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Carla Ward has secured her second signing of the January window, with England international and WSL superstar Jill Scott joining on loan.
Words: Georgia Homer | @georlh
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Earlier this morning, it was announced that Carla Ward had secured her second January signing for Aston Villa Women, with Manchester City and England international superstar Jill Scott MBE joining the Villans on loan until the end of the season.
The 34-year-old midfielder has over 150 caps and 20 senior goals for her country, having appeared at four World Cups and three European Championships.
At club level, Scott has won every domestic honour with Manchester City and scored in the 2017 Women’s FA Cup final against Birmingham City, contributing to their 1-4 win.
After the best part of a decade at Manchester City and a short loan spell with her former club Everton, Scott is said to be looking for more game time in order to continue her Lionesses career. With the European Championship approaching this summer, we can expect some serious shifts in claret and blue.
Even as an older player, reports stated that a number of clubs were keen for Scott to put pen to paper and it is easy to understand why. Scott plays as a box-to-box midfielder, working incredibly hard at both ends of the pitch.
At 5 feet 11 inches, she offers a strong aerial presence and physicality to any side, also earning her the nickname, “Crouchy”. As someone that is not looking to warm the bench, the arrival of Jill Scott may also ignite some healthy competition within the squad, as fellow January loanee Anna Patten looks to have snatched another first team spot.
Scott brings with her a wealth of experience, leadership skills, and a winning mentality, qualities that our younger players will be desperate to imitate. As one of the biggest names in English women’s football, this is the type of signing to give the whole club a lift.
Following the weekend’s victory over Leicester City, Aston Villa Women sit in ninth place in the Women’s Super League. 2022 should be the year to further distance ourselves from the relegation-threatened teams and compete with the likes of Brighton, West Ham, and Reading. Carla Ward’s transfer business certainly indicates that ambition and shows the season is far from over.
We may see Scott as soon as Saturday as Aston Villa take on Chelsea in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
