Emma Hayes Urges for Patience Regarding Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby’s Futures as Their Contracts Near Expiry

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Chelsea boss Emma Hayes says there is ‘no panic’ around the futures of Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby, with both players out of contract at the end of the season.

Kerr is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after the forward ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament during the club’s warm-weather training camp in Morocco.

Kerr has previously stated her desire to remain at Chelsea but her long-term injury and the impending departure of Hayes, who will leave to join the US national team in the summer, had cast doubts over whether she would remain with the Blues. 

Kirby, meanwhile, had said earlier this week that she had not yet had talks over extending her current deal.

But Hayes indicated that discussions with both players will take place in due course and that there is no concern over their situations.

Kirby's future is also up in the air in west London

The futures of Sam Kerr (left) and Fran Kirby (right) at Chelsea should not be causing panic

That is the view of Chelsea Women's boss Emma Hayes, who is relaxed on the two players

That is the view of Chelsea Women’s boss Emma Hayes, who is relaxed on the two players

‘The focus for Sam right now is on rehab. I’m sure when the time is right to discuss her future, that time will come from Sam and the club,’ Hayes said.

‘Sam loves Chelsea and Chelsea loves Sam so I think that’s the most important thing to say on that front.

‘I think when it comes to Fran, it’s not unusual for players to go into the last six months of their contract. Fran knows that our goal with her is to keep her on the pitch for 100 per cent of the season not less than 50 per cent.

‘She understands that and sometimes she’s a bit impatient. She wants to do everything at once but we know what a talent she is, we know what we can expect from Fran and I’m sure, again, when the club and the player and all of the people involved with that have something to announce on that front, they will.

‘But I don’t think anybody should be too panicked just because of the timelines. We have worked over 11 years to put in place a structure to make sure we’re always planning and preparing and I think Chelsea and its future is still in a very, very good place.’

Kerr will be a big loss to Chelsea as they chase a fifth-straight Women’s Super League title as well the other trophies, including the Champions League, that are on offer.

Hayes believes youngsters Mia Fishel and Aggie Beever-Jones are capable of stepping up, with the latter already on five goals for the season, while Lauren James also has seven to her name.

Kerr loves playing at Chelsea and Hayes, who will leave this summer, is not worried about her

Kerr loves playing at Chelsea and Hayes, who will leave this summer, is not worried about her

‘They [Fishel and Beever-Jones] have to [step up], Hayes said. ‘They’re still young players. But we have players in our group too, Lauren James scored a lot of goals this year.

‘We just have to find slightly different ways to do things. We feel we’ve got players that can score goals. We’re creating more chances than we’ve ever created in my time here. We just have to find different ways to finish.’

Hayes also gave a positive update on Catarina Macario, who has been waiting to make her debut since signing for the club in the summer. 

Macario has endured a long rehab after rupturing her ACL in the summer of 2022 but the forward is back in training and could make her debut in the coming weeks.

‘I’m not a person who panics. I think we have enough quality. We have Cat Macario who will be available for the second half of the season. For those of you that haven’t watched Cat play, trust me, she’s a top, top player.

‘She took part in the sessions in Morocco, albeit in a progressive way, not in full-team training, but parts of training. It’ll be the same again today, she will be in parts of training. 

‘I think this first part over the next couple of weeks will be the reintroduction and I think Chelsea fans can expect to see her quite soon.’

Kirby has had a real problem staying fit and she is focusing on returning to peak fitness now

Kirby has had a real problem staying fit and she is focusing on returning to peak fitness now

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Chelsea signed defender Nathalie Bjorn from Everton this week with Hayes admitting she is a player that has been on the club’s radar for some time. She also indicated that the signing was made with the intention of not having to rush back Millie Bright, who is still recovering from a knee injury.

‘We feel confident in the group we’ve got and we’ve added [Nathalie] Bjorn which we felt we needed to on the back of injury to Aniek [Nouwen] and Millie and not to put Millie in a pressure situation.

‘She [Bright] is in rehab at the minute and working hard on that. I can’t give a timeline for a return, as I’ve said many times over, but she’s in good spirits and she’ll be back as soon as she can humanly possibly make it back. I’m sure she’d put her boots on today if I asked but we just need to get it right for Millie’s long-term future.’

Chelsea host West Ham in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

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