Lauren James: Everything you should know about the England forward

Lauren James of Chelsea in action during the Barclays Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on October 12, 2024 in London, England.
Lauren James has won multiple trophies with Chelsea (Image credit: Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Lauren James is one of the most well known women's footballers in the country because of her goal-scoring prowess for club and country.

James currently plays for Chelsea and scored two hat-tricks at Stamford Bridge in the 2023/24 season, helping the Blues to their fifth consecutive Women's Super League title.

The star, whose brother Reece also plays for Chelsea, has not always competed for the Blues. So who else has she played for and when did she receive her first England cap? Here's everything you need to know.

Lauren James: Which clubs has she played for?

Lauren James

Lauren James signed for Chelsea in 2021 (Image credit: Getty Images)

James started her youth career at Chelsea, playing for them from 2010-2014, before moving to Arsenal. She made her first senior appearance for the Gunners in 2017, becoming the women's team's second youngest player at the time as she was 16 years old.

She went on to win the League Cup with Arsenal in the 2017/18 season before moving to Manchester United in the summer transfer window.

Lauren James #7 of England during the Republic of Ireland V England, UEFA Women's European 2025 Qualifying match at Aviva Stadium on April 9th, 2024 in Dublin, Ireland.

Lauren James made her debut for England in 2022 (Image credit: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

United then played in the Championship and James scored 14 goals in the 2018/19 campaign to aid the club to their promotion into the WSL.

James scored United's first-ever top-flight goal in a 2-0 win over Liverpool in 2019.

She remained at United until 2021 before moving back to Chelsea, a club she has supported all of her life.

Since re-joining Chelsea she has won three WSL titles and two FA Cups.

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James' England career

James received her first call-up to an England senior camp in 2020 but it was not until September 2022 that she was given her first cap. She made her debut in a World Cup qualifier against Austria and in FourFourTwo's view immediately hit the ground running on the international stage.

The 2023 World Cup was James' first major tournament where she scored three goals and made three assists, including a stunner against China in the group stage.

She was shown a red card in England's game against Nigeria, the Lionesses went on to win the game on penalties. The team reached the final but lost 1-0 to Spain.

In 2024 her playing time for England was limited because of injury. A foot issue kept her out of fixtures over the summer and a calf problem prevented her from being involved in October friendlies.

Sarah Rendell
Women's football editor

Sarah joined the FourFourTwo team in September 2024 in a freelance role. She also writes for The Guardian, BBC and Rugby World where she specialises in women's football and rugby. Sarah has a bachelors degree in English and a master's in newspaper journalism.