Lexi Potter: Chelsea & England's Keira Walsh-inspired teenager showcasing Georgia Stanway-like traits

"It's probably two, maybe three years now we've worked really hard on how we're going to develop our homegrown quota and developing players knowing that they can't go [straight] from the academy to senior football, at least with us. Whether it's contracting loans or signing different international talent, like Maika Hamano, that we can get in and cultivate in our way, I think we will start to really reap the rewards of that in the next 12 months," she explained, speaking to reporters in February 2024, midway through a season in which Aggie Beever-Jones' emergence as a key first-team player gave fans plenty to be excited about with regards to homegrown talent.

"Aggie is certainly an example of that work, but she won't be alone," Hayes added. "There will be more to come, I'm certain of it. I'm excited about a lot of those young players. I'm excited about Lexi Potter. I think she's going to be a top young player. [I'm excited about] Lola Brown. There's some really, really good young players in the pipeline for Chelsea and I'm sure when I come back here in five years as a fan, I might be watching some of them at the senior level."

Back then, Potter was enjoying the first loan spell of her career, in the second-tier with Crystal Palace. As the London club won promotion to the top-flight, she'd be a key player, a status she held again when returning to the Eagles for their first season in the Women's Super League a year later. Now, though, the 19-year-old is a first-team player at Chelsea and, on Wednesday, she marked her first league start for the club with her first WSL goal, one which proved to be the match-winner in a vital victory over Brighton.

Given the track record Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor, Hayes' successor, has in trusting young players, plus the promise Potter has shown in her opportunities so far this season, it looks like Hayes was right - she may well be watching the talented young midfielder next time she returns to west London to catch her former club in action.

Born in Epsom and raised in Redhill, Potter has been just a few miles from Chelsea's training ground in Cobham her whole life. She joined the Blues when she was just eight years old, having spent her formative years playing football with her brother in the local boys' team, while also playing a lot of futsal.

Those experiences helped to make the young midfielder a quick decision-maker and an excellent technician, with her highly-rated in both Lionesses and Chelsea circles for a long time. That became particularly apparent when she grabbed headlines in September 2023 by becoming the first female player in England to sign a professional contract at the age of 17.

"We’ve got really high hopes for her in the future and look forward to seeing her develop and improve in the upcoming years," Paul Green, now Chelsea's former general manager, said at the time.

Simultaneously, it was announced that Potter, already in England's Under-19s, would also be sent to Palace for her first loan spell. There, she'd get her first exposure of senior competitive football and within just a few months, she was being lauded as "a future star for the country" by Palace boss Laura Kaminski.

It made sense for Potter to return to the Eagles the following season, too, after their promotion to the WSL, and she showed further progress with that step up, with her impressive "maturity" singled out by Kaminski.

Things were different at the start of this current campaign. Potter wasn't sent out on loan, but she also wasn't playing regularly for Chelsea, making just four appearances before the winter break. However, training alongside top midfielders like Keira Walsh and Erin Cuthbert, there was still plenty for her to learn in the Blues' environment.

"It's obviously different, going from playing every week to not playing as much as I'd like, but it's really good training everyday with world-class players," the 19-year-old told GOAL back in December, while on camp with England's U23s. "I definitely think I'm learning and it's really helped me to improve. Being able to watch players in training and in games of such a high level, I think it's really good for my development."

Since the turn of the year, Potter has started to earn more minutes as well. She's played in six of Chelsea's last 10 games, making her first WSL start for the club in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Brighton as her emphatic finish just before half-time proved to be the difference. It was the highlight of a solid performance which earned her the Player of the Match award.

"I'll be honest, I'm not surprised," Walsh said after the game, speaking to Sky Sports alongside her camera-shy teenage team-mate. "I see her in training every day. She's had to wait a long time for this but it's more than deserved. She's an incredible player and, as you can see, she's got a very bright future ahead of her."

That potential is something Potter has shown whenever she's got those opportunities for Chelsea, and she's shown it regularly for England, too. Bumped up into the U23s squad for the first time back in October, the 19-year-old hasn't looked out of place despite the jump and the fact she's playing alongside the likes of Ruby Mace and Maisie Symonds, both regulars in the WSL who have had senior Lionesses call-ups.

"She's been in and amongst it with senior players for two full seasons and that shows," Lauren Smith, who coached Potter throughout England’s youth set-up, said last month. "You see them almost as as young adults in the U19s, but when they're in the U23s environment - and I'm very sure it's the same at Chelsea - they're adults then. You see how they kind of move between those social groups. But the biggest change is how much they apply themselves in the sessions and the games because they want to move to the next level all the time.

"I'm sure she wants to start pushing for a conversation with Sarina [Wiegman] one day. I'm sure she wants to play a few more minutes at Chelsea. What will get her there is being a sponge, learning what needs to be done and making sure she does it in her own way, because you can't go and be the next Keira Walsh. You've got to be Lexi Potter. That's probably the journey that young players go through, making sure they do it their way. When it does all fall in place, there is a special player there, absolutely, and I'm sure we'll see lots of her."

Admittedly, the incredible number of injuries to have blighted Chelsea have played a role in Potter’s first WSL start - but it's also clear that Bompastor trusts her to deliver. With a background in developing young players that goes back to her days as the head of academy at Lyon, something that shone through as she named the Blues’ youngest WSL XI for 13 years in midweek, the Chelsea boss will have a big role to play in Potter's continued development.

Amid reports that there was loan interest in the teenager in January, Bompastor chose to keep her around, sensing that she could be important in the second half of the season.

"I know how good she can be," she said of Potter earlier this season. "Sonia has helped me a lot," the player herself added last week. "She's been really supportive of me and she's given me good feedback. Whenever we've had conversations, she's really listened. I feel like she's really helped with my development."

Between now and the end of the season, it's about continuing to take those opportunities as they come, while also picking up lots from the world-class players at Chelsea. Wednesday's milestone outing was just another big moment in what has already been a big few months, in a year that will only get bigger as she eyes involvement in the U20 World Cup in September.

Continue down this road and, if her minutes increase, there's no reason why Sarina Wiegman won't be keeping close tabs on the teenager, either. The Lionesses boss has regularly brought up-and-coming young talents into the senior squad, handing out seven debuts in 2025 and one more in England's first camp of 2026.

"I think it's really positive for the pathway, seeing players go up to the seniors and get that experience and get that opportunity," Potter told GOAL back in December. She appears on track to be one of the next in line.

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