards. James signed her first professional contract with the club on 16 December. At the end of the 2019–20 season, James finished as United's top scorer and was named to the four player shortlist for

PFA Women's Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Women's Young Player of the Year (commonly referred to as PFA Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is voted to have been the best of the year in English women's football. T ...

. On 27 March 2021, James opened the scoring in a 2–0 league victory over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. The match was the first FA WSL match to be played at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

Chelsea

On 23 July 2021, James signed a four-year contract with

. She scored her first goal for the club in a 9-0 away win against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

on 27 March 2022.

International career

Youth

In April 2017, James made her under-17 debut in a 2–0 friendly defeat to

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. On 14 October 2017, she captained England during a 10–0 win over Latvia as part of 2018 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification, scoring four goals. In January 2019, James received her first call-up to the under-19 squad for the Algarve Tournament. In July 2019, James was named in the England squad for the 2019 UEFA Under-19 Championship in Scotland.

Senior

In November 2020, James received her first senior national team call-up as part of a 29-player training camp at St George's Park. James made her senior debut on 3 September 2022, coming on as a 79th minute substitute during England's 2023 World Cup qualification match against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Personal life

James is the younger sister of

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

defender

Reece James Reece James may refer to: * Reece James (footballer, born 1993), English footballer born in Bacup, Lancashire * Reece James (footballer, born 1999), English footballer born in Redbridge, London See also * James Reece (disambiguation) * Rhys James ...

. She has cited her father Nigel, a UEFA licensed football coach, as inspiration: " ehas helped me every step of the way. I grew up playing football with my brothers and wanted to play like them; I have always loved the game. I am grateful to my Dad for all the time, effort and love that he has put into my football by coaching me in order that I reach the very best level." She is of Jamaican descent through her father. She attended

Whitton School Twickenham School, is a co-educational secondary school located in Whitton, in the London Borough of Richmond, south-west London. It has two predecessor schools: Twickenham Academy and before that Whitton School. Twickenham School is an acad ...

in Whitton, London.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Statistics accurate as of match played 15 November 2022.''

Honours

Manchester United *

FA Women's Championship The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2). WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...

: 2018–19

Chelsea

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

: 2021–22 Individual *

Player of the Month: September 2018 * North-West Football Awards Women's Rising Star: 2020

References

External links

Profile
at the Manchester United F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Lauren 2001 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers England women's youth international footballers English sportspeople of Jamaican descent Women's Super League players Arsenal W.F.C. players Manchester United W.F.C. players Chelsea F.C. Women players FA Women's National League players Women's association football forwards