Chelsea forward seals short-term loan exit

Chelsea have revealed that forward Aimee Claypole has joined Swedish side Linkoping on a short-term loan until December. 

The 18-year-old will join up with Linkoping until late this year, with the Damallsvenskan having been in season since April. The side currently sits seventh in the league after playing 15 games. 

This isn’t Claypole’s first loan move as she spent the second half of last season on loan in the Women’s Championship with Lewes, featuring 11 times, scoring twice and providing three assists.

Before spending time away, Claypole made her debut for the Blues in January of the 2021/22 season as a second-half substitute in an FA Cup tie against Aston Villa. She made her first outing in the WSL in March 2023, coming off the bench and helping the team secure a win over Brighton & Hove Albion, before a third senior appearance against Reading. 

Claypole has been with the club since the age of nine and signed her first professional contract with Chelsea after turning 18 in November 2023. During her time in the academy programme, Claypole won the FA WSL Academy Cup and the FA Youth Cup, and was top scorer in the Women’s Super League Academy for the 2022/23 campaign. 

Claypole joins three other young Chelsea players on loan for the upcoming season: Jorja Fox, Greta Humphires and Ashanti Akpan. 

Earlier this month it was confirmed that Humphries will spend the 2024/25 season on loan at Bristol. The 19-year-old signed her first professional contract with the Blues earlier this summer.

Right-back Fox also penned a new deal with Chelsea, keeping her there until June 2027, but will spend the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at newly promoted WSL side Crystal Palace.

READ THE LATEST CHELSEA WOMEN NEWS, QUOTES AND MATCH REACTION HERE