Ellie Carpenter may have found herself in the unusual position of fighting for game time, but the Matildas star believes moving to Chelsea was the right decision.
Eyeing glory on home soil at the Asian Cup next year, star defender Carpenter made the move to the Super League giants in July after five years at OL Lyonnes.
The 25-year-old joined the French powerhouse in 2020 and established herself as a world-class right-back, becoming the first Australian player to win a Women's Champions League winner's medal.
Carpenter had claimed league titles in four of her five seasons as a regular starter at Lyon.
Now on a four-year deal at Chelsea and with five games under her belt to start the season, Carpenter said she was relishing having to fight for a starting position at her new club.
"For me, the move to Chelsea, was the best thing for my football career at this time," Carpenter said.
"The league is very competitive. I can already see my game improving in small parts.
"Every game is hard and the training environment also is intense, fighting for my position on the field to start.
"It's a great challenge for me in my career where I'm at, and I'm really happy with how the season has started.
"Being at Lyon for five years, it was amazing for my career. I think I developed so much as a player on the field, also off the field.
"But I wanted to be out of my comfort zone again."
Star winger Hayley Raso is also finding her feet at a new club after joining Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt.
Raso moved to the German league in August after making just 16 appearances across one season for Tottenham.
It is the third club for the 31-year-old in as many years, having joined Tottenham in 2024 after being squeezed out of Real Madrid.
Raso in 2023 had become the first Australian to play for the Liga F club, scoring four goals from 28 appearances in her sole season there.
The winger endured a similarly frustrating period at Manchester City before moving to Real Madrid.
But Raso said she entered the national camp off a high, confident in her new club home.
"It's taken me a few weeks just to understand the way it works in Germany, but I'm loving it over there," Raso said.
"The football's different. Life is different.
"I'm in a really good environment at the moment, so that's important to me and one I was chasing.
"I've been very pleasantly impressed with the league.
"It's been a really good step for me and a really good move that I needed."
Carpenter will be joined by her Chelsea teammate Sam Kerr, back for her long-awaited Matildas return after a knee reconstruction, as Australia face Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Australia will then go toe-to-toe with European champions England in Derby four days later.
