Chelsea defender Cerys Brown will spend the upcoming 2024/25 season in the Women’s Championship after joining London City Lionesses on loan.

The 19-year-old, whose stay at the Women’s Super League champions was extended for another year earlier this summer, returns to the Championship after a loan spell in the same division with Watford during the second half of last season was disrupted by injury.

Brown made her first-team debut for Chelsea in 2022/23 against Reading in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and was part of the Blues side who won the FA Women’s Academy Cup final against Manchester United in the same campaign.

On the international stage, the young defender recently impressed while representing England at the Under-19s European Championship in Lithuania, where she was named in the team of the tournament.

Brown joins a London City Lionesses side who finished eighth in the Championship last season and are now led by former PSG head coach Jocelyn Precheur. The club are also going through a very exciting period following their takeover by American businesswoman Michele Kang in December 2023.

Since coming on board, the team confirmed they will be moving from Princes Park to Hayes Lane, a 5,000-capacity stadium in Bromley, London, and outlined plans to redevelop their 23-acre training ground in Kent, which they now own.

Outside of the club, Kang has also revealed wider ambitions to grow the women’s game by financially backing initiatives. She wants to invest in programs to increase the number of female athletes and sports science data, as well as share research to improve physical, emotional and mental health.

Kang has also pledged to invest in new coaches and training techniques to encourage more female coaches into sports.

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