Aston Villa Women: Signing of proven winner Jordan Nobbs a serious statement of intent
The January transfer window may have been open for just five days, but Aston Villa have already declared their WSL intentions by snapping up Arsenal legend Jodan Nobbs on an 18-month deal, with an option to extend.
Nobbs, 30, won every-domestic honour during her trophy-laden 12-year spell with the Gunners, including three WSL titles, four FA Cups and five League Cups, and has featured in all nine of their WSL fixtures this season.
The midfielder has been capped 69 times for England but missed the Euro-winning campaign of 2022 with a knee ligament injury, and brings a high level of pedigree to Villa Park with her.
Following the statement signings of Rachel Daly and Kenza Dali last summer, it was expected that Villa would remain a little quieter in the winter window and only look to complete necessary loan moves – but this idea has been firmly thrown out of the window.
The signing of Nobbs will bring an abundance of quality to Villa’s midfield, as well as another creative outlet and goalscoring option for Carla Ward to tinker with.
It is yet another indicator of the ambitions of owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris and their aim to make the club a WSL giant in the coming years. Being able to lure players of the calibre of Nobbs is a brilliant sign of things to come.
With regular Lionesses Daly, Nobbs and Hampton now the spine of Villa’s team, the club are slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the WSL. Their progress has already been profound this season after scraping past relegation in 2021/22, and this signing will accelerate their evolution.
When speaking to Villa TV upon her move, the midfielder said the ambition of the club was one of the major reasons she decided to part ways with Arsenal – who she had been with since she was 17 years old.
She said: “As soon as I spoke to Carla [Ward] and saw the drive within this team, I wanted to be a part of that.
“Since I was little I’ve always loved a challenge, as soon as I heard what they were looking to do I wanted to come and be a part of that.
“Obviously I want to win games here, I’m a winner”
The potential of link-up play between Nobbs and her England teammate Daly will be an exciting prospect for fans in the coming months, and her experience should also do wonders for the likes of teenager Laura Blindkilde Brown in the midfield.
Ward will hope her marquee signing will be fit to start against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday 14 January and help push the side towards their highest-ever top-flight finish.
Heads have been turned, and chins left wagging after this transfer. Aston Villa mean business, and they’re certainly here to stay.
In other Aston Villa news, Rachel Daly should be played as centre-forward for the Lionesses in 2023 after her stunning campaign in the West Midlands.