Karen Carney confident Chelsea Women will continue to push 'amazing talent' | OneFootball

Chelsea's Lauren James is undoubtedly one of the most exciting young talents in women's football right now.

At just 21 years of age, the England international has stunned fans, pundits, and fellow players alike with her exciting style of attacking play.

Karen Carney is thrilled to see James blossoming under her former manager Emma Hayes, and is eager to see what the future holds for the rising star.

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Lauren James' bright future with Chelsea

James signed for Chelsea in 2021 after making history on several occasions with Manchester United.

While still just a teenager, James scored United's first goal in the Women's Super League, and their first at Old Trafford.

She had to wait a little while to be fully integrated into the current Chelsea team, but since her debut in blue, she has been setting the pitch alight. So much so that she is becoming a regular for England under Sarina Wiegman.

Carney spoke to GIVEMESPORT about James' exciting career arc, ahead of this year's Soccer Aid for UNICEF, where she will make her first ever on-pitch appearance.

The former Chelsea, Arsenal and Birmingham star is pleased James has "two fantastic managers" in Hayes and Wiegman to help fine tune her game as she continues her rise to the top.

"They will keep her grounded and keep her working hard, and we know she’s an amazing talent," Carney said.

"She comes into this [Chelsea] squad, which is very challenging coming into an already successful squad, but I like the fact they’ll keep pushing her."

Indeed, this Chelsea side is known for being tough to break into due to Hayes' incredibly stacked squad.

But James seized her opportunity with both hands and she has seriously impressed with her goal-scoring involvements, striking up a deadly partnership with Sam Kerr.

The England international is currently on 27 senior goals at domestic level.

Will Lauren James be at the World Cup?

Just six months after making her senior England debut, James was named Player of the Tournament at the Arnold Clark Cup after the Lionesses won the tournament for the second time.

She also picked up the Young Player of the Year award at the recent London Football Awards.

James is now in serious contention for being included in Wiegman's 2023 World Cup squad.

"In every interview, she talks about constantly improving and that for me is a real big positive, because the world is her oyster," Carney said.

James is currently challenging for her first ever WSL title.

Reigning champions Chelsea are eyeing up their fifth title as they currently lead the table two points clear of Man United, with an important game in-hand.

However, this season has been, and still is incredibly tight at the top. Both Arsenal and United have been putting pressure on the Blues, and now Man City are also involved in the thrilling title race.

There are still plenty of games to go until the end of the season, and this title challenge looks like it will go right down to the wire.

The fight for a spot in the Champions League is also insanely heated. With just three qualification places up for grabs, one of the 'big four' teams will suffer huge heartbreak at the end of the term.

“It’s good for the league, it’s so competitive," Carney said.

"Last season, it went down to the final game and that’s what we want. We want the audience to be engaged, we want the stories, we want people talking about it and creating noise to get more people involved and going to the game."