Salmon signs for Louisville after leaving relegated City
BRISTOL POST
BRISTOL City Women are feeling the full cost of relegation from the Women’s Super League with top scorer and star player Ebony Salmon having left the club.
Salmon finished as City’s top scorer this season with 10 goals as the club were relegated to the Championship following their 3-1 defeat to Brighton on Sunday.
The 20-year-old striker earned a call-up to the England squad in February when she won her first cap in a 6-0 friendly defeat over Northern Ireland.
Salmon’s contract expired this summer and City’s place in the second tier and her own desires to continue her international career mean her departure was inevitable. It has bow been confirmed she will be playing for Racing Louisville FC in the United States.
Salmon signed for City from Manchester United in 2019 and has scored 18 goals for the club across all competitions but will now be one of the most in-demand free agents in the WSL.
“After two years at Bristol City I have decided it’s time for a new challenge,” wrote Salmon on Twitter.
“I would like to say a massive thank you to the staff at this club for the opportunity they gave me and belief they had in me when not many others did.
“It’s been two years full of some unbelievable highs as well as the lowest of lows. But throughout I have grown as both a player and a person.
“Finally, a huge thank you to our fans who have supported us through everything. We gave it our all and fell just short at the final hurdle, but this team will be back.
“Bristol will always be a very special club to me. I am now extremely excited and more than ready for the next chapter in my career.”
On Tuesday, assistant coach Marco Chiavetta stepped down at City, while second-choice goalkeeper Benedicte Haland has signed for Icelandic side Selfoss FC.
Interim boss Matt Beard, who took over in January as Tanya Oxtoby was on maternity leave, has also left the club and has been confirmed as the next manager at Championship side Liverpool.
The club’s head of women’s football Lee Billiard told City’s official website: “On behalf of everyone associated with Bristol City Women I would like to thank Matt for all the work he has done over the second half of the season.
“To come in halfway through a campaign is tough and, in challenging circumstances with Covid, Matt did extremely well to take our fight for survival to the last day, but ultimately it was just one step too far.”
The Robins had registered just two points when Beard arrived and their final-day defeat to Brighton condemned them to the Championship.
Beard, 43, added: “Thank you to the players and staff at Bristol City
Women for the work they have put in over the last five to six months.
“I’ve said it before, I can’t fault the effort of anyone at the club for
everything that they have put in this season and taking it to the last day - I’m gutted that we couldn’t finish the job that we set out to do.”