Georgia Stanway: How Luke Chadwick has mentored England midfielder

England star Georgia Stanway says the off-field support she has received from former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick has played a key role in her rise.

Struggling to nail down a consistent position at former club Manchester City, midfielder Stanway said her mentality was "a little up and down" - but Chadwick's mentoring has helped her become a significant player for England.

In a tweet posted in 2020, external, Chadwick said he had received abuse about his appearance during his playing days which "affected his mental health a lot" and has vowed to support other footballers since his retirement in 2016.

Stanway first turned to him in 2021 as she was gearing up for the Olympic Games and now, with England set to face co-hosts Australia in the Women's World Cup semi-finals, she is still reaping the benefits of his guidance.

"This tournament, I've spoken to him every matchday minus one and that allows me to process the information we've been given [from England's staff]," said the 24-year-old, who joined Bayern Munich last year.

"He went through his battles as a player and I was facing my own individual battles at Manchester City. He wanted to help mentor players - put them on the right path, make sure they didn't experience what he did.

"He's honestly one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and he cares for absolutely everybody. He's just so focused on making sure that he improves each individual."

After seven years at City, Stanway left as the club's top goalscorer with 67 goals in 186 appearances in May 2022, joining Bayern on a three-year deal.

And she has since realised it is the "simple things" in life which are helping her improve.

Things like keeping her room tidy, finding the right apartment in Munich and receiving "good luck" messages off Chadwick have all helped Stanway find consistency - both as a person and a footballer.

"I've also seen my family more in these past few weeks than I've seen them over the past few years and I think that's massively helped me," said Stanway.

"I've been able to balance football and the social aspect. It's consistency off the pitch and being true to who you are.

"I will always be the 'jokey' Georgia and the Georgia that takes everything a bit less serious. I've had to learn when to take things seriously and when not to.

"Through the years, you find yourself and what works for you. When I was at City, I was still so young and everything happened so fast. Now I've found what works for me, so I'm not going to change that."

It has been a strong tournament for Stanway, who has been the only mainstay in Sarina Wiegman's midfield due to a short-lived injury to Keira Walsh and two-match suspension for Lauren James.

She has developed her leadership skills and matured as a person in the process - but a lot of it has come from what she does on the pitch.

"I want to become a consistent player. The numbers don't lie," said Stanway. "It's about staying level in the way that I am as a person and the way that I am on the field.

"Bayern has massively helped because I've been able to play since the Euros in a consistent position, then I come to England and get freedom."

In her own words, Stanway says she has become a more "disciplined Georgia".

Known for heavy tackling and a record of picking up yellow cards, she has only been booked once in this tournament so avoided suspension - something that would have been doubtful a year ago.

"I'm so relieved about that. That's why I was having my meetings [with Chadwick] on matchday minus one because it was like 'right, disciplined Georgia today!'" joked Stanway.

"I thought I'd ruined myself in the last game [with a heavy tackle] but thankfully the referee was on my side.

"I went straight up to the referee and I was like, 'ref, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry' and she was like, 'it's OK!' so I just ran off as fast as I could!"

But now, having avoided a yellow card in England's past four games, Stanway is determined to keep her record clean even though previous bookings were wiped out after the quarter-final stage.

"I still think I have to play as 'disciplined Georgia', especially while the video assistant referee is on show, because you never know in football.

"It's something I've definitely learned. Do I need to go for the ball if there's only a 10% chance of winning it? Or can I just be a little bit more sensible? It might help me in the long run.

"A suspension is something that I really don't want so yeah, I'm actually proud of myself for lasting five games with only one yellow."