Aston Villa Women: Prince William reacts to Rachel Daly England retirement
Rachel Daly announced her international football retirement this week (10 April), leading to Prince William sending an Aston Villa-related message.
Daly won a European Championships with her country in 2022 and now the Villa striker has confirmed she is ending her career with the Lionesses.
The versatile forward has confirmed this after 84 appearances and 16 goals for her country [FotMob] where she has often played as a left-back.
In a post to X, the Villa-Mad Royal shared a message of support for Daly and made a funny comment about her club form.
He said: “Thank you for so many unforgettable performances with the Lionesses, Rachel Daly. Plenty more Villa goals now! W.”
How has Rachel Daly performed for Aston Villa this season?
It was always going to be hard to live up to the expectations that she set last season. 22 goals in 22 WSL games [FotMob] was quite superb following her move from Houston Dash.
Although Daly hasn’t been able to exactly replicate this elite form in the 2024/24 campaign, it has still been largely positive.
Across 16 starts for Carla Ward’s side, she has scored seven goals and has added to this with eight goals in five in the Women’s League Cup.
There are some superb goalscorers in the WSL this season with Khadija Shaw running away with the Golden Boot with 19 goals [FotMob]. Daly still ranks in the top 10 for top scorer despite a quieter season.
Across this campaign, the Villa striker has ranked highly for underlying numbers as well as goals. With 57.10% dribble success, 1.06 tackles and 6.00 duels won per 90, she is amongst the league’s best.
With Ward often opting to feature additional attacking options in Ebony Salmon, Adriana Leon and Alisha Lehmann, Daly slots in well to provide support.
A goal last time out against Leicester City to secure a draw just further proved her importance. Villa fans will be hopeful the 32-year-old’s international retirement doesn’t point to a similar fate for club football.
In other Aston Villa news, Ollie Watkins is keeping Villa’s Champions League hopes alive.
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