At the conclusion of Birmingham’s warm-up, the players quietly and carefully placed their footballs into a draw-string bag. All except one, Océane Hurtré, who nonchalantly chipped hers straight into the bag from about 15 yards. It was an innocuous moment that might have escaped most onlookers at Hednesford Town’s Keys Park but it demonstrated the swagger with which she is playing.
To observe the 22-year-old warming up before last week’s 1-1 League Cup draw at Aston Villa was to witness a player making skills look easy, taking one touch where others took two and pulling off no-look passes. She is backing up that panache in the Women’s Super League, as the joint-second-highest goalscorer with six from the promoted side’s opening eight matches. Only Khadija Shaw has scored more.
Add in two WSL assists and a goal and an assist on her France debut last month and it has been a breakthrough campaign for Hurtré that very few expected, except perhaps those who followed her career in France closely. They include the former France head coach Olivier Echouafni, who gave a 16-year-old Hurtré her professional debut for Paris Saint-Germain during the title-winning 2020-21 campaign, the only time a side have stopped OL Lyonnes from finishing top in the past 20 years. She was always quite skilful, moving the ball quickly to draw out her opponent, and had a good shot and delivered quality crosses.
She has also made great progress mentally – her move to Birmingham has done her a world of good.” WSL fans are enjoying Hurtré’s pace, skill and general attacking threats, but imprinted in Echouafni’s memory are her defensive efforts as a youngster. He recalls Hurtré, on her second league appearance, against Paris FC in May 2021, replacing the Canada full-back Ashley Lawrence with two minutes remaining. When she had made her debut, in Europe against the Polish side Gornik Leczna, she was on the same team as a 42-year-old Formiga.
Her gratitude to PSG is clear: she was spotted at the Joie Stadium last week watching Manchester City take on PSG in the Women’s Champions League, sitting just above her former club’s bench. PSG loaned Hurtré to Dijon in 2022 to gain more first-team experience and to Bordeaux in 2023-24. An injury at each affected her game time but she left a strong impression.
The second was her versatility. She’s capable of playing as a left-back, a winger or a No 8. She had the intelligence to come to Dijon to grow, rather than remaining on the bench at PSG.
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