Aston Villa Women star Ramona Petzelberger leaves amid WSL links
Aston Villa Women maestro Ramona Petzelberger has left the club after declining a new contract, the club have confirmed.
Petzelberger joined Villa after their promotion to the Women’s Super League in 2020 and impressed in claret and blue.
The club announced her departure via a short statement on their website on Friday morning (1 July), which also mentioned that she rejected a contract offer.
Petzelberger, who made her first German national squad last season, is Villa’s highest scorer in the WSL, scoring six goals across 30 league appearances.
The 29-year-old has a long list of admirers, including Tottenham and Manchester United according to BBC journalist Emma Sanders.
Alarm bells must now start ringing
Petzelberger’s departure will come as a massive blow to Carla Ward’s side, with the German becoming the latest in a long line of departures this summer.
The German star is the 10th player to leave Villa already, with captain Remi Allen also being unavailable for much of the season due to an ACL injury.
This leaves Ward with a skeleton crew of just 15 players for next season including Allen, leaving some wondering who will replace them.
Sanders, who is one of the best sources for WSL transfer news, claimed on Twitter back in June that Villa had agreements with five players.
She previously linked Villa with Anna Patten, Simone Magill, Natasha Harding, Jill Scott and Ivana Fuso back in May, but none of these have transpired as yet.
With the calendar now ticking over to July, players are now officially free agents and signings become easier to make.
Aston Villa fans will be hoping that these transfers happen as soon as possible ahead of the start of the new WSL season in early September.
In other Aston Villa news, Villa midfielder Morgan Sanson is in discussions over a move to Turkey.