Wolves Women have completed the signing of Layla Banaras on a dual registration from Birmingham City.
The exciting 17-year-old created history for Blues when she became the first South Asian heritage woman to represent the club in the professional era.
Banaras came on as a second half substitute aged just 16 as Birmingham defeated Huddersfield Town in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup in January 2023.
The versatile wing-back, who can play in defence and midfield, has progressed through the youth ranks at Blues, joining at the age of eight after first starting out at Solihull Moors.
She has previously captained Birmingham’s under-16s before stepping up to represent the club’s development side and won the Academy Players’ Player of the Season award at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
Although yet to make her debut in the Championship, Banaras has featured a number of times on the substitutes bench at St. Andrew’s and has also been inspiring other young Muslim girls to take up football with her off-field work.
The youngster has developed a healthy eating programme for players when they are fasting through the Holy Month of Ramadan and participated in the Queen’s Baton Relay prior to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Manager Dan McNamara said: “I’m really looking forward to having Layla in. She’s a really talented individual, technically very good and we’re really looking forward to seeing her on the pitch.
“She can play in numerous positions. She can play in midfield, out wide, at full-back and is really comfortable on the ball and has a really good eye for a pass. She’s a young player who we can give opportunities to play senior football and see if we can help her along in her journey.”
Head of women and girls football Jenna Burke-Martin added: “We are delighted to get to work with Layla this season and I would like to thank Birmingham City for the opportunity to bring her into Wolves to support her development.
“Layla is a really talented player with an exciting future ahead of her in football and we look forward to welcoming her into the pack.”
