West Ham United Women are delighted to announce Anouk Denton has returned to the Club, subject to international clearance.
Denton, who spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan with the Hammers, moves back to east London from the University of Louisville.
The defender has been with the Louisville Cardinals since May 2021 but will now once again pull on the Claret and Blue in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
“It's really nice to be back at West Ham United”, Denton said. “Everything is very similar to when I was here before, but you can tell that things have developed and that the Club is making progress.
"I loved my experience out in United States and I'm so glad I did it, but my dream has always been to come back and play in the WSL, and I'm delighted to be able to do that and sign professionally here with West Ham.
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"The Club has some really high aspirations and I'm looking forward to contributing as much as I can to help the team finish as high up the table as possible."
Manager Paul Konchesky is delighted to welcome Denton back to West Ham United and is looking forward to working with the 19-year-old.
“I am delighted Anouk has come back to West Ham United,” Konchesky said. “It was clear to anyone who worked with her, during her loan with the Club, that Anouk is a very talented, young footballer.
“Having spent some time in America, Anouk has further developed and grown as a player and I’m looking forward to working with her at West Ham in the coming weeks and months.”
Born in St. Albans, Denton’s started playing football in her home town’s youth team. During her time representing St. Albans Girls’ School, she was scouted by Arsenal and joined the women’s academy in 2016.
In 2020, aged just 17, Denton was named in a Barclays Women’s Super League squad for the first time as Arsenal defeated Brighton & Hove Albion, before making her debut for the Gunners in a 6-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in October 2020.
Denton joined West Ham United on loan for the second half of the 2020/21 season and would make a total of four appearances for the Hammers, scoring against Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round in the season's final fixture.
At international level, Denton has represented England at U17s, U19s and U23s level. The defender played for the young Lionesses in the 2019 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship, helping the side to wins over Austria and the Netherlands.
Denton will wear the No18 shirt and has signed a two-and-a-half year contract.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Anouk back to the Club and wish her every success for her time in Claret and Blue.
