Chelsea can confirm that midfielder Ashanti Akpan will spend the 2024/25 season on loan with Birmingham City of the Women’s Championship.
The 18-year-old, who signed her first professional deal midway through last season, has been with the club since she was seven years old and has had great success with the Academy, winning the FA Youth Cup in 2021/22 and the FA WSL Academy Cup in 2022/23.
Akpan made her senior team debut in March 2023, coming off the bench in a 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory over Reading.
The teenage midfielder has represented England at the Under-15, Under-16, Under-17, and Under-18 levels, as well as at the U19 European Championships in Lithuania this summer, where the teenage Lionesses advanced to the semi-finals.
She will spend the upcoming season on loan in the Championship with Birmingham, who finished sixth last season.
Everyone at Chelsea wishes Ashanti every success at Birmingham City.