Growing up in the small town of Ikast, in the central region of Denmark, a young Olivia Holdt would spend her spare time studying clips of Ronaldinho and Neymar entertaining the crowd with their silky skills – something that she wanted to replicate when she stepped into the professional game.
Fast forward to the age of 24, the goalscoring midfielder has showcased that in a Lilywhite shirt this season, from producing some breathtaking skills to ease past defenders to scoring sensational long-range strikes or composed finishes inside the box, netting eight goals in all competitions this term.
The perfect example came in our final home game of the season at the weekend against London City Lionesses, where she arguably netted a goal of the season contender with a stunning strike from 25 yards out, picking out the top corner to leave Elene Lette, and that has been added to catalogue of outrageous finishes this term.
But no matter how good it looks, whether that is goals or her skills, Oli just wants to produce end results - and she feels there has been moments where she could have added to her tally.
“It comes from how I like to watch football,” she told us, speaking in an exclusive interview in the matchday programme. “My idols have always been players like Neymar and Ronaldinho - those players make you excited and sit on the edge of your seat.
“They're the kind of players that inspired me, so now being able to do some of those things for yourself, it's nice. It keeps me excited and motivated, being able to make football a bit entertaining because, of course, there's a lot of tactics and a lot of physical stuff, so to bring some of those more, I don't know if I can call it fun stuff, into the game is just something I enjoy.
“I'm happy that I've been able to show more this season. But, at the end of the day, it can look as good as it can, however I also need to get some end results, so it’s been nice that I've contributed with some goals and assists this season, it doesn't only look good with a nutmeg or two somewhere.”
Having gone from watching clips of her idols on YouTube when she was younger, it’s fair to say that young girls who are just starting football are now tuning into showreels of Oli’s highlights on the pitch or turning up with ‘Holdt’ on the back of their shirt – something that still hasn’t sunk in for her just yet.
“Every time I see somebody wearing my shirt at the stadium, I always get surprised because there are so many other players they could choose,” she said. “It's still a bit - not mind-blowing because I know, of course, I play for a top team - but still, it's very nice to see and I get happy and surprised every time I see somebody wearing my shirt.”
While the 24-year-old feels she could have added to her tally this season, it has still been an impressive first full season in England to date, registering 13 goal contributions (nine goals and four assists) in 27 appearances in all competitions.
Joining us halfway through the 2024/25 campaign, coming off the back of a long-term injury at Rosengard, Oli felt the difficulties of adapting to her new environment and league at the beginning but nearly 16 months into her time in north London, she feels at home.
“It's been a very good year for me as well,” Oli added. “As a footballer, especially as an attacking player, you would always like to score more goals and more assists but, overall, I have been pleased.
“Martin [Ho] coming in has helped me a lot personally and the players around me have just made it a lot easier for me to go out there and perform because I felt the trust this year.
“It's hard coming to a new club in the middle of the season, especially to this league, with its higher tempo and better players. The first six months I just had to get some minutes after coming back from an injury and get to know how it works here and get settled outside of the football.
“So, now coming into a full season, it has been really nice. I've adjusted well and I feel at home. It also makes sense now that I then signed a new contract, it shows that I feel good here and want to keep developing.”
Having excelled on the pitch under the helm of Martin, she has been at the heart of our strong season to date in the WSL as we are currently sat fifth in the table and still have an opportunity to surpass our record points tally in a single season (32 achieved in the 2021/22 campaign).
“It's been a positive season,” replied the midfielder. “Last season we really struggled to get wins and points, but this term has been a complete turnaround.
“We've got a lot of points, we've played some good games and we’re coming off the back of the Manchester United game, where we played some of our best football this season in possession.
“I definitely think the gap is getting smaller [to the teams above us]. There's still some way to be competing with the top four teams, but we're in a good development right now and we can see the gap is getting smaller, so that's really exciting.”
Vote for Olivia for WSL Player of the Season
Oli's impressive season has been recognised with a nomination for the Barclays Women’s Super League’s Player of the Season award for 2025/26. Voting is now open and will close at 12noon on Wednesday 13 May.