The 26-year-old joined the Blues in 2018 from Birmingham City and has gone on to surpass 150 appearances, establishing herself as an important component in the Chelsea defence.

After joining the club, the defender had to bide her time, making 16 starts in her first campaign and seven the following season, with five of those coming in our triumphant Continental Cup campaign. She scored her first goal for Chelsea in January 2020 against Bristol City in what would go on to be a WSL title-winning season.

During the second half of the 2020/21 campaign, Carter gained regular game time following an injury to Maren Mjelde, as the Blues would go on to claim the domestic treble for the first time.

It was also during this period when Carter helped the Blues make history as she assisted Pernille Harder’s goal in our semi-final win against Bayern Munich, which saw us reach the Women’s Champions League final for the first time.

Carter held down a regular place in the team in the 2021/22 season in something of a breakthrough campaign for the defender. She featured in all but one of our Women’s Super League matches as we won our third consecutive title, and she started in our FA Cup final win over Manchester City at Wembley.

In the summer of 2022, her performances for Chelsea were justly rewarded with a place in the England squad, who would go on to win the delayed European Championships.

After winning silverware with her country, Carter would go on to lift more with the Blues in the 2022/23 season. It was another campaign which ended with a WSL title and FA Cup.

Carter travelled down under in the summer of 2023, again named in England’s squad for a major tournament, this time for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The defender played an integral role in helping her country reach the final, starting in all but one of the Lionesses matches.

Back with the Blues, Carter enjoyed another successful season as we retained our WSL crown for the fifth consecutive time. She was named Chelsea’s Player’s Player of the Season for 2023/24 and was included in the Champions League Team of the Season after we reached the semi-finals.

Everyone at Chelsea would like to sincerely thank Jess for her contributions to our success over the last six years, and we wish her well for the next chapter of her career in the United States.