Aston Villa Women: Isobel Goodwin completes transfer to Coventry United
Aston Villa youngster Isobel Goodwin has joined Coventry United following the mutual termination of her contract, the club confirmed.
Goodwin, 20, has been a mainstay in the academy over the past few years, rising up through the ranks alongside the likes of Olivia McLoughlin and Freya Gregory before making her first-team debut last year.
The Villa starlet signed her first professional contract with the club in April 2021 but has been hit by a string of untimely injuries since then, with a knee cartilage injury and other niggles hampering her progress.
The forward went on to make five senior appearances for the first team, most recently in December’s 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at Villa Park.
Despite showing great promise during her stay in the West Midlands, this is yet another sign of the steps Villa are looking to make to ascend the WSL table.
With the wage bill topped up with the January signings of Jordan Nobbs and Lucy Staniforth, some outgoings always seemed likely, and unfortunately, Goodwin’s exit was a consequence of this.
In attack, it was always going to be hard for Goodwin to impress herself on proceedings, with Rachel Daly lighting up the WSL since her summer move, and Alisha Lehmann and Kirsty Hanson able understudies in her stead.
The final straw for the 20-year-old was most likely in recent weeks when Laura Blindkilde Brown was played as a left forward against both Spurs and Manchester City, despite predominantly playing as a central midfielder.
With no route into the first team available, a move to Coventry United makes sense for all parties. The forward will now be available for The Sky Blues trip to Charlton at the beginning of February.
Upon signing the Villa academy product, Coventry head coach Lee Burch told the club’s official website: ““Issy is an exciting young player who will bring a different dimension to our attacking play.
“She played against us a couple of times in behind-closed-doors games and really impressed. I’m looking forward to seeing the impact she can have on our season.”
In other Aston Villa news, a 17-year-old academy prospect has signed his first professional contract with the club.