“She was asking me the right questions to really make me understand if I truly wanted to be here or not,” admitted Alyssa Thompson, revealing that before signing for Chelsea Women, she ran it by her USWNT boss, Emma Hayes. An obvious first choice for guidance, considering the English tactician spent 12 years leading the Blues to remarkable success. But focusing on Thompson’s remarks, what exactly were those “right questions” that Hayes asked in a way that ultimately led the American forward to decide on making this $1.4 million move, 4,500 miles away from home?

Thompson is just one example: Naomi Girma also moved to Chelsea earlier this year, and teenage sensation Lily Yohannes made a big move from Ajax to OL Lyonness. The common thread in these transfers is clear: players turn to Emma Hayes for guidance, relying on her expertise to navigate major career decisions. And rightly so, the former WSL boss was generous enough to vocally share the secrets of helping her players.

“First of all, we have players that take decisions for themselves for various different reasons, and it’s always best to ask the player that question because I don’t want to speak for them,” said Hayes ahead of the upcoming USWNT vs. Portugal October window opener. Then again, as their national team coach, Hayes’ influence is limited; she can’t dictate a player’s decisions. Her role is to listen, support, and guide, offering her perspective to help players weigh all their options while respecting their individual needs at different moments.

As in the case of Alyssa Thompson, the moment Hayes heard about her Chelsea move, she asked the youngster just one question: “How are you going to cope without Gisele?” A valid one, to be fair, considering both Gisele and Alyssa are nothing but two peas in a pod. Having played with each other at Angel City as well as the USWNT, both are basically inseparable in everyone’s eyes, being each other’s support system both on and off the pitch.

Just like Alyssa herself once said, “It’s definitely hard when you’re doing it alone, but it’s so much easier when my sister gets to do it with me.” This is exactly what made Hayes pretty much concerned about Thompson’s Chelsea decision. “I was worried about it, to be honest. But in her case, she had her personal reasons for wanting to do that, and my job is to support that. When it comes to other players, it’s exactly the same scenario,” concluded the former Chicago Stars manager.

Typical Emma Hayes! Always looking out for her players’ well-being. And it perfectly matches what Thompson herself revealed, admitting that she approached the 48-year-old tactician before making her remarkable transition from the NWSL to the WSL. “Having her prod me with those questions helped me know in my heart that I actually did want to come here, even though there would be difficult things that I might face,” remarked Alyssa.

Difficult things, you say? Well, apparently, that’s true as well!

How’s Chelsea suiting Alyssa Thompson?

Before we discuss that, one should know that both Gisele and Alyssa are pretty cool about branching off to their respective career paths. “Will miss my other half, but you deserve it,” was the message the 19-year-old Gisele wrote on Instagram for her departing sister, wishing the eldest well ahead. Not to mention that this decision is good for their own career’s sake.

Now, coming to Alyssa Thompson’s time in London so far, simply put, no complaints. By the way, the California native even scored her first goal for Chelsea, that too, in a UEFA Women’s Champions League game. “It’s definitely been an adjustment,” Thompson said in her latest talk with The Athletic. Sure, the USWNT forward admitted that the environment at Chelsea is “super competitive,” and battling for a spot in the starting lineup has been a whole new challenge.

However, when asked about the differences between Chelsea and Angel City, she simply shrugs, saying, “It’s just soccer, really.” So, it turns out the move isn’t as intimidating as she initially expected. “I was just expecting it to be more scary,” concluded the former ACFC star. So, it looks like her decision was the right one. Special thanks to Emma Hayes for being ever-supportive of her players, don’t you think?