West Ham United Women were delighted to announce the signing of Halle Houssein, who joins the Club on a dual-registration basis from Arsenal, on Wednesday.
Despite being just 17-years-old, the midfielder has already played at the highest level of domestic football, making her Barclays FA Women’s Super League debut for the Gunners in September 2021 as a substitute in a 4-0 victory over Reading.
England U18s captain Houssein has also featured on the bench for Jonas Eidevall’s side numerous times this season, including against Manchester United in the WSL and against HB Køge in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
As the midfielder makes the move across London to the Hammers, she spoke to West Ham TV about her hopes of building on a promising opening chapter to her career…
Halle, welcome to West Ham United! How does it feel to join the Club?
“It feels great! It’s a great family Club. My Dad [Hakan Houssein, a Scout] has worked here for a long time as well, so I’ve been in and out of training.
“The intensity’s high in training and it’s been good. It’s great to be out on the pitch, seeing the levels, seeing how everyone plays and getting chemistry with my teammates as well, which is good.”
Tell us about your footballing journey so far.
“I was at Arsenal since the age of four, so I’ve been there since then, and then I made my WSL debut against Reading. That was a really good time. I’ve been training with the first team and with the Academy as well.
“An opportunity came for me to come on loan, and I thought it was a great opportunity because, training full-time with a first team, there’s so much exposure there, so I think that would really help me out.”
What do you hope to get out of that opportunity at West Ham?
“Training every day ultimately makes you better because you’re playing with world-class players, good players all the time, and you learn off them as well.
“They give you good information if you do something, even small details that you wouldn’t have thought of.”
How would you describe your own game?
“I think I’m an aggressive player. I like to run a lot as well, I like to win the ball back, play through balls, long passes… yeah, I’m quite a hard-working player!"
And have you spoken to Olli Harder about what you'd like to achieve in Claret and Blue?
“We’ve had a meeting together about our goals for the end of this season, so it was quite clear what we want.”
