Everton Ladies forward Chloe Kelly is looking to repay the faith shown in her by the Club after sealing a permanent move from Arsenal.
The 20-year-old initially joined the Blue Girls on a season-long deal but has put pen-to-paper on a deal until the summer of 2020 after an undisclosed fee was agreed with the Gunners.
She joins fellow England Under-20 international Taylor Hinds in making a permanent move from Arsenal to the Toffees.
Kelly has been in scintillating form throughout the season, scoring seven goals in 11 games, and has relished the chance of first-team football.
With her move secured, she is now intending on repaying the belief shown in her by Blue Girls Head Coach Andy Spence.
“I’m very excited,” she told evertonfc.com. “It’s great the deal is all done. Now I am an Everton player and I can’t wait to get started again.
“It took a little while to sort out but I just had to stay patient. It was out of my hands but I’m relieved it’s all done. It was an easy decision for me to sign permanently. The first time I came here on loan back in 2016, I really enjoyed myself and I knew this was somewhere I wanted to call home.
“The Club has believed in me from the start and it’s time I repaid that faith. The first half of the season has been good but now is the time to get some more goals and wins for this club.
“I get on really well with Andy. We get on well and I try to repay his faith in me with what I do on the pitch.”
Kelly, who came through the ranks at Arsenal, has progressed through the age groups with England and is hoping to feature for the Under-20s when they head to France to compete in the Under-20s World Cup later this year.
But with the senior Lionesses also gearing up for their own World Cup a year later, Kelly admits she is at the perfect club to realise her dreams of pushing on even further.
“I’m a young player and getting minutes on the pitch is what I need,” she added. “I have a lot still to learn but I can do that from the players in this group.
“It’s great to see the likes of Gabby George with the senior England team because it shows it can be done. I need to play my football and if I do that, I will learn what I need to.
“Everton is the right place for me to continue progressing with England. This year is a massive one with the World Cup coming up in 2019.
“I knew I needed to be playing football to be able to push on into the senior England ranks. Now that I am doing that, hopefully I can make that step up.”
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