On January 3, 2025, midfielder Laila Harbert signed her first professional contract.

The decision to sign with England Women’s Super League side Arsenal FC was a “no-brainer.” After growing up in the club’s academy, the opportunity to make her transition to the pros in the same neighborhood she first chased her professional aspirations felt right.

“It’s such a proud moment for me and my family to be able to put pen to paper on a professional contract at a club that feels like home,” Harbert said. “I joined Arsenal’s academy at such a young age, so to be able to invest my future in a place that I’ve grown up in is a special feeling.”

After consecutive loan spells in the Women’s Championship (Barclays Women’s Super League 2) with Watford and Southampton, respectively, the England youth international had to choose her next step. Late last summer, the call the 18 year old had been waiting for finally arrived. The NWSL’s Portland Thorns were interested in the midfielder and made it a priority to bring her to the Rose City on loan at the end of August.

For Harbert, the move marks a significant jump in competition, but one that can jumpstart her professional career.

“The opportunity to represent a club with such history — one that has been home to legends of the game — made coming to Portland incredibly exciting,” Harbert said. “It’s also my first experience playing overseas, which I know will help me grow both as a player and as a person.”

In Portland, Oregon, Harbert is now over 5,000 miles away from the suburbs of Southeast London where she grew up. Luckily, the teen had her parents when she arrived in the Pacific Northwest to help with settling in.

“It’s a long ways from home,” Harbert said. “Obviously, settling in can be quite daunting at 18 coming across the world. It’s something that I thought would be good for my development, in terms of not just a player, but as a person as well.”

As it’s structured Harbert’s loan spell runs through the 2025 season. It’s a stint that seems short in the moment, but the midfielder has a bevvy of goals she is striving toward every day.

“I hope to learn a lot about myself, as well as from the players and staff around me,” Harbert said. “One of my goals is to return to England having developed physically, especially given the transitional nature of the league. I also believe that taking this step will help me build confidence — pushing myself to compete and take on challenges I might not have faced otherwise.”

In addition to an opportunity in an entirely new country and league, Harbert noted her excitement to play amongst a world-class midfield with Sam Coffey, Jessie Fleming, Olivia Moultrie and Hina Sugita (before the trade).

One player who had made a concerted effort to mentor the 18-year old midfielder is Moultrie, who understands the pressures thrust upon teenageagers in one of the most competitive women’s soccer leagues in the world. Now one of the league’s rising stars with caps with the USWNT under her belt, it wasn’t long ago that Moultrie, at 15 years old, became the youngest player to ever appear in an NWSL match.

“I want to be that person I never had,” Moultrie said. “(Harbert) has been awesome. I like feeling like the older sister.”

Harbert’s first NWSL road trip with the Thorns took her to the Windy City, where she suited up in the clubs 1-1 draw against the Chicago Stars on September 14 at SeatGeek Stadium. Just under two weeks later, she made her Thorns debut against NJ/NY Gotham FC, checking into the match in the 61st minute.

“It was a great feeling to finally step on the pitch for the Thorns,” Harbert said. “It was a tough game to come into, but I’m grateful for the minutes and hope to build on them moving forward.”

Laila Harbert has now earned three appearances for the Portland Thorns and looking forward to her first playoffs with the team.

Now just over a month into her life in the United States, Harbert continues to improve each day.

“You see the quality that Arsenal have seen in her and have developed with her – that was pleasing,” Thorns head coach Rob Gale said. “Hopefully we continue to develop that. We may very well need her in the next weeks.”

Whether she returns to England following the conclusion of the 2025 season or remains a little longer, the move has already proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the budding English talent.