Charlotte Grant: “It’s definitely a dream come true and I’m excited to get started”

Charlotte Grant described her move to N17 as a ‘dream come true’ after she completed her move to the Club.

The defender spent three seasons in Sweden, originally joining Rosengård in 2019 and, in her two seasons at the club, she was part of the side that secured three titles – winning the Damallsvenskan (league) in 2021 and 2022 before lifting the Swedish Cup during the 2021/22 campaign – beating Robert Vilahamn's BK Häcken side in the final.

Coming up against Robert’s side in Sweden showcased what to expect for the defender, admitting they were always challenges, but she is glad to be on the other side now, playing under the Swedish manager, and is excited about the project being built at the Club.

“It feels very surreal,” she beamed in the interview with SPURSPLAY. “It’s definitely a dream come true and I’m excited to get started. What we are building here at the club is very special and something I wanted to be a part of.

“Robert definitely got me over the line, he gave me a good gut feeling and coached against me in Sweden and his team were always very competitive and the style of play is something I want to be a part of, so I’m really grateful to be here.

“His team was always a top team, always a hard team to beat, high-pressing and always very technical, so now to be playing under him it is definitely better to be on that side than against him.”

The defender has been capped 21 times for the Matildas and she opened her account at international level in April 2023, scoring in the 2-0 win over England in a friendly, and she spoke about her honour of putting on the jersey and netting her first international goal.

“It was an incredible moment to score my first goal,” she said. “Every time, you put on your national team jersey, it’s a huge honour. It’s something I have always dreamt of since I was a little girl and to score that goal was incredible.

“I felt really part of the team, the response everyone had around me was fantastic and they were so happy for me and that gave me confidence to grow my game even more from there. I was lucky enough to have some friends over in England watching the game, so that was special with them.”

Describing her style of play, 'Charli' added: “I'm a hard-working, attacking player, I love to get up and down as a full-back and that was something that helped me come over here because Robert loves that in a full-back, so I’m really looking forward to showing that on the pitch.”

The Australian international has already met her new teammates and was full of praise for their welcome, while outlining the targets ahead of her new chapter in N17.

“I have had a lot of fun meeting all my new teammates, they have been very welcoming and it feels like I have been part of the team for a long time but only been one day, so I’m looking forward to what the future holds.

“As a team, we want to progress as far as we can, that has already been established in the first training session. For me, personally, I want to push for a starting spot in the team and help the team where I can to get those results.”

Charli won’t be the only Australian in the building at the training ground, alongside Head Coach, Ange Postecoglou, and men's first team coach, Mile Jedinak, and she revealed the reaction back home on Ange has achieved so far.

She added: “Everyone back home in Australia is very proud of Ange and he’s doing a great job with the club, it’s nice to have an Aussie around.”