The plan
When England’s Rachel Daly became Carla Ward’s sixth permanent signing of a busy summer it became crystal clear that Aston Villa’s manager is determined to improve on their ninth-place finish last season.
The highly-rated Ward is embarking on her second season at Villa bolstered by not merely Daly’s recruitment but the similarly high-profile arrival of the experienced France international Kenza Dali from Everton. Small wonder Ward has said eighth place will be the “minimum requirement” during a campaign in which she will aim to continue increasing Villa’s possession quotient while adding a few more goals to the equation. Although Daly played at left-back as England won Euro 2022, she was deployed as a striker for her former team, Houston Dash, and is expected to feature in Ward’s frontline.
Quite apart from the quality they will bring to the team, Daly and Dali also possess the streetwise nous Villa lost with the recent retirements of their former England central defender Anita Asante (now first-team coach at Bristol City) and the former England midfielder Jill Scott, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa from Manchester City.
With further experience imported in the shape of the talented Wales midfielder Natasha Harding, who has relocated from Reading, and the former Everton defender Danielle Turner, who joins a backline built around the Scotland defender Rachel Corsie and protected by the England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, Villa look in decent shape.
Even so, Ward could do with welcoming back her captain, Remi Allen, from the long spell on the sidelines prompted by the ACL ligament the influential midfielder ruptured last April. Immensely popular with Villa fans, Allen cannot return soon enough as Villa aim to look firmly upwards, consigning WSL relegation struggles to the past.
The manager
Ward arrived at Villa in May 2021 on a mission to “excite” fans and has since overseen the incremental implementation of a high-energy possession-based playing style. A well-connected coach much admired in the game’s highest circles, the 38-year-old was born on the Isle of Wight and began her playing career with Torquay before turning out in midfield for Bristol City, Leeds, Lincoln, Sheffield United and Alicante’s Sporting Plaza de Argel.
Key player
Rachel Daly The 30-year-old’s arrival from Houston Dash in the wake of her role in England’s Euro 2022 triumph not only represented a coup for Villa but equips Ward with a vastly experienced player capable of operating in several positions. Although Daly seems earmarked for the attacking, free-scoring role she filled in the United States, she was deployed as a left-back for England this summer and is also comfortable at right-back and in midfield. Phil Neville, the former England manager, once said Daly was so versatile she “reminds me of me”. A player who could potentially drop deeper once fellow new signing and Northern Ireland international Simone Magill recovers from a serious knee injury, promises to provide Villa with goals, grit and guile.
Big summer signing
Kenza Dali The 31-year-old France international is a highly-creative attacking midfielder with an eye for goal. During stints with Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain, West Ham and Everton, Dali has collected 45 senior caps for her country, scoring nine goals. “To bring in someone of Kenza’s calibre is a sign of the direction this club wants to go in,” said a delighted Ward. “She has a wealth of experience, both domestically and internationally. She will bring huge quality to our team.” Dali also possesses abundant resilience having overcome a career-threatening knee injury sustained in 2017. Specialists told her she would never play again.
Euro 2022 delight/heartache
Daly celebrated her key role in England’s triumph while Dali was part of the France squad that bowed out in the quarter-finals. Magill had only just completed her summer transfer from Everton to Villa when the Northern Ireland striker suffered an ACL rupture in the Euro 2022 group-stage defeat against Norway.
Bring on the crowds
Villa will play four of their home WSL games at Villa Park this season, starting with the visit of Manchester City on 17 September. Ward’s side – who normally play at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium– have seen season-ticket sales increase by 108%.
