ROYALS REFRESH SQUAD AS SEASON ENDS

READING WOMEN are set to be refreshed as several firstteam players have departed to new ventures.

Fara Williams has retired from professional football following the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign, while fellow midfielder Angharad James will leave the Royals to join North Carolina Courage.

Two more long term servants, striker Laurent Bruton and defender Molly Bartrip will also be exiting the club.

Bruton has been with the Royals since 2013 after joining from Arsenal and has made 56 Women’s Super League appearances in eight years with the club, scoring eight goals.

However, her final two years with Reading have been plagued with unfortunate injuries which saw her miss the entirety of the 2019/20 season and a large chunk of the

2020/21 campaign.

Bartrip also leaves after seven years at the club, having recently made her 100th appearance for the Royals.

Norweigan international Kristine Leine has also decided to move back home despite being offered a contract extension as her two-year spell with Reading comes to an end.

Goalkeeper Erin Nayler also leaves. The New Zealander, who played just once in a 3-0 loss to West Ham, signed just before the beginning of the

2020/21 season.

Young players Silvana Flores and Molly Childerhouse will move onto pastures new as they seek to gain regular football.

“I am so grateful to all of the players,” said Reading Women’s manager

Kelly Chambers.

“Some of them have been with us for a very long time, like Lauren and Molly, and their contribution and dedication to the team has been fantastic.

“Each one of them, regardless of if they have made a hundred appearances or were squad players that hadn’t had many minutes, were a huge part of the team and always gave everything, which is all I could ever ask of them.

“We are a unit and it is always sad to see players go, but I wish each and every one of them well in whatever their next steps are.

“This season has been inconsistent for us to say the least, and one we have to learn a lot from.

“We do have highlights from 2020-21 which include us holding the distinction of being the first side to defeat Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village in over a year. “Recruitment has been going on for a while now as I need to make sure that I mould a first team squad capable of pushing us higher in the league.

“We have traditionally always competed up there and we need to work hard to get back there.”