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Biography
Katie Leigh Zelem (born 20 January 1996) is an English football midfielder who plays for Liverpool Ladies of the FA WSL. She has also represented England at youth levels.
Club career
Zelem started playing football when she was six. Her father had a big role in her early career. At the age of eight, she joined Manchester United Girls' Centre of Excellence. Her youth coach Emma Fletcher said Zelem showed a great attitude and appetence to learning and understanding the game. Matt Beard, Liverpool Ladies' coach signed Zelem as a promising midfielder in 2013. Zelem is an attacking midfielder with two good feet, who can pick a pass out and finish as well. She was in the Liverpool squad for the first time on 8 August 2013, when Liverpool lost 0–1 to Arsenal Ladies but she did not play.
Zelem, who came back from her broken collarbone injury in early 2014, made her debut for the senior team on 29 June 2014 against Arsenal Ladies and played for 58 minutes before being replaced by Nina Pedersen. A week later, Zelem scored her first goal for the senior team in a Continental Cup match against Durham Women's F.C. in which her side won 7–1 with Zelem scoring two goals, as both of them were headers and all assisted by Lucy Bronze.
In November 2015 Zelem penned a new contract with Liverpool.
International career
Zelem debuted for England as she played in a dual-game versus Netherlands in March 2010, and she also scored her debut goal. Zelem is one of 21 players who represented England in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada. Coached by Mo Marley, Zelem became the power and playmaker of England's midfield line. Unfortunately for Zelem, England did not get through to the knock-out phrase of the tournament after being defeated by Nigeria 2–1 in the last game of group C.
Achievements and Personal Life
Zelem greatly admired Fara Williams, who became her role model in developing the game as a midfielder. Zelem considered herself fortunate that she can learn and play along a hard-working figure like Williams. Beard also praised Zelem, likening her to Frank Lampard and stating she has great career in the future.
Zelem was the 2014 Liverpool Ladies Young Player of The Year and was also nominated for Women's Super League Development Player of the Year with Carla Humphrey and Natasha Baptiste by the FA.
Speaking in 2014, Martha Harris, Zelem's best friend and Liverpool team-mate, rated Zelem as "a very cheeky player [who is] clever on the pitch but is also a risk taker"