West Ham United women’s team defender Anouk Denton is relishing the opportunity to head to Prague and continue preparations for the 2025/26 campaign.
Rehanne Skinner’s side will travel to the capital of the Czech Republic for a four-day pre-season training camp, culminating in a friendly against Sparta Prague on Sunday 10 August (kick-off 2pm BST/3pm CEST).
Although she has not visited the capital before, the No18 has been to the Czech Republic on international duty with the Young Lionesses. While she was at the University of Louisville, Denton was part of Gemma Davies’ squad for the 2022 UEFA Women’s U19 European Championships. Denton started two of England’s Group B matches at the tournament, but her side were unable to progress against Norway, Sweden and Germany.
Fast forward three years, and Denton - who has made the step-up to England U23s seamlessly - is now preparing to embark on her third full season as a Hammer, having enjoyed regular gametime in West Ham’s record-breaking 2024/25 campaign.
The 22-year-old was part of the first cohort of players to return to Chadwell Heath on Monday 21 July and, after three weeks of hard work in east London, is looking forward to heading away with the team.
“I’m excited to go to Prague!” she said. “I’ve never been before, but I’ve heard it’s a nice place. We’re playing a good team as well, so it will be a good test for us.
“I feel like when new players come in, you get close when you’re at training but when you’re on a trip together, you’re with each other all of the time, so that accelerates the bonding process.
“We’re looking to do everything we’re doing for pre-season here, in Prague, but it’s nice to have a change of scenery. It can sometimes get a bit repetitive in pre-season, so it will be nice to go somewhere else and work hard there.”
The trip will act as a good opportunity for new signings Sarah Brasero, Ffion Morgan and Yu Endo to grow stronger with the group. Denton already knew the former from her time in England’s U23s set-up and was delighted to see her make the move to West Ham.
“I was so excited when I heard that she (Brasero) had signed!” she continued. “It’s nice to have another friend here and someone that I’m close to, someone that I can show around. We’ve been at a couple of England U23s camps together, but I feel like since she’s joined we’ve become even closer.
“Everyone here is so friendly and all the new players are really nice people, so everyone’s settled in well. The team is really welcoming, the new players are excited to get going, so hopefully it’ll be a smooth transition for them.
“It’s been really good being back with everyone. Obviously we’ve done testing and lots of running. That part isn’t as fun but it’s nice being back on the ball with everyone again. I feel like I love the parts of pre-season when you’re back playing, because in the summer, you can play by yourself but it’s very different to playing in a training session. It’s tough to get your fitness back, you have to work really hard and push yourself.”
When the squad returns to east London after the trip to Prague, attentions will turn to the Barclays Women’s Super League curtain-raiser at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 7 September.
Skinner’s side enjoyed two victories over their London rivals last term following the turn of the year, with one coming in the quarter-finals of the Subway® Women’s League Cup and the other in front of a terrific atmosphere at Chigwell Construction Stadium.
After the opener, the Irons will then host Arsenal in their first home match of the campaign, hoping to replicate the success of 2024, in which West Ham secured their first-ever WSL victory over the Gunners.
“It’s cool that we have two London derbies in our first games!" Denton added. "I feel like Tottenham especially is a big rivalry for us, and we’ll definitely be up for it. The Arsenal game will be a great game as well, and I’m sure the fans will be behind us.
“In the second half of last season we were getting a lot of points and we had a lot of good performances, so we’re looking to build on that, start the season strong and continue from the back-end of last season.”
