Aston Villa finished the 2024/25 season in 6th place, ending on a high with a five-game winning streak. The new head coach, Natalia Arroyo, had a rough start with the team, but once they secured their first win and the threat of relegation eased, the team never looked back. Looking ahead to next season, the club has announced contract extensions for Sarah Mayling and Rachel Daly. Both players have signed new deals that will keep them at the club until 2027.
Rachel Daly joined Aston Villa in 2022 after spending four years with the Houston Dash, including a loan spell at West Ham United in 2020. Daly represented the Lionesses for eight years but recently chose to retire from international football to focus on her club career and to “pass on that baton to the next generation and be England’s number one fan from the stands!”
She has made over 80 appearances for Villa, scoring 59 goals. Daly finished as the team’s top scorer in the 2024/25 season with 13 goals in all competitions. She also won the Supporters’ Player of the Season award for the third consecutive year at the End of Season Awards.
Sarah Mayling is a 28-year-old defender who began her senior career at Aston Villa in 2014 after progressing through the club’s youth program. After three years, she moved to Birmingham City but returned to Villa in 2021. She is now approaching 150 appearances in the [Women’s Super League](https://womenfootball.blog/womens-super-league-table-standings/).
Not all the players are staying at the club. Aston Villa announced the following departures in early May:
* **Maz Pacheco** joined Aston Villa in 2021 and featured in 90 appearances for the club. She is Villa’s longest serving player and scored three goals.
* **Jordan Nobbs** signed for Aston Villa in 2023, after leaving Arsenal after 13 years with the club. She is the record WSL appearance maker and the only player to appear and score in every season of the WSL since its inception.
* Club captain **Rachel Corsie** was sidelined throughout most of the 2024/2025 season due to injury. Last week she made her return, playing in her 56th match for the club.
* **Dan Turner** spent three seasons with Villa, made 71 appearances and won WSL Goal of the Season for her goal against Manchester City in 2023.