Aston Villa Women confirm Alisha Lehmann has signed a new one-year deal
Aston Villa Women have announced that Swiss forward Alisha Lehmann will remain with the club after signing a new one-year contract.
Lehmann arrived at Villa in 2021 from West Ham United and had a rocky first season at the club, getting two goals and two assists in 21 appearances last season.
Villa took their time sorting out a new contract for her, but the club finally announced her new deal via their club website on Friday morning (22 July).
Some expected the Swiss international to move on following lacklustre performances at the end of last season, but Simone Magill picking up an ACL injury has forced the club to keep her.
Lehmann is the second Villan to extend her contract this summer, joining Irish star Ruesha Littlejohn in extending her stay at the club.
What now for Villa?
There are seemingly no more new contracts to sort out at Villa and they have already brought in five players this summer, but there are still gaps in the squad that need filling.
Villa urgently need a striker after scoring just 28 goals in their 44 matches in the Women’s Super League, a rate of just over a goal every other game.
Individual players have scored more in that time than Vila have as a team, so they are in desperate need of a reliable source of goals.
Further back in the squad, a new centre-back would be of use after the departure of Anita Asante at the end of last season.
Rachel Corsie arrived in January while Anna Patten has returned on loan, but the options below them are not the best.
Elisha N’Dow is a Villa Women legend after eight years in the first team but is out of favour, while Meaghan Sargeant is a risk given how injury prone she is.
There are also depth concerns at full-back, particularly on the right with Sarah Mayling being the only recognised right-back in the team.
If Villa can find that source of goals this summer and solve their depth issues, they could be in for a much brighter season.
In other Aston Villa news, Steven Gerrard wants a new midfielder this summer.