In ‘What Ballers Wear’, we link up with the most exciting players in the women's game and catch a vibe with them while they dive into their wardrobes before flexing their coldest fits. Next up, we meet one of the game's biggest midfield maestros: Keira Walsh.

Keira Walsh is known as one of the coolest midfielders in the game. The 25-year-old has the ability to control the pace of a match with a single pass. Her through-balls can cut through the length of the pitch and the opposition’s defence in mere seconds. Since making her senior club debut in 2014 at just 17, Walsh has celebrated a ‘double-century’ with her childhood club Manchester City, and has won three FA Cups, four Continental Cups and one WSL title. The 2019 She Believes Champion bagged the inaugural Arnold Clark Cup earlier this year, beating Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and her Spanish side in the process. Having recently clinched the final Women’s Champions League spot with City, Keira Walsh is looking to once again make her mark on club football’s biggest competition, but not before she tears things up on home soil at this summer’s UEFA Women’s Euros.

KW24 is a baller who’s wise beyond her years, something many - and rightly so - have often praised her for. Her calm nature and cool-headedness when on the ball is something she’s renowned for, but there’s a lot more to Keira Walsh than her on-the-pitch antics. VERSUS sat down with the Rochdale Rocket for our latest instalment of ‘What Ballers Wear’ to find out what role she thinks fashion plays in football, how she defines her own sense of style and who are the players setting trends off the pitch with their fits.

“When I go shopping, I usually have a clear image of what I’m looking for. I don’t ever browse, really.” Walsh is quick to explain when asked to consider her style and what it means to her. “And I don’t tend to wear what everyone else is wearing. I do try to look a little bit – not different to everyone else – but not too ‘mainstream’, if that makes sense?” And it does. The midfielder turned up to our shoot in a pair of sacai X Nike VaporWaffle White Sails while donning a plain white Nocta tee, prime examples of comfort and style rolled into one. “As long as I’m comfortable in what I’m wearing, that’s the main thing for me. I think there’s no point in wearing something if you’re not comfortable!” A fan of minimalism in fashion, Walsh has always liked how Scandinavian players dress. “It’s minimal style-wise, and so often comes across as quite effortless” but something we’re quick to notice is Walsh’s love of all things sneakers – as she gives a considered nod to my Nike Dunk Low Lemon Drops: “they’re class they are!” So we waste no time in asking what her favourite pair of creps are.

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“I also really like Nike’s collabs with Stussy and Off-White, I think they’ve made some really cool pieces together over the years. Including this grey Stussy tracksuit!”

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Although Walsh wears a pair of Panda Dunks, she doesn’t see the world in black and white, but in full colour. Her role as one of the game’s most clinical and mature midfielders is just one of many. Walsh is as much an advocate for progress off the pitch as she is on it. Whether that’s through wearing whatever suits her personality to highlighting and praising others for using their platforms to make a positive difference in the world. Keira Walsh is using fashion and football as her vehicle for change, and we’re here for it.

Photography by Serena Brown for VERSUS.

Design by Sam Pemberton.