“Amber was one of the top six free agents in the Championship,” notes McNamara, with Hughes having left Coventry United, who two years ago she helped clinch promotion to the second tier from the Southern Premier Division.
The 28-year-old former Nottingham Forest player reveals: “I spoke to several clubs and it was nice to get offers, but I was drawn to Wolves because of the professionalism that runs through the whole of the women’s set-up.
“Their relationship with the men’s club is obviously strong and seems to be getting even stronger, so it’s an exciting time to be joining a team that I think are really going places and I’m delighted to be here.”
A special needs teacher based in Birmingham, Hughes took the decision to leave Coventry following the announcement that they were to become a full-time professional outfit to meet the growing demands of Championship football.
Not that she is dropping down a division thinking that she will never again play in the second tier of the women’s game. “I wouldn’t have signed for a club who were just happy to sit in the Northern or Southern Premier,” she insists.
“It had to be a club that had the ambition to get up to the Championship, and Wolves have not only got the ambition but the capability as well with some excellent players here. And who says I can’t play in that league again?”
