Patience paying dividends for Blindkilde Brown

Ahead of the 2025/26 season, Laura Blindkilde Brown’s City career had been a tale of patience and perseverance as one of English football’s most promising players.

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A January 2024 signing from Aston Villa, she arrived at the Joie Stadium at just 20 years old and ready to continue her strong development which had seen her involved in various England youth teams.

In the following 18 months, she’d shown tantalising glimpses of the player she could become across 29 outings – with her performance in our 2-1 away win over her former employers on the final day of 2023/24 season a particular standout.

Blindkilde Brown had also made her senior England bow as her stock rose, but the summer of 2025 represented a pivotal moment in her career ahead of embarking on her second full season with the Club.

By her own admission, the first chapter of her Blues career was to progress in a new environment, but she was ready to turn her hard work into minutes on the field as the term came into focus.

“When I came to City, I knew I was coming to develop as a player firstly and it wasn’t potentially about the game time,” Blindkilde Brown explained.

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“I’ve been patient and I’ve worked hard and this season I’ve managed to play more games than I have before. With every game I’m gaining more confidence and learning every game as well.”

After making her first outing as a second half substitute in our opening day defeat to Chelsea, she was then included in Andrée Jeglertz’s starting XI for City’s following fixture with Brighton.

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Her inclusion may have caught the eye pre-match, but so did her display in the engine room as we recorded a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Seagulls.

Although apprehensive ahead of the encounter at the Joie Stadium, Blindkilde Brown says she knew it was an opportunity to stake a claim for a starting position.

She revealed: “I was maybe a bit nervous to play that game because I hadn’t really started many games for City before.

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“Since then, I’ve taken it game by game and tried to give my all every game and just tried to improve every game.”

“I always play every game like I could lose my shirt. You never know if it could be your last game starting maybe so I always try to give it 100% in every game.

“I knew I had to try and keep my shirt as best as I could and the competition we have at City is unbelievable.”

And Blindkilde Brown more than grabbed the opportunity presented to her with both hands - she’s started each of our following eight WSL matches and featured in all of City’s assignments so far this season.

Her first goal of the season arrived shortly after when she struck at the Joie Stadium in a 4-1 win over London City Lionesses in September.

That goal and her performances then earned her September’s Etihad Player of the Month award, as recognition from coaches, team-mates and fans soon followed.

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“It was really nice [to win Player of the Month], especially from the fans as well,” the now 22-year-old declared.

“Not having played many games last season and already the fans recognising me, especially with the amount of talent we have as well. To be recognised as Player of the Month was really nice.”

Throughout the season so far, Blindkilde Brown has mostly been partnered in midfield with one of the finest operators in world football – Yui Hasegawa.

The Japan international has been a key cog for City since her arrival in the summer of 2022, winning a swathe of individual accolades including the Etihad Player of the Season award in 2024/25.

For Blindkilde Brown, it’s an education to be alongside Hasegawa every match but the England international explained how she’s learning every day from all her team-mates.

She added: “I love playing with Yui. She’s one of the best players in the world and I learn from her all the time in training and in matches.

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“She’s not the most vocal, but she’s such a leader with the ball and that really helps me.

“I learn from so many people in the team. There’s so many experienced players and so many young players as well. It’s a really good mix.

“I feel like everyone has really good attributes and you can learn something from everybody

“[A key piece of advice has been], if I’m not having a good game then I can always focus hard out of possession and winning duels, tracking back.

“So I think firstly, that’s a key thing then you can focus on in possession and on the ball. But a non-negotiable is doing that in the first place.”

At the halfway point in the 2025/26 season, City sit at the top of the WSL table and are still active in both cup competitions.

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The fantastic campaign so far followed a series of changes on and off the field in pre-season which saw Jeglertz arrive as the Blues’ Head Coach.

Under his stewardship so far, we have flourished in an adaptable formation and Blindkilde Brown believes City are benefitting collectively and individually from his management.

“He always wants you to get on the ball which I really like and there’s a lot of freedom as well,” she detailed.

“Yui especially can go higher and I can sit in or the opposite which is really nice because Yui has so many good attacking traits as well.

“As the whole team he wants us to play with a lot of freedom and it’s not as structured as maybe it has been. We have a lot of different varieties to how we play and we always found a way to win which maybe we struggled with before.

“We can go long, we can go short and it’s really nice to see we can have a lot of different ways of playing.”

Chelsea Etihad tickets on general sale

Tickets for our WSL clash with Chelsea at the Etihad are on sale, with Under-16s able to attend for just £5!

A meeting between the WSL’s top two, it’s one of the most hotly anticipated fixtures of the season and gets under way at 14:30 (UK) on Sunday 1 February.

Our last Etihad fixture more than delivered, with City beating Manchester United 3-0 in November, so make sure you don’t miss out this time!

Tickets are available from just £5 for Under-16s, with Adults starting from £15, or you can save your spot in our Kits Bar for an incredible £35 per adult and £20 for Under-16s.

If you make a group booking, you’ll also be automatically entered into our competition to win fantastic prizes, such as being part of the team photo at the Etihad or enjoying our ‘Blue Carpet Experience’ at the game.

Or make it an afternoon to remember with hospitality packages starting from just £35 per person and a wide range of experiences available to suit your budget.

Make sure you don’t miss our final WSL Etihad match of this season!

Get your tickets for City v Chelsea at the Etihad!