United Women Secure England International Lucy Staniforth
Lucy Staniforth hopes to 'make history' at Manchester United having left Birmingham City on a two-year deal with the Red Devils
The 27-year-old midfielder has signed a two-year deal to join Casey Stoney’s side following the end of her contract with Birmingham City after 43 appearances.
Having worn the captain’s armband during her two-years at Birmingham City, Staniforth took to Instagram to say farewell to the Blues who finished eleventh this season, just shy of relegation: ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t achieve what we set out to, but I hope the future brings the good times back.’
After just securing a top-four position in their first season of top-flight football, Staniforth looks to bring her attacking creativity to Leigh Sports Village to push United even further ‘to compete towards the top of the table and try and win trophies.’
United boss Stoney, who has been shortlisted for Barclays Manager of the Year 2020, captained Staniforth during her two-year spell at Lincoln Ladies FC. Stoney praised her new signing by revealing that ‘Lucy has so much experience in the women’s game, having made her senior debut at 16 years old, and I know she can utilise that experience for us both on and off the pitch.’
Now working together once more, Staniforth is looking forward to the ‘levels of requirements that Casey is going to ask’ that will also develop her international career. Scoring on her international debut against Kazakhstan, Staniforth now has sixteen international caps under her belt following her convincing campaigns at both the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2020 SheBelieves Cup.
The familiar faces do not end here. Staniforth will be welcomed to the squad by United’s captain, Katie Zelem, having played alongside each other in midfield during a brief spell at Liverpool from 2014-2015.
Staniforth hopes to utilise her clinical ability to attack from the centre of midfield ‘to get a place in the starting eleven and maintain my place there.’ Being drawn to one of the biggest clubs in the world, she added that ‘I’ve been impressed with performances from last season and the club’s future ambitions. I wanted to come here to win trophies and make history with this club, and I’m just excited to get started.’
