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Carly Telford has backed her former England team-mate Chloe Kelly to be the Lionesses’ crucial player at the upcoming Women’s World Cup.
Manchester City attacker Kelly scored the winner as England beat Germany to win the Women’s Euros in 2022.
The 25-year-old did not make a start for Sarina Wiegman’s team in last year’s tournament, with all six of her appearances coming from the bench.
But ex-England and Chelsea goalkeeper Telford reckons Kelly will be an even more pivotal figure at the World Cup, which will take place across July and August in Australia and New Zealand.
“For the Lionesses, she’s going to be probably one of our most important players,” Telford told Stats Perform. “With her fitness, with her assists, hopefully with lots of goals.
“She’s just a really nice kid. And she’s thriving in her role and I think she’s probably going to be given a lot more responsibility because she’s probably going to be a starter for England, which she should be in her form.
“She’s ultra-competitive. So I like to think Sarina [will] give her a lot of responsibility at this World Cup because I think she’ll be ready for it.”
Kelly has scored five goals in the Women’s Super League for City this season, while providing nine assists in the competition.
It has been a pleasure to watch for Telford, who explained that Kelly has become an even stronger player since sustaining a serious knee injury in 2021.
“She’s probably been Manchester City’s best player, most consistent player, the most important in terms of her roles in goals and assists,” Telford added.
“If you come off the back of a huge injury like that, you’re probably thinking ‘Am I going to come back the player I was, am I even going to come back at all?’
“She’s probably come back a better player than what she was, probably a more rounded person because she’s gone through some heartache and had to probably have lots of self-reflective moments like, ‘Are you doing the right things?’ She’s come off the back of that and she’s flying.”
