Laura Blindkilde Brown
English footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Laura Madison Blindkilde Brown (Danish: [ˈple̝nˀˌkʰile]; born 9 September 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England national team. She previously played for Birmingham City, Aston Villa, and has represented England at youth level.
|
Blindkilde in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Laura Madison Blindkilde Brown | ||
| Date of birth | 9 September 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Worcester, Worcestershire, England[1] | ||
| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester City | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Warndon Villages | |||
| Aston Villa | |||
| Birmingham City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Birmingham City | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2024 | Aston Villa | 41 | (0) |
| 2024– | Manchester City | 37 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | England U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | England U19 | 11 | (0) |
| 2022– | England U23 | 16 | (2) |
| 2024– | England | 7 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:10, 17 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 09:50, 10 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Blindkilde played football with Warndon Villages Boys until aged 9. She then joined the Aston Villa academy having trailed for the under-11s, prior to joining Birmingham City five years later.[4] She attended Tudor Grange Academy in Worcester followed by Worcester Sixth Form College.[5][6]
Club career
Birmingham City
Blindkilde played for the under-21 academy team at Birmingham City before making her senior debut for the club on 11 December 2019 as a stoppage time substitute against Manchester United in a 3–1 League Cup group stage defeat. She made her FA Women's Super League debut the following month, on 5 January 2020 in a 2–0 defeat to Arsenal.[citation needed]
Aston Villa
In June 2020, Blindkilde moved to Aston Villa, initially playing with the club's academy team. On 9 September 2021, she signed her first professional contract for Aston Villa. She chose to switch from playing under her surname "Brown" to displaying her Danish middle name "Blindkilde" on the back of her shirt for the 2021–22 season.[7] Blindkilde was named Aston Villa Women's Young Player of the Season for the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons, having played in all but one WSL fixture in the latter.[8][9] She finished her career with Villa having made over 50 appearances for the club.[5]
Manchester City
On 31 January 2024, Blindkilde signed for WSL club Manchester City on a three-and-a-half-year deal for a reported £200,000.[10][11] On 21 April 2024, she scored her debut goal for City against West Ham United in a 5–0 victory, helping the team reach the top of the table after a 13th consecutive league win.[12]
Brown began the 2025–26 season in good form with 6 consecutive starts for City. She won the supporter's Player of the Month award for September 2025,[13][14] and was awarded Player of the Match the following month in a 2–1 win over Liverpool, playing a key role in City's dominant performance.[15] A week later, in a League Cup group stage match against Newcastle United, Blindkilde scored the winning penalty during the sudden-death shoot-out.[16]
International career
Youth
Blindkilde has represented England at under-17,[17] under-19,[18] and under-23 level. She is eligible to represent Denmark through her Danish mother, but has stated that she only wishes to play for England.[19]
Blindkilde was first called up to the England under-23 team on 25 August 2022 for a fixture against Norway.[20] She made her debut later in that match on 2 September, coming on as a 83rd minute substitute in a 2–1 win over Norway under-23s.[21] On 6 April 2023, Blindkilde scored her first youth international goal with the under-23s against Portugal in a 3–2 victory.[22] On 24 October 2024, 18 months later, she scored her second goal for the under-23s in a 1–1 draw with the Netherlands.[23]
Senior
Blindkilde received her first senior call-up on 19 November 2024 for the friendly fixtures against the United States and Switzerland.[24] On 3 December, she made her debut against Switzerland as part of the starting eleven in a 1–0 result.[25] Blindkilde has been awarded the Legacy number 233 by The Football Association.[26] In June 2025, she was named as a standby player for UEFA Euro 2025,[27] before returning to the senior squad for friendly fixtures in October.[14]
Style of play
After joining Manchester City in January 2024, Blindkilde played in a number 10 role, in advanced positions or on the wing, before moving into a more defensive central midfield position by October 2025, nearer to the defensive line. England under-23 manager Emma Coates described her diverse skillset as emphasised by her "quality on the ball" rather than tactical positioning and is considered as a defensive midfielder, akin to Keira Walsh, for the England senior team.[13][14]
Personal life
Blindkilde was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia and received keyhole surgery on her heart.[19]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 31 May 2026.[2]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Birmingham City | 2019–20 | Women's Super League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Aston Villa | 2020–21 | Women's Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Women's Super League | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 41 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 1 | — | 58 | 2 | |||
| Manchester City | 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 23 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | Women's Super League | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| Total | 37 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 58 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 79 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 118 | 5 | ||
International
- As of match played 9 June 2026[2]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
