Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Thu 23 April 2026 8:10, UK

Lynn Wilms has turned into a bit of an attacking weapon for Aston Villa Women, despite being a defender.

The 25-year-old is predominantly a right back but can do a job in the heart of Villa’s defence when called upon.

Since joining Villa in the summer, she has played more than 1,300 minutes for the West Midlands outfit.

Wilms has an average match rating of 7.3 and has kept eight clean sheets, despite playing for a side sitting ninth in the Women’s Super League.

Villa would be in a much worse position without Wilms, alongside teammate and striker Kirsty Hanson.

Aston Villa’s key threats: Lynn Wilms and Kirsty Hanson

After 19 games of the WSL season, Villa are 11 points clear of basement side Leicester City with three matches to go.

But without Wilms’ eight goal contributions and Hanson’s 13, they would likely be in the thick of a relegation battle.

The Netherlands international, who has scored three goals in 62 caps for her country, has made a seamless transition to the WSL following her move from Wolfsburg last summer.

That is not something every new WSL arrival can say but the defender may have been helped by lifting a hatful of trophies along the way.

She won the Eredivisie twice at Twente before she turned 21 and at Wolfsburg, she claimed the Frauen-Bundesliga, three DFB-Pokal Frauen’s, and a Champions League runner-up medal.

In the English top-flight, she leads the way with Manchester City midfielder Kerstin Casparij with seven assists.

According to WSL Football, Wilms will quickly establish herself among the very best in her position across Europe at this rate. If Villa want to kick on, though, they need to retain players like the Dutchwoman and bring in more of her ilk.

Aston Villa indebted to star duo

In addition to Wilms, Villa have a potent attacking weapon in Hanson.

This season, she has scored 12 goals in 19 WSL matches, with the forward averaging a goal every 120 minutes.

Not many have a better goal conversion rate than her at 21 per cent, a stat something top scorer Khadija Shaw cannot match.

Both Hanson and Wilms, who were nominated for the player of the month award for March, are likely to be key if Villa want to beat West Ham on 4 May.