Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor says that as soon as she joined the club, she saw the potential of Aggie Beever-Jones.

The Frenchwoman took over the Blues hotseat in 2024 after the departure of Emma Hayes, and identified the Lioness’s ability right from the start.

“From the beginning when I joined the club, I could recognise Aggie was a complete player with a lot of talent,” she said in a press conference on Wednesday.

“Out of position she is great because she works hard for the team.

“She is the first one in the front line to apply the press and I think it’s been fantastic for the team.”

Beever-Jones has scored five goals in five matches at the start of the Women’s Super League season – and her goalscoring threat will likely prove crucial on Friday evening.

That’s when league leaders Chelsea travel to Leigh to face second-placed Manchester United.

Bompastor acknowledged that it would be a difficult game.

“The games against Man United are always tough. If you read the table right now, they are at the top of the table for one reason, they have a lot of quality in the squad, they are a really tough...