In the summer of 2023, Chelsea opted to sign Sjoeke Nüsken instead of Lena Oberdorf, eyebrows were raised and it looked like that Chelsea had lost out on that one world class midfielder they really wanted.
However, Nüsken has come on leaps and bounds in her time at the club under the stewardship of Emma Hayes, leaving team mates, Hayes herself and supporters purring at the ability of the 23-year-old.
Praise has been coming in it's droves since the German's double against Ajax in the first leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter final.
Her first was a finish you would normally see from Sam Kerr or Mia Fishel, a real poachers strike, nicking a deft touch on Guro Reiten's effort to double Chelsea's lead. Her second was a towering header after a fantastic ball in from Catarina Macario to put the icing on Chelsea's stunning first leg performance.
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Her humble upbringings:
Born in the North Rhine region of Hamm, Germany, Nüsken had a love affair with sports from an early age, being the best in her age class at Tennis when she was eleven years for age.
Her sister, Hjördis Nüsken, who is four years older, was also a footballer and told Sjoeke to go into the sport, before her career was ended by injury. Since then, Sjoeke has been quoted numerous times as saying "My big sister played football and I wanted to do the same...
"I'm just a team player. It's so much more fun for me to celebrate with the whole team than just for myself. And above all, my sister was also a footballer, which made the decision easier.
In October, Nüsken spoke to the Official Chelsea Website on her early stages further, whilst also elaborating that her career could've taken a different turn.
"My sister who was playing football is now playing volleyball. My other sister is also playing volleyball and she does gymnastics, but the oldest one doesn’t do any sport!
"I like to play tennis. I played professionally when I was younger. I played the German Championship and won when I was Under-10 and Under-11."
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The Frankfurt Days:
Before moving to these shores, Nüsken clocked up very nearly 100 appearances for Eintracht following penning a deal with the club in the Rodelheim district of Frankfurt.
In the final two of her four seasons in Germany, she started in all 22 of the 22 games Frankfurt had as the club secured two third placed finishes with the club averaging 2.45 points per match in 2022/2023.
With the club unable to topple the likes of Bayern Munich and VFL Wolfsburg, particularly in the last two terms, Nüsken decided it was time to leave home soil, for The Blues.
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Making the move to The Blues:
It was officially announced before the end of last season that Nüsken would be joining Chelsea, with interviews from Nüsken, Emma Hayes and General Manager at Chelsea, Paul Green in the match day programme from the Blues' clash with Arsenal last season.
Speaking last year, Chelsea's General Manager, Paul Green stated, "We're delighted to have completed this signing. She is a player that we have been following for the last few seasons. We think she's at a great age and is going to be a great signing for the club. We feel her style is going to fit the English game very well."
It's safe to say everything Green and Co eluded to in the said notes that day, has come to the fore.
At the time, the then 22-year-old was overflowing with excitement about joining the reigning Women's Super League Champions, but few could've expected her first term as a Blue to go as swimmingly as it has done.
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The versatility that makes her great:
Now, when Nüsken signed, her versatility was clearly one of the drawing points that saw her signature be the one on the contract.
Of her 94 appearances at former side, Eintracht Frankfurt in the Frauen-Bundesliga, she was deployed at centre-back, just in front of the back four at centre defensive midfield and also in a typical, centre midfield number eight role.
She has since carried said versatile nature over to Chelsea, in flying colours. Particularly since the turn of the year.
She scored twice in the rout of Championship side Sunderland in the Continental Cup, playing from right back, yes, right back before shifting across to centre half in the 1-0 in the next round of the same competition.
Four goals in two games followed, the aforementioned double against Ajax was preceded by a rather fortuitous brace, against Arsenal.
If this doesn't showcase the true 'world class' nature of her versatility, then we really don't know what does.
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The reception amongst fans:
The reception of the 23-year-old amongst Chelsea fans is one of, as Meg Aherne of The Chelsea Women's Social put it, "Big love" towards the loveable German.
"I think it's really an element of surprise. People are really impressed that Chelsea paid so little for someone so good!
"She has definitely exceeded some expectations, mainly in the goals area.
"We knew her main capabilities in defence, but it's the goals that have really surprised me and a lot of others."
DAZN Women's Football Journalist, Rob Pratley also waxed lyrical about Chelsea's number six.
"She's brilliant, how on earth could you find a player who can score twice in the Conti Cup as a right back, then keep Bunny Shaw quiet at centre half, then dominate Arsenal's midfield and then beat Ajax as a nine, it's fantastic.
"It's worth pointing out that with the signing of her and Wieke Kaptein has made the loss of (Lena) Oberdorf less severe than it might've been."
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Her National Team Journey:
Her journey to senior international football has been quite something too, having been capped at every level for Germany from the Under 15s level.
She was handed her debut at fourteen, yes, fourteen for the U15 international side in a 5-1 victory against Scotland and it has gone from strength to strength ever since.
She was seemingly fast tracked in the two years appearing for the Under 15, Under 16 and Under 17 level of international football, before settling in the Under 19 team, for another two years, which heralded a staggering 16 appearances and 14 goals.
Most notably in her youth career, she scored six goals in Germany Under 19's 21-0 victory over Estonia at the 2019 U19 European Championships. That win is the biggest ever recorded by a German Women's National team.
Nüsken claimed her first international camp call up in December 2018 and then again to a warm weather training camp in January 2019 one month later.
The second call up was still early in her club career, so early that she still turned out for the boys team at SV Westfalia Rhynem, whom she turned out for from 2009-2019.
She won her first international cap in February 2021, coming on in the 73rd minute of a friendly against Belgium, three months later she scored her first senior goal at international level in another friendly, against Australia.
It was a below par World Cup for Germany in 2023, with Nüsken's only appearance that tournament in the surprise defeat to Colombia. It was a World Cup however that highlighted Nüsken's immense rise to stardom!
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The sky is the limit:
For the German, less than a month after starting the season, it was announced that Emma Hayes will leave Chelsea at the end of this campaign, taking up the role of Head Coach of the United States Women's National Team. It easily could have nudged Nüsken into an uncomfortable situation, knowing that she was signed by one manager and very soon, will be playing under another.
The versatile midfield player however, seems to have let this news spur her on, as have many other Chelsea players and with her incredible start to life in blue, her future at Chelsea looks settled and with Sjoeke Nüsken, the sky is the limit.