Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Tue 14 April 2026 8:10, UK

Aston Villa Women are unlikely to part ways with a “great coach” in Natalia Arroyo as their season of transition continues.

That is according to women’s football expert Megan Feringa of The Athletic, who exclusively told Aston Villa News that more investment is coming to help kick on next season.

Amid the latest international break, Villa sit ninth in the Women’s Super League with three games remaining.

That would be a step back from their sixth-placed finish under Arroyo, with former boss Carla Ward leading Villa to seventh and fifth in the 2023-24 and 2022-23 campaigns, respectively.

Despite some fans calling for a new manager, Feringa believes that Arroyo is the right person to lead Villa going forward.

Aston Villa in similar position to Brighton and Tottenham

With 19 games played, Villa are three points ahead of 10th-placed Liverpool, 11 ahead of the relegation zone, and just one point off sixth-positioned Brighton.

With four teams so closely packed together in the WSL, the results in these final three fixtures could be the difference between a solid season and an underwhelming one.

Much of Villa’s success this term has been down to top scorer Kirsty Hanson, who is the second highest scorer in the division with 12.

Only Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw (18) has scored more than the Scot, with the 27-year-old also having the second-best conversion rate, for a player with more than 20 shots, in the division behind City’s Kerolin (32 per cent vs 21.4).

Despite fans being up in arms about their 7-3 defeat to Tottenham in February, Feringa has given her backing to Arroyo, while stating that they need to bring in some extra quality ahead of next season.

She said, “I don’t agree Villa ever looked in trouble. They’re a team in transition, learning where they exist in the ecosystem, similar to Tottenham and Brighton.

“Arroyo is a great coach, Hanson is having a stellar season, but is also probably propelling them beyond where many expected them to. They will invest more in the summer.”

Aston Villa to make World Sevens Football tournament debut

On Monday, Villa announced they would take part in World Sevens Football’s first-ever London edition.

Following successful events in Portugal and Florida in 2025, eight WSL teams will feature in the new league-specific tournament.

Villa are among the first to be announced in the tournament, which takes place between 28-30 May at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium.

The competition includes a £1.16million prize pool, rolling substitutes, matches that last 30 minutes on a reduced-size natural grass pitch, and Manchester United will also take part in the event.

Before then, Villa will round off their league season with matches against Arsenal, West Ham and London City between 26 April and 16 May.

For now, a whole host of Villa players are currently out on international duty.