Parker moved to Louisiana State and later the University of California at the age of 17 and completed a major in psychology.
But initially she had no intention of moving to America. Her sister was part of the track team over there and was “hassled every day” to persuade Parker to join after the coach had witnessed her play at Arsenal.
“I never wanted to go to America at all but it got to the point where I thought I’d just visit and take a look. When I got there I thought ‘wow’. Everything blew me away and I knew I could get better there,” said Parker.
“As a human being I grew up so much. I had to be an adult and look after myself. I learnt so many different things. I had to be really disciplined because the system is hard. You had to be good with time management.”
In January 2021, Parker was drafted by Kansas City but in the week-long build-up she had no idea where she would be playing football.
“People don’t really understand the draft system. I’ve had to explain it to so many people! The experience was really cool though,” said Parker.
“The week leading into the draft was so many back and forths with different clubs, trying to see if there was any interest. The night itself was really long. I was just waiting for my name so I could relax.
“It was probably one of the most stressful weeks having no idea what was going to happen.”
Eventually, Parker decided to leave Kansas City and joined West Ham in August. Since then, the Women’s Super League side have reached an FA Cup semi-final and have consolidated their place in the league.
“I’ve loved every minute of West Ham. We have such a good group of people. Every day is really enjoyable because we want to do well, work hard and have fun. It makes everything a lot easier when there’s no drama and everyone loves each other.
“Last year they were fighting relegation and now we’re solidly mid-table, fighting for fifth and sixth spot. It’s definitely been a massive success this season.”
Parker will come up against Manchester United this weekend – a club fighting for Champions League qualification. That’s a competition she has set her sights on, but the defender, who featured regularly for England’s youth teams, also hopes to represent her country at senior level.
“The goal is obviously to play for the national team – and for as long as I can.”