Dutch international Nouwen signed for the club from PSV Eindhoven in May and recently joined up with her new team-mates following her involvement at the Olympics with the Netherlands.

The defender made her first appearance in our 1-0 pre-season friendly victory over Aston Villa last month and Nouwen says she is enjoying life as a Blue.

‘It’s been great.’ she said in our first exclusive interview. ‘I’ve waited a long time for it and I’ve really enjoyed my first few weeks here.

‘Emma has been really nice. She’s a kind person and I really like her. She wants to take it slow with me and I think that’s a good thing.’

Nouwen spent five years at PSV before signing for the Blues and while the 22-year-old has recognised the higher intensity of football here in England, she is certain that she can adjust to the demands of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.

She added: ‘It’s going to take some time to adapt. The football here in England is a lot faster so I must get used to that.

‘I believe I will adapt but it is a lot faster so I have to work on it. I want to play as much as possible and win some trophies with Chelsea.’

Nouwen recalled her first visit to Stamford Bridge 11 years ago and revealed her introduction to Chelsea was because of former men’s defender Alex.

‘At the time, I was watching more of Chelsea because of course Alex was from PSV,' she added.. ‘He’s also a centre-back and I loved watching him.

‘I came with my mum for a weekend and we went on a tour of Stamford Bridge. It was 11 years ago so a long time ago! It was such a big stadium and I really enjoyed it.’