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View: Jordan Nobbs influence on Aston Villa women rewarded after winning WSL award for February
Jordan Nobbs has hit the ground running since moving to Aston Villa in the January transfer window, and her individual performances have been justly rewarded.
The Villa midfielder was named the WSL’s Player of the Month for February after helping Carla Ward’s side pick up four points from the double-header against Brighton and move up to fifth in the current standings.
Having arrived from Arsenal on a permanent deal in the winter window, Nobbs has taken no time to adjust to her surroundings in Ward’s midfield, and she got her scoring account underway in quite some style in the 6-2 win over the Seagulls.
After a frustrating 1-1 draw in the first of the consecutive matches, the Lioness put on a finishing clinic a week later as she capped off a quite superb hat-trick with a 25-yard strike which rattled into the top corner of the Brighton net.
Goals aren’t known to be Nobbs’ forte, but playing in an advanced position ahead of Lucy Staniforth seemed to release her attacking game into life. Being given this freedom to explore opportunities in the final third could add another string to Villa’s ever-improving bow.
Nobbs’ experience and game management could also be a crucial factor in making the next steps up the WSL ladder.
At the moment, there is a huge gap between the top four sides and the rest of the league, but having characters such as Nobbs in the dressing room who have competed at the highest level and lifted countless trophies will only improve Villa’s chances.
Supporters will be excited to see what the former Arsenal midfielder can continue to offer Ward’s side in the middle of the park, with her calming influence likely to help bridge the gap to those above the club in the league.
England manager Sarina Wiegman was clearly impressed with the recent exploits of Nobbs in the West Midlands – calling the midfielder up to her squad for the Arnold Cup as an injury replacement for Fran Kirby. Hopefully, her continued excellence for Villa will be enough to warrant a place on the plane for the Women’s World Cup in Australia later this year.
In other Aston Villa news, the club want to reunite with a former player for a fee in excess of £40million in the summer.