Laura Coombs

Laura Coombs (born 29 January 1991) is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City. She previously played for Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Coombs made her debut for the senior England women's national football team in October 2015. A hard-working defensive midfielder, Coombs is described by former teammate Gilly Flaherty as "a real grafter and she'll put in the work that some people don't want to do."

Club Career

Coombs began playing football aged seven or eight, when she joined a team run by her best friend's father. She progressed to Arsenal's youth academy and began playing in the first team at 16. In September 2009 Coombs made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut in Arsenal's 9–0 win over PAOK Thessaloniki. In summer 2011 Coombs played for American W-League team Los Angeles Strikers, scoring one goal in eight appearances.

During the mid-season break of the inaugural 2011 FA WSL season, Coombs transferred to Chelsea. Chelsea reached the FA Women's Cup final for the first time in 2012, but were eventually beaten by Birmingham City in a penalty shootout after twice taking the lead in a 2–2 draw. In the 2013 mid-season break, Coombs had another stint with LA Strikers. At the 2013 International Women's Club Championship Coombs scored in Chelsea's 3–2 semi-final win over Sydney FC in Okayama, Japan.

In 2015 Chelsea won their first ever major trophy, in the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. They then beat Sunderland 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the FA WSL title and a League and Cup "double". Teammates noted an improvement in Coombs' strength and power that season, a result of the team's transition from part-time to full-time training.

Coombs announced a season-long loan move to FA WSL rivals Liverpool on 22 December 2015, the same day as Chelsea signed Karen Carney from Birmingham City.