OLDHAM-born goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse is furthering her football career overseas, after swapping England for France.

The former Chadderton Grasshoppers player joined Girondins de Bordeaux in Division 1 Féminine in the summer, making the leap after a spell with West Ham United in the Women's Super League.

The 25-year-old has come a long way from where it all started as a three-year-old participating in her brother's training after begging her mum to let her join in.

At the age of 11 Moorhouse joined the Chadderton Grasshoppers boys' team, but after three years she was told she could not play any more and switched to Chaddy End girls' team, then ROCS before a spell with Oldham Athletic.

A trial with Manchester United came at the age of 16 and with that a call-up for the England youth team.

Her career flowed from there, playing for Everton, Durham, Doncaster Rovers, Arsenal and West Ham.

Speaking to the Oldham Times, Moorhouse explained that she has experienced many different styles of football throughout her career.

“Arsenal are a big club and they have a completely different mentality from the other clubs. I guess it was hard to go from playing for Doncaster and winning one game in the season and then going to Arsenal," she said.

"They win things at Arsenal, it's a completely different mindset and a different way of playing”

The 2018/19 season was a landmark one for women’s football in England, with the domestic pyramid changing to see a professional top flight comprising of 12 teams. One of the new sides to receive a license was West Ham United, with Sunderland unsuccessful in their application. Moorhouse joined the Irons at the start of the campaign, and it was a season in which Matt Beard’s side exceeded expectations.

The Oldham Times:

Finishing seventh in the league and comfortably mid-table, the Irons’ season will be best remembered for their run in the FA Cup. Setting aside Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Aston Villa and Reading, they secured a spot in the final. Although they lost 3-0 on the day against Manchester City, Moorhouse feels that just getting to the final in itself was an incredible feat.

“I think any English footballer wants to play at Wembley, and I think that's everyone's dream when you're a kid - you want to score a winner, obviously I can't do that as a goalkeeper but to just play there in front of almost 50,000 people is incredible," she said.

"It wasn't the best game to play in, obviously, with us losing, but just to get to the final was incredible. Jack Sullivan (West Ham Women’s Managing Director) didn't care whether we won or lost, it was just about the occasion and enjoying the day at Wembley.”

This summer, she made the move to Bordeaux, a club aiming to capitalise on the Champions League’s expansion to three qualification places and to compete with Lyon and Paris Saint Germain. In France, Moorhouse will once again play under Pedro Losa, who was at the helm when she played for Arsenal.

“I feel like I just wanted a change. I'd been in the WSL for five years, I think, and I just didn't really enjoy it at West Ham towards the end, I don't think they played the style of football that I wanted to play particularly and I knew Pedro did," she explained.

“Obviously I knew the type of character that he was, the way he wanted to play and the way that he felt about me and what I can do so it gives you a lot of confidence when you know what a manager thinks of you and where they want you to be and it matches up with your own aspirations.”

The Oldham Times:

Moorhouse has settled in well and is starting to adapt to a new culture, noting the differences between living in London and France.

“It's definitely been a change," she said. "Most of the girls do speak English, which is good. Obviously, Pedro speaks English, he doesn't speak French yet.

“Learning French is very hard, but I'm trying. I think we've done about 30 lessons so far so I'm starting to pick things up but not very quickly.

“It's a completely different culture being in France - especially compared to living in London, it's very slow-paced. Everybody likes to take their time, nothing's rushed, it's nice, it's kind of calm.”

Les Girondins have already put up a good fight against both PSG and Lyon in the league this season, drawing with the former and narrowly losing to the latter.

The 18 D1F games this season will be available to watch on BT Sport after a new deal was signed earlier in the month.