“The best defender I’ve ever seen”—that’s how Emma Hayes described Naomi Girma. Even her domestic head coach at Chelsea—and Hayes’ successor—Sonia Bompastor, fully agrees with that sentiment. However, the French tactician also believes that Girma has not hit her ceiling yet.

It may sound surprising, but Bompastor’s opinion shouldn’t be overlooked. With her impeccable coaching experience in the European landscape, there are few better mentors, alongside Hayes, for the 24-year-old defender as she looks to finally adapt to life outside of America. In fact, it’s a transition that Sonia herself is eager to witness.

“I was also really happy to have Naomi signing for Chelsea as a manager,” began Bompastor during her recent appearance on The Women’s Game podcast, hosted by former USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis. “She is someone great as a person, as a human, and that’s something I really care about, but also as a player. She’s one of the best defenders in the world,” added the 44-year-old.

Well, aside from echoing Hayes’ thoughts, Bompastor gave the tag of a “modern defender” to Girma, as she noted the CB’s proficiency on and off the ball . “Her physicality is really good especially with the women’s game just growing in terms of speed. She’s able to play really high on the pitch and being able to manage the depth behind her,” added the former Lyon manager.

Bompastor’s praise for Girma doesn’t end there, highlighting how the American defender maintains a sense of calm and composure in possession. She also emphasized Girma’s strong technical ability, intelligent decision-making, and eagle-eyed vision to read the game—remarkable qualities for someone still emerging as a young talent.

But despite highlighting these qualities, Bompastor noted that Naomi still has certain areas to improve on—areas the USWNT star will need to work on moving forward. “I already know she has some room for improvement which is something good because she really likes to work hard on the pitch and she wants to improve herself so it’s something good,” concluded Sonia.

Notably, Girma is finally back on track for the London side. Since arriving at Chelsea for a whopping $1 million fee, the former San Diego Wave star had been struggling to make an impact, like sustaining a relapse of her calf injury in her debut match. Even so, her return weeks later again proved unfortunate, enduring a tough European debut against Barcelona in the UWCL.

But despite the challenges, her appearances saw Girma secure the domestic treble with the Blues, winning the WSL league (Historic unbeaten streak in 22 games), the Women’s FA Cup, and the League Cup. Now, the San Jose, California native will be hoping to make her mark in her full domestic season that will kick off later around August.

In the meantime, she has time to improve what Bompastor has asked her to do. Speaking of which, how about getting advice from someone who has also enjoyed the highs and lows of the European domestic landscape?

Naomi Girma should utilize her time during USWNT return

Now that Naomi Girma seems to have recovered from her lingering calf issues, the defender was proudly called up by Emma Hayes for the upcoming international window where the USWNT will be facing China PR on May 31, followed by Jamaica on June 3. In fact, it is a moment that the former Chelsea boss didn’t hesitate to celebrate. “You cannot underestimate the importance of players like Naomi Girma to this team,” Hayes remarked after announcing her 24-player roster on Tuesday.

“We’ve been without a lot of experienced players over the last [several] months, so to start getting some of them back in this camp with Naomi I think will add a lot of not just quality, but the leadership piece,” the 48-year-old added. She went on to emphasize how Girma, as the team’s vice-captain, has grown remarkably in her role, expressing empathy for how “terribly” the defender must have missed being with the national team.

Notably, the last time Girma played for Hayes and Co. was back in December, during a close 1-2 win over the Netherlands. Though she was called up in the January window, Emma was forced to dismiss her due to an injury relapse, seeing her miss out on the SheBelieves Cup and the previous doubleheader clash vs Brazil.

But now that she’s back in the mix, the defender can not only don the red, white, and blue once again, but will also be hoping to receive some crucial face-to-face advice from Hayes on how to prepare herself to give her best at Chelsea. And on a personal note, Emma likely won’t mind sharing a trick or two on how Girma can perform consistently under Sonia Bompastor.