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Chelsea have handed promising midfielder Ashanti Akpan her first professional contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Having joined the Blues in August 2013, Akpan has been with the club since the age of seven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She lifted the FA Youth Cup in 2021-22 and the FA WSL Academy Cup last season, which also saw her make her first-team debut against Reading in the Women\u2019s FA Cup in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to\u00a0Chelsea\u2019s official website, the delighted 18-year-old starlet said: \u201cIt\u2019s such a special and proud moment for me to sign my first professional contract at my childhood club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been here since I was seven, so it really has always been Chelsea for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing the place where I\u2019ve grown up, it means so much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful to my team-mates, the staff and my family who have done so much on and off the pitch to make me the player I am today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Akpan is now contracted until the summer of 2025, with Chelsea holding the option to extend her deal by a further year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
General manager Paul Green said: \u201cWe\u2019re really pleased to offer Ashanti her first professional contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAshanti Akpan has signed her first professional contract with the club! \u270d\ufe0f\ud83d\udc99<\/p>\n
\u2014 Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) December 22, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n
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