Anouk Denton (born 9 May 2003) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

in the

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

. Educated at St Albans Girls' School,

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roma ...

, Hertfordshire; Denton was signed by Arsenal Ladies to their academy and made her first team debut in 2020. In May 2021, Denton committed to the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

as part of their recruiting class of 2021.

Career

Arsenal 2016–2020

Denton started playing football in the youth teams at St Albans City. She also played for St Albans Girls' School which occasionally had coaching from Arsenal Ladies players such as

Leah Williamson Leah Cathrine Williamson (born 29 March 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays for Women's Super League club Arsenal and captains the England women's national team. A versatile player, she plays in central defence or the mid ...

. Whilst she was there, she was scouted by Arsenal Ladies. As a result, Denton joined their academy in 2016. She was part of a team representing Arsenal that finished second at a girl's youth tournament at Everton's

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpo ...

. In 2019, she represented the

England women's national under-17 football team The England women's national under-17 football team, also known as the Young Lionesses, represents England in association football at an under-17 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. ...

at the

2019 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship The 2019 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship (also known as UEFA Women's Under-17 Euro 2019) was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, the annual international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the women's unde ...

. In 2020, due to an injury crisis at Arsenal, Denton was named on the bench for Arsenal's

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...

match against

Brighton & Hove Albion Women Brighton & Hove Albion Women Football Club is an English women's football club affiliated with Brighton & Hove Albion. The club currently compete in the Women's Super League and the first team play at the Broadfield Stadium, home of Crawley ...

but did not play. She made her Arsenal debut after coming on as a substitute in the

North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is c ...

against Tottenham Hotspur Women at Meadow Park which Arsenal won 6–1.

West Ham United (loan) 2021

On 16 May 2021 Denton scored her first senior level goal in West Ham's 5–1 loss to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

West Ham United 2023–

On 21 January it was confirmed that Denton had rejoined West Ham following a spell in the US at

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

in college. It was announced that she had signed a two and a half year deal with the London club.

References

Living people 2003 births Arsenal W.F.C. players English women's footballers West Ham United F.C. Women players Women's association football defenders Sportspeople from St Albans England women's youth international footballers Louisville Cardinals women's soccer players Footballers from Hertfordshire {{England-women-footy-bio-stub