Ellie Carpenter insists she has “much more to give” at Chelsea | OneFootball

Australian defender Ellie Carpenter joined Chelsea last summer

Ellie Carpenter insists she has “much more to give” at Chelsea, despite believing that she has surprised fans with the level of her performances.

The Australian wing-back made the move to Stamford Bridge after five seasons at Lyon.

Carpenter has scored two goals and provided three assists in 18 appearances this season. Only Millie Bright (19) has made more outings for the Blues this campaign.

The 25-year-old has summed up her first season at Chelsea so far in an interview with the club’s website.

Ellie Carpenter on her first season at Chelsea

Carpenter believes she can become an “even better version” of herself, despite her already impressive performances at Chelsea.

She said: “I’m creating those relationships on the pitch (with teammates) now. I think I’m only going to get stronger for the rest of the season and for seasons to come and I want to keep improving to become an even better footballer.

“I feel like I have so much more to learn and give, and here at Chelsea, I can become an even better version of myself because I’ve already grown in a short space of time.”

Carpenter added: “I think some people were quite surprised about how I’ve been performing. I’ve been doing that for five years, but not many people have seen it.”

Chelsea are nine points behind Manchester City in the WSL (Lucy Bronze pictured)

Carpenter on WSL title race

Carpenter has been a bright spark in a Chelsea side that are nine points behind Manchester City in the WSL title race.

Pundit Jen Beattie believes Chelsea are still in the race, but the Blues could fall out of it if they lose to City on Sunday.

Carpenter said: “I think the standard is even higher than last season, from watching some of the games. The competitiveness is what drew me to this league, and knowing every match you have to go out there and play at your best level, otherwise you won’t win

‘I wanted to show myself coming here. I am still quite young, but I was in the French League for five years, and I feel like it’s not really well known, but so many people watch the WSL.”

Chelsea are unlikely to strengthen their squad this month but could be in for a busy summer.

Seven key Chelsea players are out of contract this summer, so there are big decisions to be made for the management team at Chelsea.