Exclusive: Bristol Academy Make Seven New Signings.

Welsh midfielder Georgia Evans has signed her first professional contract for the club. Georgia has been a player at the club since the age of 16 when she joined the SGS college programme. She has progressed through the club, starting five league games in the first half of the season.

Manager Willie Kirk explains “After only a week of training, I was keen to get Georgia signed on to a long term professional contract.”

“She is a player that I’m looking forward to seeing develop further over the coming years.  She is already at a level where she can make an impact in the WSL, but it is a case of managing her carefully so that we build her experience gradually.”

Scottish International, Caroline Weir joins from Aresnal. The Midfielder has 18 senior caps for Scotland and is reunited with manager Willie Kirk, who she played under at Hibernian, before moving to Arsenal in 2013.

Pleased with the signing Kirk said “I gave her a first team debut at Hibernian when she was 15 and she quickly became a first pick in the team before moving to Arsenal at only 18.”  

“I have become increasingly frustrated seeing her mostly sit on the bench for 2 years and as soon as I took the Bristol job, she was my number one target.  I am really excited to work with her again. She is very level headed and will continue to work hard to achieve her ambitions.”

Bristol-born Hannah Short, returns to her home club after completing a football scholarship at East Tennessee State University. Prior to moving to the USA Hannah represented England in the European Championship Qualifiers at both U17 and U19 level.

“Hannah is very ambitious and is looking to catch the eye again after her time overseas.  She is a strong and committed centre back and I think that she will become a very important member of our squad” said Willie Kirk.

Kirk has also added two young players to his WSL1 squad; Hannah Reid and Evdokia Popadinova.

Following the departure of Alice Evans to WSL 2 team Yeovil Town, Scottish youth international goalkeeper, Hannah Reid, will join the squad.

On signing Reid, the manager said; “Hannah is another player that I know from my time at Hibernian.  At 20-years-old has the potential in my opinion to become Scotland number one in the next few years.”

On signing Bulgarian forward, Popadinova, Kirk said; “Evi is a young player with huge potential and determined to succeed.  We had her in to train for a few days and immediately extended that by a further week so that we could get a better look at her.”

Spanish-born Equatorial Guinean International striker, Jade Boho Sayo has also put pen to paper. 

Jade joins Bristol Academy from Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, where she holds an impressive 55 goal tally for the club. She has a wealth of playing experience including featuring in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Kirk is delighted to with the new signing; “Jade is top signing for us. She has great international experience at both youth and senior level and has played at the top level in Spain for a number of years.”

Marije Brummel is also added to Kirk's squad. The dutch defender currently holds 27 International caps for the Netherlands and has a wealth of experience that she will bring to Bristol Academy.

“Marije is exactly the type of player that we needed to bring in for the second half of the season. She has a wealth of experience at international level, has played outside her country before and knows the language.”

Finally, Tatiana Pinto joins the Vixens from Bundesliga club SC Sand, where she has been a player for two seasons.

The 21-year-old Portuguese player has U19 International caps and will make her WSL debut for Bristol Academy. She developed as a youth across clubs in Portugal before moving to Germany in 2013.

“Tatiana is an exciting young player who is currently on the fringes of the Portuguese National team.  She is an ambitious individual and determined to improve as a player and progress her career.”

See the Vixens new stars as well as several of England's World Cup squad as Bristol Academy face Manchester City Women at the Stoke Gifford Stadium on Saturday, July 18th at 3pm - .