Wales international midfielder Chloe Williams has rejoined Wolves Women on the eve of the new season, six years after departing for Manchester United.
Williams came through the youth ranks in gold and black having started her playing career with local side Great Wyrley and a stint with West Bromwich Albion.
After progressing into the senior Wolves side at the start of the 2017/18 season, the midfielder made her debut on 6th December 2017 as she came off the bench in an FA Cup clash away at Brighouse Town.
Over the next 18 months, following the arrival of manager Dan McNamara, Williams stepped out 34 times for the Old Gold, including 28 appearances in the league as Wolves narrowly missed out on an immediate return to the third tier.
However, the performances of the then-18-year-old alerted the attention of Super League sides, and Williams departed Wolves in summer 2019 to sign for Man United, where she was part of their under-21 squad – but was included on the bench for a League Cup game against Manchester City in October that year.
Following a successful two-year loan spell with Blackburn Rovers, during which time she made her senior Wales debut against Belgium, Williams signed permanently for the Lancashire club and went on to feature 42 times in the second tier during the last two seasons.
With Williams now returning to Wolves where she will link back up with McNamara, the manager said: “Chloe is the epitome of what we have been trying to do as a football club during my time as manager, so I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring her home to Wolves.
“I can remember the first time I met her like it was yesterday. Eight years ago, I walked into the dome at Aldersley and Chloe was one of the first standout players I noticed. Technically, she was very gifted, but she had a dream – she wanted to represent Wales and she wanted to play as high as she possibly could in the pyramid.
“Unfortunately, I only got 18 months of working with her, where I exposed her to the first-team environment, but we all know it wasn’t going to be long until she got her move away, which came with Manchester United’s PGA, which was a really great move for her in that moment.
“We really wanted to push her to go and achieve her ambitions and what she could as a footballer, so to bring her back now after six years, and have her back in to show us how far she’s come in her journey, and to bring all those experiences from Man United, then onto Blackburn and also her senior Wales experiences, it’s going to be great for the team and great for the club.”
With the new season getting underway in Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, Williams – who turned down the chance to join move higher up the pyramid this summer to return to Wolves and fight to take her childhood club into the second tier – will provide McNamara with a versatile final piece of his jigsaw as the team aims for promotion this term.
“Technically, she’s a really gifted central player. She plays in the 10, she can play as a nine, she comes up with those little tricky passes, those little combinations on the edge of the box, she can be really creative and she can score goals.
“It’s really pleasing to add that into what is an already outstanding group of 22 players. We really wanted to take a really strong group of 22 into the season and thankfully we’ve managed to do that now with Chloe.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how she’s developed in the last six years, and we’re excited to have her back in Old Gold.”
