Millie Bright had one of the best seasons of her career in 2024-25. Sporting the captain's armband, the Chelsea star guided the club to an incredible domestic treble in which they didn't lose a single game in the Women's Super League, FA Cup or League Cup, lifting all three trophies and breaking plenty of records along the way. In the last few weeks, though, as the Blues have endured a surprising run of just one win in five games, the former Lionesses defender has found herself on the outside looking in.
It didn't feel like a big deal when, for the first time since January, Bright was an unused substitute as the Blues' took on Champions League minnows St Polten last month. But after being hooked at half-time in the subsequent 1-1 draw with Liverpool, the side bottom of the WSL, the defender hasn't played a minute, sitting on the bench for last month's blockbuster showdown with Barcelona and Sunday's defeat to Everton – that Chelsea's first WSL loss under Sonia Bompastor, in her 35th game in charge in the competition.
With Bright's contract expiring at the end of the season, albeit with an option for an extra year included in the deal, her recent absences have raised questions about her Chelsea future. Can she battle back to retake her place in this team? Or are we watching a changing of the guard in the Blues' backline?
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All for Chelsea
When Bright called time on her England career back in October, it felt like a huge boost for Chelsea. One of the team's most important players, as both a footballer and the captain of the club, was going to be able to put all her energy into representing the Blues. It could be massive, especially as their quest for that elusive Champions League title ramped up another notch.
"That's crucial, having a player like Millie who will be now 100 per cent focused on the club and all the trophies we are competing for," Bompastor said at the time. "It's really, really important. I know she is a player who is always, on the pitch, first thinking about the team. She will always give 100% and even more to the team.
"I think she just leads by example and having this type of leader, this type of captain in the team, is the best thing you can have when you are a manager, so I'm grateful for that and I know she will bring all the good energy to her team-mates, to the players on the pitch, to make sure we achieve the best season possible."
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Unfamiliar situation
But the situation appears to have changed a little in the two months since, and especially in the last four weeks, during which Bright has found herself watching on from the sidelines for three of Chelsea's last four games.
Prior to the first instance, that 6-0 thumping of St. Polten, Bright had been an unused substitute just three times in the last 53 games she had been available for, with one of those occasions only occurring because the defender had just returned from five months out due to a knee injury. She wasn't ready to take to the pitch at that point, but Chelsea were facing Barcelona in another Champions League semi-final and then-manager Emma Hayes wanted her captain in the squad for her leadership.
Take that instance out, and only count games where Bright was fit enough to play minutes, and the 32-year-old hadn't been called upon on just three occasions in her last 72 Chelsea games prior to the St. Polten win, a run that stretched back to December 2022.
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Concerning selections
For the clash with Barcelona, a huge game that Bright would have been desperate to play in, Bompastor instead opted to pair Naomi Girma with Nathalie Bjorn, whose fantastic partnership with Bright was the bedrock of Chelsea's success last term. Girma became the most expensive player in the history of the women's game back in January when the Blues secured her services for a fee that, for the first time in the sport, surpassed the $1 million mark, though niggling injuries prevented her from making a serious impact on the team in the second half of last season.
This term, it always felt like she would emerge as a key starter, because of her world-class quality and how highly Chelsea clearly rate her, as evidenced by the transfer fee, and the pecking order at centre-back would be different. As such, Bompastor's team selection for that Barca clash wasn't particularly shocking, even if it was one that "frustrated" Bright, the manager admitted. "That's normal," Bompastor added. "That's the reaction I expect from her."
But Sunday felt different. With Bjorn missing from the squad, many might've expected Bright to return to the starting line-up as Chelsea hosted Everton. However, Bompastor went in a different direction entirely, choosing Lucy Bronze, a right-back, to partner Girma while Bright sat on the bench for the entire game.
Bronze's main task was to keep tabs on Kelly Gago, Everton's imposing centre-forward. It was the kind of individual battle that Bright tends to relish. For her manager to choose Bronze for the challenge here, though, felt like the most worrying sign yet for Bright, her status in the team right now and, ultimately, her future at the club.
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Competition aplenty
Centre-back is one of Chelsea's deepest positions. As well as Bright, Bjorn and Girma, the Blues can count on the adaptability of players like Bronze and Ellie Carpenter, they have an extremely exciting young prospect in Veerle Buurman, the 19-year-old Netherlands international, and they will hope to have Kadeisha Buchanan, a five-time Champions League winner, back from injury soon. It's a position where players have to perform in order to earn minutes, and there have been some questions and criticisms of Bright's form this season, with the 32-year-old also lacking the pace of some of her fellow centre-backs.
That said, from a statistical perspective, while Bright is down on some of her numbers from last year, with her tackle win percentage one of the most notable ones, she is also up on a lot of them, including her aerial duel win rate and the number of interceptions, tackles and blocks she is making per 90 minutes. Chelsea not being quite as secure at the back this year, and thus seeing their defenders called into action more often, could be a factor to consider, but it is interesting to note nonetheless.