Fresh off the buzz of England’s Euro 2022 triumph, one of the heroic Lionesses has returned to the Women’s Super League, this time on a permanent basis. On Tuesday evening Aston Villa announced the signing of left-back Rachel Daly from Houston Dash.
The defender had spent the last seven years with the National Women’s Soccer League side where she captained them to the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup - scooping up the Most Valuable Player award. During that time she has had a brief loan spell with West Ham United and before her move to the United States she represented Leeds United and Lincoln Ladies.
READ MORE:
After experiencing first-hand the fervent atmospheres the game in this country can now generate, it comes as no surprise to see Daly make a permanent return to the UK. There is expected to be a much larger interest in the WSL this season as fans come and back their new heroes and why wouldn’t you want to be in the thick of it?
Daly has penned a three-year contract with Villa and, while she is 30 years of age, it’s a good deal for both parties. Villa are adding a talented and experienced defender to their ranks, not to mention one of the Euro 2022 legends, which will be great for attracting more fans to their matches. As for Daly, she gets to come home and give her last few years at the highest level to the WSL and will get to continue enjoying the celebrations of the summer while she does it.
What is refreshing about this move is that she has not linked up with one of the division's top guns in Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. In joining Carla Ward’s side, she remains among a small number of the victorioys Lionesses not representing the top four clubs in the WSL. Had her international teammates Lucy Bronze (Barcelona) and Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich) not left the division in the summer, the WSL would’ve boasted the full Euro 2022 squad, which would have been a publicist’s dream for promoting the 2022-23 campaign.
So now there may be fewer of England’s heroes playing at home than last season, but Daly’s move could lead to a change in perception surrounding the WSL. As with the men's Premier League and countless other divisions in the sport, the continual strengthening of the bigger clubs has helped to create a divide in standards. In recent years, the gap between fourth and fifth has been between 10 and 16 points and the only way to prevent this from growing further is by trying to level the playing field.
Obviously, the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion will not be able to compete with the financial might of Chelsea, but Daly’s arrival at Aston Villa can act as a catalyst for slow but radical change to help improve the quality of the WSL across the board. It may not happen right away, but those young girls who found themselves inspired by what Daly and her teammates achieved this summer, who may soon begin to get involved in the sport, will see Daly play for a club that isn’t a favourite for the title year on year. And that will show them that being a player in the WSL alone is worth so much, and the more that young talent filters through the league, the more gripping WSL seasons could become in time. While signings like Amy Turner's at Tottenham Hotspur are one thing, the addition of a European champion at Villa is a huge boost to the league's depth.
Moves like these will serve England well for the future as they look to build on their Euro 2022 glory and decorate themselves in more silverware.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
