‘Reece’s advice was to enjoy it, have fun and score goals’
ENJOYING LIFE: Lauren James of England smiles during an England Training Session at St Georges Park on June 27, 2023 in Burton-upon-Trent, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
For all the hype that follows Lauren James, you would not know it when in conversation with her. “I’m someone who always wants to just play football,” she says. “I try not to let the external noise get into me. I like to stay grounded.”
Reserved in front of the media, the England forward remains down to earth, letting her ability on the pitch and those around her do the talking.
It is easy to see why the prospect of James in an England shirt on the world stage excites so many. Leah Williamson has described her as a “cheat code”, Lucy Bronze regularly enthuses about her potential and one of her brothers, Chelsea’s Reece James, described her as “the best women’s footballer in the world” on social media.
Normally, when discussing a 21-year-old who made her England debut only last September, you would put this statement down to a strong dose of brotherly love. However, the hype feels justified. Anyone who witnessed her senior debut for Arsenal at 16 and the cameos that followed would have known she was destined for big things as, totally relaxed, she spun players 10 years her senior around in circles.
One of her growing collection of tattoos means free spirit. “It’s how I am,” she says, and there is possibly no better description of her when she gets on a pitch. She makes the game look simple. Her technical nous, vision and creativity have placed her firmly in the category of generational talent.
Raw ability is key but it has been a steep learning curve. At 16, and with game time limited at Arsenal, she decided to leave home comforts to join the newly formed Manchester United. Under the guidance of their manager, Casey Stoney, she shone in her first season, helping the club gain promotion to the Women’s Super League and scoring 14 goals in 18 league appearances.
“I think people would say it was a step back because I went to the Championship,” James says. “But for me, sometimes it allows you to make steps forward, and maybe I wouldn’t be here without that move.” She credits her time in the northwest with helping her develop away from the pitch. “Living alone, it allowed me to grow up as a person … having to cook for myself!”
Injury delayed her highly anticipated Chelsea debut after she signed for the club in 2021. Being allowed time to recover, however, reaped rewards when she enjoyed a successful breakthrough campaign last season.
It is this understanding with her managers that allows James to be at her best. In Emma Hayes she has a coach who knows how to help her develop and resists the temptation to place too much pressure on her shoulders. “Emma is always helpful,” she says. “She’s played a massive role in just getting me back to being myself.”
Sarina Wiegman has been equally supportive on the international front, after giving James her debut against Austria. “She’s been brilliant with me,” James says. “She’s just allowed me to express myself, and not tried to change me, which obviously plays a massive role because it allows you to just play freely and have confidence.”
Breaking into international football has been another whirlwind for James who, targeting this World Cup, used the experience of watching England’s Euro 2022 success as an incentive. “Going to the final last summer, it obviously made me feel more like: ‘I want to make sure I’m there this summer,’” she says. “It gave me a bit more motivation and hunger.”
Several standout performances have put her front and centre of Wiegman’s plans. Her first senior goal came against South Korea at the Arnold Clark Cup in February, a trophy that England lifted for the second successive year, with James named player of the tournament.
Most often utilised on the right, she has built a strong partnership with Bronze, who has taken James under her wing. “She’s a young player so she’s still learning that role,” England’s right-back said after last Saturday’s friendly against Portugal. “[She’s learning] when to be selfish and when not to be, when to make the right decision, when to go, when to shoot. I’m just there to help her find the way she should play.”
Decision-making is probably the weakest area of James’s game, something certain to develop under the guidance of more senior figures.
She was the Lionesses’ bright spark once again in that friendly, particularly when moved to No 10. It was a cameo that will have given Wiegman food for thought as she looks to solve the final puzzles before England’s opener against Haiti on 22 July.
Whichever way James is used, from the start or off the bench, she will be integral if England are to succeed. Despite all the excitement surrounding her, this tournament is just the beginning for England’s second-youngest player. Remaining level-headed will be key and she will do well to take heed of Reece’s words of wisdom: “His advice was to just enjoy it, have fun and try to score goals.”
In James’s world, it really is as simple as that.
Guardian
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