Chelsea confirms and announces defender has signed up with club
The Blues have formally announced on their website that Aniek Nouwen has signed a contract extension with CHELSEA, keeping the defender with the team until the summer of 2026.
When the 25-year-old Dutch international first joined the Blues in 2021, her poise and powerful presence in the backline stood out. She had previously played for PSV Eindhoven.
Head of women’s football Paul Green added: ‘Aniek continues to make good progress with her rehabilitation and we are happy to extend her contract.
‘We will monitor her fitness over the course of this month with a view to a possible loan move this window.’
The Blues posted on the club website: ‘Upon her move to London, Nouwen had to bide her time for first-team action but would go on to make her first start against Leicester City in October 2021 before scoring her first two goals for the Blues against the Foxes in the FA Cup and a Women’s Super League clash later in the campaign.
‘She started and played 69 minutes in the 2021/22 FA Cup final win over Manchester City at Wembley, adding a cup triumph to her maiden WSL trophy at the club.
‘The defender made four appearances during the first half of the following season, before penning a new deal until 2025. Nouwen then spent the second half of the campaign on loan in Italy with AC Milan.
‘An appearance from the bench was Nouwen’s only Chelsea outing last season as she, unfortunately, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury while on international duty with the Netherlands Under-23s squad.
‘Before signing for Chelsea, Nouwen impressed in her homeland. She made her debut for PSV in 2016 and went on to make more than 100 appearances, lifting the KNVB Cup in 2021.
‘On the international stage, the defender represented the Netherlands at youth level before making her senior bow in 2019. She is approaching 50 appearances for the national team and has competed at the Olympics and the 2023 World Cup.
‘Everyone at CHELSEA would like to congratulate Aniek on signing her new contract and we look forward to seeing her return to action.’