A blog of two halves

Sweden’s Euro No19 will be Chelsea’s No19

You’ll struggle to stencil her name on the back of your replica shirt, but Johanna Rytting Kaneyrd has joined Chelsea Women.

9 August 2022
By Tim Harrison
Categories:
Chelsea FC
Image 1

Johanna Rytting Kaneyrd. PICTURE: CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB

You’ll struggle to stencil her name on the back of your replica shirt, but Johanna Rytting Kaneyrd has joined Chelsea Women on a three-year deal.

Remember THAT goal? Alessia Russo’s cheeky backheel in the 68th minute of the England v Sweden semi?

One of those watching in disbelief was Swedish international Rytting Kaneyrd, who had come on as a sub a quarter of an hour earlier, with the aim of giving the Scandinavians more options on their right wing.

She was a helpless spectator as Kiera Walsh fed the ball through to Fran Kirby, who squared for Russo to have one shot well blocked by ex-Chelsea keeper Hedvig Lindahl before the young England striker impishly nutmegged the netminder to score a goal they’ll still be talking about in 2122.

Sweden’s No19 will be Chelsea’s No19 as well, a 25-year-old who joins from BK Hacken in her native country, and who is expected to fight the feisty Scot Erin Cuthbert for her place in the Blues' starting line-up.

It’s gaffer Emma Hayes’ fifth summer signing, with the Swede joining Kadeisha Buchanan, Eve Perisset, Katerina Svitkova and Lucy Watson.

Johanna has the option of a year’s extension, with Hayes looking to tap into the winger’s scoring talent. At Hacken she netted 15 goals in 55 appearances, and impressed as a gutsy crosser of the ball.

She featured in all five of Sweden’s matches in the Euros, bumping up her caps tally to 20.

“I’m delighted to join this amazing club, and I can’t wait to start working on our goals for the season,” she said.

What does Hayes see in her? “She’s extremely quick, direct, a great age and she’s the profile player we’ve been looking for,” said the manager. “Johanna will bring another dynamic to the team and we are really looking forward to her career with us at Chelsea.”

Naturally she also came highly recommended by Blues captain Magda Eriksson.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

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Tim Harrison

Tim is our Chelsea FC blogger.

Tim has been writing Chelsea match reports since the late 1980s for newspapers and, more recently, websites.

When he first reported on the Blues, the press box was a metal cage suspended over the lip of the old west stand - and you reached it via a precarious walkway over the heads of the fans.

But he has been a Chelsea fan since his father took an excited seven-year-old to watch Chelsea v Manchester United in the mid 1960s... and covered his ears every time the chanting got too ripe.

In July 2005 he wrote The Rough Guide to Chelsea, published by Penguin, which sold 15,000 copies.

His favourite player of all time is Charlie Cooke, the mazy winger who lit up Chelsea's left wing in the 60s and 70s.

When he isn't watching the Blues, Tim acts, paints, writes and researches local history.

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