Chelsea and England’s Aggie Beever-Jones on her role models, winning the Euros and life outside of football

When she stepped out onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea’s first game of the Barclays Women’s Super League season last month, it didn’t take Aggie Beever-Jones long to prove why she is now a staple of Sonia Bompastor’s unbeatable line-up. The opening game against Manchester City saw the striker start as she would go on, scoring the first goal of the new campaign to put her team ahead. Six games later, she’s scored four.

Of course, Beever-Jones has never been a stranger to scoring (she scored nine goals for the Blues over the course of last season) but it feels like she’s taken things up another level recently – so it was hardly surprising to see her named the first Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month for September. The question is: how has she done it?

“I’m not sure if there’s one thing I can boil it down to,” she tells Stylist. “I’ve always been someone who does as much extra work as I can [during training], and because I wasn’t always playing at the Euros, I used that time to focus on the things I needed to do to get better. I came back to Chelsea ready to hit the ground running. Being clinical is something I practise, but I also try to keep it instinctive. I’m a better player when I’m not overthinking.” 

But the Euros didn’t just give her a chance to hone her skills. Her first major tournament with the Lionesses not only gave her valuable experience on the pitch but also taught her a lot. “I just tried to take every day as it came,” she says. “It was an incredible experience; I learned a lot about myself, including how to deal with the pressure of both playing and not playing as much, as well as how to be there for the team and find the joys outside of football.

“I’ll look back at the experience as a crazy time in my life – it almost doesn’t feel real. I mean, we won the Euros on my birthday – you can’t really get much better than that.”

With the Barclays Women’s Super League now headed into the international break – which will see Beever-Jones join up with the Lionesses once again – it’ll be a couple of weeks until she gets the opportunity to add more goals to her tally. But if one thing’s for sure, this season is shaping up to be one of Beever-Jones’ best yet. We sat down with her to find out more about her process – including how she switches off when she’s away from the pitch.  

Hi Aggie! You’ve scored four goals in five matches this season – almost half of the number you scored the entirety of last season. What’s contributing to your success?

I don’t think a lot has changed. I think it’s just a case of getting a good run of form, feeling the trust from Sonia and her playing me so I can get that consistency. I’m proud to have started the season the way I have, but for me it’s just a building block that I’ll use to continue to progress for the rest of the season. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by such a great time who have got my back and are able to provide and help me put the goals away. I’m absolutely loving it, and hopefully we can continue the good form we’re in at the moment.

We’re a few weeks into the Barclays Women’s Super League season. Do you think the league has got more competitive this season, and have any teams surprised you?

Definitely. The league’s getting way more competitive every year that goes by. At Chelsea, we’ve won the league for however many years in a row and have an unbeaten streak – so while we have great teams in the league, every team wants to beat us. And that means they sit in a lower block and there’s less space to play in. However, we’re unbeaten in the league so far this season, and while we’ve dropped points, it’s a marathon, not a win-every-game situation. Obviously, that’s the aim, but sometimes it’s not always the case; we’re playing teams who are in great form and getting better week-in, week-out. But being at Chelsea, that’s what you have to do – you have to beat teams who are going to sit in low blocks and make it hard. And I have no doubt that we can do that – we’ve got the right players, the right staff and the right tactics. We just have to trust and make sure we execute the game plan.” 

Chelsea is currently on a 31-game unbeaten streak. What makes this team special?

We’ve obviously got a big squad full of talented players across the board, but I can never fault our togetherness as a team. I think we’ve seen it countless times now when the game isn’t going in our favour and we’re still able to get a goal. I look at some people on the pitch and go, I know we’re going to do this. The off-pitch chemistry really helps. I’ve got some really good friends like Wieke [Kaptein]; she understands how I work, and I understand how she works, and we have similar playing styles, so it’s easy for us to play with each other. But I can’t fault anyone’s team ethic – we’ve always got each other’s backs. I think it’s something that separates us from the rest. We’ve got that winning mentality and we never give up.

Let’s go way back – when did you decide you wanted to be a professional footballer?

