“I want to learn, grow and develop a lot,” Alyssa Thompson was over the moon about how her career could skyrocket after signing a record-setting deal with Chelsea. 4 matches in with her new club across the pond, and the USWNT star is looking comfortable in her shoes. And yet, as her debut loomed overhead last month, Thompson couldn’t help but ponder her chances of ultimately making it to the pitch at Villa Park.

Thompson and her national teammate, Naomi Girma, recently sat down with Em Wallbank to talk about how she’s adjusting to the UK weather and life with Chelsea in general. In a YouTube upload by the official Chelsea FC Women from last Friday, the former Angel City FC star also talked about how she wasn’t even sure that she would be allowed to lace up against Aston Villa on September 14.

On being asked about her feelings about her Chelsea debut, Alyssa Thompson admitted, “It was really exciting.” But dark clouds hovered overhead nonetheless. “I didn’t really know if I was going to be able to play because of my, like, hand injury. So, when I got there, the ref was like, ‘Yeah, you can play.’ So, I was I was like, ‘Okay, I’m ready, I guess,’,” the USWNT sensation revealed how her lingering hand injury didn’t give her any peace even just minutes before her big first game for The Blues.

Her concern wasn’t unjustified. Last month, when images of her in training with an arm cast came to light, fans were worried if that would affect her USWNT performance as well. With Thompson missing out on both the 2024 Summer Olympics as well as the 2024 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, fans had a genuine cause to be feeling skeptical. Thankfully, all those worrisome thoughts were put to bed when Alyssa took to the pitch against Aston Villa.

Coming in on the break, Thompson showed her skills as a prolific winger: sending crosses into the Villa box and making tremendous runs along the sideline. While she didn’t put her name on the scoresheet, the 20-year-old’s contribution behind Chelsea’s 3-1 victory that day couldn’t be ignored. That’s the kind of big debut everyone hopes for, and Thompson couldn’t be more grateful to her teammates for helping out.

“I was pretty nervous, but I think getting on the field, being able to play with the girls, and them all believing me I felt um was really nice. So just yeah, it was fun,” she confessed to Wallbank. But while it seems like the Chelsea fans and Thompson’s teammates are enjoying every bit of their playtime together, the youngster was advised to thoroughly think the move through by a former manager of the team!

Alyssa Thompson had to undergo scrutiny before moving to Chelsea

Emma Hayes, the current USWNT head coach and the ex-Chelsea boss, has been looking like exactly what the women’s national team needed to overcome their 2023 World Cup heartbreak. Under the guidance of Hayes, the American girls showed their worth by winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. And yet, just before their Olympic campaign, the coach shocked the world by snubbing Alyssa Thompson from the team. The winger, however, seemed to understand what brought about the decision.

“I was disappointed, but I knew at that time I wasn’t one of the best forwards that they could have brought,” Thompson admitted later, underscoring that Hayes’ call to keep her off the team didn’t leave a sour taste in the former’s mouth. It was this mutual respect that Hayes once again cashed in on, after she learnt about Thompson’s desire to head over to the USWNT coach’s former stomping ground.

“Emma always talks about her experiences at Chelsea, in the national team, and just, like, how much she loved it. But when I talked to Emma about coming here, she really wanted to make sure this was the right decision for me. She really supports her players. She was asking me the right questions to really make me understand if I truly wanted to be here or not,” Alyssa revealed following putting pen to paper.

Lucky for the fans, the answer wasn’t too hard to come up with for the soccer icon.