HOMEGROWN Chelsea star Aggie Beever-Jones admits it has sometimes been hard to break away from the academy kid tag.
However the striker, 21, has emerged as a key player for the eight-time WSL champions.
GettyAggie Beever-Jones says the chance of playing in an FA Cup final at Wembley for Chelsea would be a dream true[/caption]
GettyThe Blues striker hopes to help her side, who have featured in eight finals previously, win the trophy for the sixth time[/caption]
PABeever-Jones took part in a football coaching session for girls hosted by McDonalds six days before Chelsea’s FA Cup final clash with Manchester United[/caption]
Last May Beever-Jones’ old boss Emma Hayes described the player as the future of Chelsea.
She has certainly come a long way since Hayes handed her a senior debut during a 4-0 defeat of Aston Villa in January 2021.
And, ahead of today’s FA Cup final showdown with Manchester United, she spoke of wanting to be a role model for young stars coming through the ranks.
The Blues star said: “I’m proud to have come from the academy.
“Being that academy kid, I feel like I have that label and sometimes it’s hard to break away from.
“I hope that the academy kids know that they can come to me and have an arm around them.
It’s something I’m really proud of – being able to play for the club that I’ve watched, grown up playing for and that my family love.”
Beever-Jones’s nine top-flight goals contributed to 22 matches played without defeat during their invincible WSL run this season.
With that milestone complete Beever-Jones has set her sights on another target.
That’s starring in an FA Cup final at Wembley for the first time in her career with Chelsea aiming to overcome holders Man United.
Sonia Bompastor’s side also lifted the League Cup, meaning victory at Wembley would complete a domestic treble, something that they have not achieved for four years.
Beever-Jones added: “Being able to play at Wembley in an FA Cup final would be an absolute dream.
“I have never played there for Chelsea. It’s going to be a tough match against Man United.
“Being holders, they’ve got a point to prove. They want to retain that and equally we want to bring it back home for us.”
With all tickets for today’s clash sold out, a record crowd is expected at the 90,000-capacity stadium for Chelsea’s clash with Marc Skinner’s side.
The last cup final clash between both teams at Wembley, in May 2023 attracted a then record crowd of 77,390, the Blues sealing a 1-0 win.
United, who trounced Tottenham 4-0 in last year’s decider, are competing in the final for a third year in a row.
Among those who hope to see Surrey-born Beever-Jones feature are her family who have supported her rise to the top of the game.
A journey that began with her playing grassroots football in a boys’ team in a Sunday Little League in Merton, South London.
The Surrey-born striker adds: “I spent a lot of my childhood just playing in a grass field with my boy best friends.
“Then I was lucky enough to get scouted and go into the Chelsea pathway.
“My family is such a big part of it including my mum and my sister who is a midwife at the hospital that we were both born at.
“I feel really lucky to have had the opportunities I had when I was growing up and get given the opportunity to play football.”
Helping girls access opportunities to play football is something Beever-Jones is passionate about.
Six days ago she visited the home of seventh tier men’s side Hanwell FC to help coach 100 girls taking part in a McDonalds Fun Football session.
She said: “It was so nice to be able to go there and see the young girls playing football with other girls.
“Hopefully it shows the way the game’s going and where it can go.”
Beyond a dream end to this term and her hope to help Chelsea add an FA Cup to their League Cup and WSL title triumph, Beever-Jones has hopes of making into England’s squad for this year’s Euros.
Last month the striker scored her first senior goal in an England shirt when she came off the bench to turn the ball home in the second half of a 5-0 Nations League defeat of Belgium.
But while she has hopes of earning in Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses squad for the Euros in Switzerland, her focus at present is on helping Chelsea win a domestic treble.
Beever-Jones added: “It would be an absolute dream.
For me, it’s the aim and I’m just focusing on making Sarina happy and delivering what she wants from me.
But we’ve still got one game left to go in the season. I think we’ve still got one game left to go in the season.
GettyWhile Beever-Jones is has hopes of being named in England’s squad for the Women’s Euros, her focus is on helping Chelsea seal a domestic trophy treble win[/caption]
“I want to end on a high and hopefully keeping Sonia happy as well.
“I always say I believe everything will fall into place if you work for it.
“I’ve just got to keep training and doing what I can and hopefully, who sees what happens.”
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