The 20-year-old joined the Blues from AZ Alkmaar in her native Netherlands.

And although still only in the early stages of her career, Liefting has gained invaluable experience in her home country, with more than 50 senior club appearances to boast. Joining Chelsea, she says, was the best place for her to continue making progress.

'The most important thing is my development here,' Liefting says. 'I can see myself improving a lot here.

'Chelsea is a really big club with the greatest players in Europe and the world. It's an amazing club. It feels like a really warm place and I'm excited to get started.'

On her signing day, the young goalkeeper was joined at Stamford Bridge by her parents. Their pride in her shone through as the family toured the stadium for the first time.

'They're really proud and excited for me,' Liefting adds. 'The first time they heard it, they were immediately wowed. They are always supporting me.'

The Dutch youth international, who has been called up to the last two senior camps, is relishing the chance to get to work with Sonia Bompastor's side. There are areas of her game she hopes to improve during her time in Chelsea blue.

'I would like to learn more about the details of the game,' Liefting says. 'I like to play out from the back and use my feet, but I want to become a nine striving for a ten. That's what I want to achieve here.

'From what I have heard, Sonia is a great coach but also a great human, I'm really looking forward to working with her and the rest of the team.'

It's not only on the pitch where Liefting is looking to learn, with this being the first time she has lived outside of her home country. The goalkeeper is ready to make London home.

'I'm going to be staying in a different country and I'm going to be living by myself, so I will learn more about myself as a person, also,' Liefting adds. 'It's a new language and there will be a lot of other new things, but I'm excited.'

There will be one familiar face when Liefting gets to work with her new team-mates: Wieke Kaptein. The pair have played together at youth level for the Netherlands.

Midfielder Kaptein, who joined in the summer of 2023 before returning to FC Twente on loan for the season, has impressed during her debut campaign as a Chelsea player, featuring on 15 occasions across all competitions thus far.

'It is nice to see she has adjusted so quickly and has found her spot in the team,' Liefting says. 'I'm glad to see she's happy here and that helps me coming in at Chelsea. I'm motivated to do the same as her.'