Bompastor has signed a four-year deal with Chelsea ahead of the 2024/25 season and will succeed Emma Hayes at the helm of our women’s team following three successful years at Lyon.

She will begin the next chapter of her career with an illustrious background as both a player and a coach, having won everything there is to win in her homeland and further afield.

And it was during Bompastor's only foray overseas that former England international Asante – who enjoyed two spells with Chelsea – played alongside the left-sided defender and midfielder at Washington Freedom in the United States in 2010.

It was not Asante’s introduction to the 156-time capped Frenchwoman, though, as they had previously come up against each other on international duty. Like many others, Asante was more than familiar with the talents Bompastor possessed.

‘I already knew so much about her as a player having come up against her on the international scene many times prior,’ explains Asante. ‘When I got the opportunity to play with her at Washington Freedom I was just buzzing.

‘She was the sort of player that would be identified in the team meetings as a key player when I played for England.

'She was someone we knew we had to try to make ineffective and nullify because of her ability to get up and down the left channel. She was really dynamic and had an attacking mindset. She had the technical quality and put in really dangerous crosses.’

Bompastor off the pitch

That was Bompastor the player, but her character as a person, on and off the pitch, still stands out to Asante more than a decade later.

‘She was so driven,’ says the former Lioness. ‘She had a winning mentality, but was also measured and that was good to have in different scenarios, like if we were losing and needed to find a way back into the game.

‘Sonia would be the kind of person to lift others around her. She was a leader and had that aura around her and a real presence, but she was still really calm at the same time.

‘Off the pitch, she was a fun, outgoing person and got along with everybody. Everyone in the team loved her personality and being around her.

‘I remember she had a really tight friendship with Lisa De Vanna, who played for Australia, and they were an unlikely friendship because if you took the personality types they were on different ends of the spectrum.

'But they had this amazing friendship and it reflects how she can connect with so many different kinds of people and personalities.’

Asante believes those attributes have helped Bompastor thrive after she moved into coaching following her retirement in 2013. The makings of a successful manager were clear.

‘In the modern game and especially here in the WSL, you need to have the ability to manage a squad of different kinds of players,’ said Asante. ‘You’re working with players who have come from all over the world and have different football backgrounds and experiences.

‘You have got to connect with them relatively quickly while allowing everybody to be themselves and creating a space with shared values. Sonia had the tools to do that.

‘She is not a pushover and can be direct, but she is still very approachable. It is important to be rounded like that because there are times when she will have to tap into different things.’

Serial winner and trailblazers

Twenty-one trophies won as a player and manager, Bompastor and silverware are synonymous.

‘Sonia is a winner,’ adds Asante. ‘She has done it multiple times at Lyon as a player and as a manager. She brings that level of pedigree.

‘I think she will gain the buy-in from the players quite quickly because of that. She knows what it is like to grind and work hard to fulfil those goals – that’s what the players want.'

Aligned values will also make for a successful pairing, according to Asante, who believes both Bompastor and the club have blazed the trails in the women’s game in their own right.

‘Sonia is a great fit for the club,’ added Asante. ‘What has been built at the club and implemented over the last 12 years by Emma Hayes are all game changers.

'From winning domestic trophies consistently, reaching the Champions League final, and driving forward the professionalism of the women’s game by better understanding the psycho-social elements, like menstruation research.

‘They can make a massive difference and have helped lead the way and I think Sonia will really appreciate that. As a player, she would have wanted to have been in the best high-performance environment and as a manager, she will want to keep sustaining that and driving it forward.

‘Chelsea is ambitious, you can see that from the resources, the growth of staff and support for the team from all the different departments. I expect Sonia will thrive knowing she has this behind her at the club.’