“I’m happy to be here” – Super Falcons-eligible midfielder joins Birmingham City on loan from Chelsea

Super Falcons-eligible midfielder, Ashanti Akpan has joined Birmingham City on a season-long loan from Chelsea Women's Football team, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 18-year-old, who signed her first professional contract last January, has been at the club since 2013, joining at the age of seven, rising through the academy ranks and lifting the FA Youth Cup in 2021/22 and the FA WSL Academy Cup in 2022/23.

She made her debut for the senior team back in March 2023, coming off the bench in a 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final win over Reading.

In an official post made by Chelsea, it was confirmed that Akpan will spend the upcoming campaign on loan with second-tier English side, Birmingham City.

Ashanti Akpan has joined Birmingham City on loan for the 24/25 season.

Best of luck, Ashanti! 👊

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) August 1, 2024

“It feels great to be here, I'm really excited. I think it'll be a good experience for me and I'm excited that I'm starting this next phase of my journey here. I'm really excited to be in the championship this season I think it'll be challenging and I'm up for it. I felt like the Blues was a place to develop, and I feel like it was the right choice. Everyone here has made me feel at home,” the 2005-born midfielder said after she was unveiled as a Birmingham player.

Akpan is eligible to play for Poland, England and Nigeria. She was born in Poland to a Polish mother and a Nigerian father and grew up in England. However, she has represented the Three Lionesses at U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-18 level. She featured at this summer’s U19 European Championships in Lithuania, where England crashed out in the semi-final.

She has shown her connection to Nigeria off the pitch, modelling in a kit release a while back. She went on to post the pictures on her social media platforms.

Birmingham City kick-off their Championship season against AFC Sunderland ladies on the 8th of September.