I’ve always been drawn to football, ever since I was a young girl. My older sister was always into ballet and my Mum put me into it, but it never quite clicked. Ever since I’ve had a ball at my feet and I’ve absolutely loved it. I always knew I wanted to play football. When I was young, I only had male football idols, because the women’s game wasn’t where it’s at now. But I remember a moment during a meeting at the Chelsea academy where they sat us down and said, ‘Maybe one or two of you will make it into the first team – who do you want it to be?’. I remember thinking, This is something I want to do now, and I looked around at the girls around me and felt like I wanted to be the one who made that jump. A lot of people from the academy now tell me I’ve put it in such a great light, and I’ve never really thought of it like that. I’m just a kid from down the A3 who came to Cobham [Training Centre] every day and worked my socks off, and here I am. I’ll never forget where I came from – I’ll always keep my feet on the ground and be humble, and I hope the fans and everyone know that. 

Who were your role models growing up?

I always looked up to my mum and my family in general – they’ve been through a lot and have always put time into me and my football. On the pitch, I used to love watching Eden Hazard play – he was such a Chelsea legend and could manipulate the ball incredibly well. Fran [Kirby] was the first women’s footballer at Chelsea who really caught my eye. When I was 16/17 coming into the first team, I was always trying to learn off her and watch what she was doing. Fran won’t mind me saying this but she’s obviously not the biggest player, but she never let it stop her and you could see how technically and tactically gifted she was because she didn’t need her physicality to make people notice her on the pitch.

You’ve become a role model in your own right now – how does that feel?

It’s not something I can really process if I’m honest. You don’t actively choose to take on this role – it’s something that kind of comes along with being a footballer. I think it’s an incredible thing – I’m just a girl who plays football and tries to play with a smile on my face, and to think that I‘m out there inspiring people is a win-win. It’s always been really important to me to inspire the next generation and make football the most inclusive and accessible place possible so that every kid has the opportunity to play. That’s why I play football – the winning and getting to do what you love everyday is great, but for me one of the main things is leaving the game in a better place than when I first found it. I’ve seen the growth in the last 10 years, but people like Lucy Bronze started with nothing and have pushed the game to this incredible place, and I feel a responsibility to do what I can to help that legacy continue and grow the game even further. Hopefully the next generation coming through will do the same thing, and we’ll get the women’s game to where it belongs.  

You’re surrounded by some incredible strikers at Chelsea – what have you learned from them and who has taught you the most?

The first person who springs to mind is Pernille [Harder]; she wasn’t an out and out striker but she was a player who really put an arm around me when I first came in, and I think she could see my potential more than I did. She was always coaching me in a really positive way. But I’m surrounded by incredible players like Sam [Kerr], who’s known me since I was 16. When I signed my first contract for Chelsea, I remember looking around like, Where the hell am I going to fit in among these superstars? I’ve always tried to add my own flair and not replicate other forwards, because I think that’s what makes me unique. But from Sam, for example, I look at her aerial threats and movement off the ball, and for Mayra [Ramírez], I look at how amazing she is at hold up play. I’ve always asked questions and try to learn off them – I’m always learning in this environment.

It’s been a hectic couple of months for you – how do you decompress?

I need my downtime to decompress. I think sometimes people forget we are normal people at the end of the day, just going about our lives. I really enjoy spending time with my family and my friends; I’m always out going for coffee when I can, going on walks or playing card games. At England I’ve got Maya [Le Tissier] who is someone I’m really close to, so it’s always nice to connect with her whenever we go back into camp. I do like my own time – I’m someone who could happily go grab a coffee by myself and be in my own world journaling or reading. But I do get a lot of my energy from being around people and giving back and putting energy into other people. 

How else do you like to spend your free time outside of training?

I’m lucky that a lot of my friends are on this team and we always have a few book recommendations flying around. I love reading; while social media can be great, it’s frustrating to always have your phone near you so when I’m winding down I like to put my phone away. I also like to journal and watch TV – The Traitors is on at the moment, which I love, as well as The Great British Bake Off. I love to spend time with my sister as well, who I live with. She’s someone who means a lot to me and she has a very different job – she’s a midwife – so having someone like that in my life helps to put things into perspective.

If you weren’t a footballer, what would you have been?

I definitely wouldn’t be doing anything like my sister! I think I’d run a coffee shop somewhere near the beach – I’m definitely a beach girl. Having my own little shop would be lovely.  

Images: Barclays Women’s Super League; Getty