Davison hails Carney ahead of Chelsea Ladies opener

Chelsea Ladies winger Gemma Davison says Karen Carney is “a joy to watch” and expects her to be a huge success following her move to the club.

Carney, 28, joined the Women’s Super League and Women’s FA Cup holders from Birmingham in the close season and scored on her debut in the 4-1 FA Cup win over Doncaster Rovers Belles on Sunday.

Chelsea begin their WSL campaign away to the same opposition on Thursday night and Davison is excited by the prospect of linking up with her fellow England winger.

“She is top quality and already looks like she has been here a long time,” Davison, 28, told West London Sport. “She showed her ability against Doncaster and scored a great goal.

“She’s a joy to play with and is exciting to watch; she is tricky, creative, has great vision and a brilliant all-round game. The fans will love seeing her play.

“She has all that experience, is very talented and knows what it takes to win. I could go on all day, she has everything.”

Carney’s signing boosts an already hugely impressive front line of Davison, Fran Kirby, Eni Aluko and Ji So-Yun.

Carney was one of four new arrivals prior to the 2016 season, with winger Beth England, midfielder Jade Bailey and goalkeeper Becky Spencer also joining.

Davison believes the extra depth will be needed as Chelsea look to retain their title in a fiercely competitive league which has seen main rivals Arsenal Ladies and Manchester City Women both strengthen a great deal since last season.

She added: “We are continuing to build as we did last season and there is definitely more depth to take us to another level. We want to compete in everything.

“We have lots of winners at the club, lots of players who have won trophies and are used to dealing with pressure. Having teams desperate to beat us because we are champions is not a problem.”