Three Aston Villa Women starlets named in England Lionesses Under-19s Euros squad
Aston Villa Women have had three first-team stars named in England’s Under-19s Women’s European Championships squad.
Olivia McLoughlin, Laura Blinkilde Brown and Freya Gregory will be heading to the Czech Republic to contest in the eight-team tournament.
England, managed by former Villa manager Gemma Davies, will face off against Sweden, Norway and Germany for a place in the semi-finals.
Villa boss Carla Ward has strongly emphasised youth since her appointment last year, even bringing in Academy manager Kerri Welsh to assist with Conti Cup matches.
Last season saw Blinkilde Brown break into the first team, with the energetic midfielder emerging as one of Villa’s most exciting players.
McLaughlin, who was instrumental in Villa’s survival in 2020/21, also impressed at Villa while Gregory was loaned out to Leicester City in January.
Expect more Villa players in the senior England team soon
Villa already have goalkeeper Hannah Hampton in the senior squad, but it won’t be long before more join her.
Blinkilde Brown is quickly emerging as one of England’s most exciting young midfield talents while McLaughlin has been a regular in the first team since she was 16.
Gregory has had a quieter start to her career, scoring twice in 23 matches, but she has played in two of the worst teams in the league in that time.
Villa also have Isobel Goodwin continuing to impress in the youth setup after making her senior debut in November 2021.
The club has always had a rich youth setup but traditionally failed to hold on to their brightest talents, with many of them heading to Birmingham City.
Gregory, Sarah Mayling and Aofie Mannion all broke through at Villa and all were snapped up by Blues.
However, since the club was taken over in 2018 they have poured money into the women’s team and surpassed their eternal rivals, who were relegated in 2022.
Gregory, Mayling and Missy Goodwin all returned to Villa after being snapped up by Blues and have all impressed in the Women’s Super League.
If Villa continues their heavy investment in youth, they will surely get more England representation soon.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has told the club to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea.