Club News
Ward selected for international duty.
26 May 2026
Bristol City Women have welcomed several new arrivals to BS3 this summer.
Get to know them all ahead of the Barclays WSL 2 season opener on Sunday, September 7th against Birmingham City.
Charlotte Healy – Head Coach
Healy joins after six years at Manchester United, progressing from Academy Head Coach to first team Assistant Coach at the Women’s Super League club.
Previously, Healy had been women’s Under-21s manager at Manchester City and the women’s assistant Under-23s manager at Liverpool.
Having started her coaching career with Derby County, Healy has also worked with the Football Association as a Development Technical Coach for the North West of England, enhancing and influencing the development of young English female elite footballers.
Emily Mutch – Goalkeeper
Emily Mutch signed a two-year deal at Bristol City
The 24-year-old spent the past three years at Motherwell and has represented Scotland from Under-17 to Under-23 level.
Mutch will wear the number 13.
Gemma Lawley – Defender
Centre back Gemma Lawley signed a two-year deal with the club.
The 22-year-old joined the Robins having been at Birmingham City for the past seven years.
She made her Women’s Super League debut for the Blues at just 17-years-old before signing her first professional deal.
Lawley will wear the number 3.
Maria Farrugia – Forward
Maltese forward Maria Farrugia links up with the Robins until the summer of 2027.
Farrugia has signed a two-year deal following a spell at Sheffield United and joined the squad on the first day of pre-season.
The attacker has a wealth of Championship experience, donning the colours of Sheffield United, Sunderland, Durham and before that, Lewes and internationally has more than 50 caps for Malta.
The former Blade collected the Barclays Women’s Championship Goal of the Season award for her impressive strike against City last season.
Farrugia also earned a nomination for the Barclays Women’s Championship Player of the Season after her stand-out performances and four goals throughout the season.
Farrugia will wear the number 19.
Rio Hardy – Forward
Bristol City signed striker Rio Hardy from Scottish side Rangers FC.
The experienced forward has put pen to paper on a two-year deal at Ashton Gate.
Hardy played in the Champions League and won the Scottish Cup last season with Rangers.
The 29-year-old also has WSL2 experience, making 30 appearances at the level with Durham in 2023.
Hardy will wear the number 9.
Vera Jones – Midfielder
Vera Jones joins City from Chelsea on a season-long loan.
The 17-year-old midfielder joined Chelsea in the summer of 2024 after featuring for Barry Town’s Boy’s academy side for most of her youth career and signed her first professional contract in March.
After making her debut for England Under-17s in 2023, Jones featured at the U17 Women’s European Championships in 2024 before being a part of the Under-17 World Cup in the same year.
Jones will wear the number 23.
Sophie Ingle – Midfielder
Five-time Barclays Women’s Super League title-winner Sophie Ingle has returned to Bristol City, 10 years after her first spell at the club.
The 33-year-old put pen to paper on a two-year deal – with a one-year option – following her departure from Chelsea.
In her seven years at the Blues, she won 11 trophies, including five WSL titles.
Back in 2014, Ingle captained then Bristol Academy and made 27 appearances in the top flight, winning player of the year.
Following this, the Welsh international had a spell at Liverpool, before seven years at Chelsea.
This was her most successful spell, winning five WSL titles and eleven trophies during that time, including the Women’s FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield.
Ingle also made her international return on the biggest stage this summer, marking her 142nd appearance in a Wales shirt, with the nation qualifying for a major tournament for the very first time at Euro 2025.
Ingle will wear the number 5.
Vicky Losada – Midfielder
Champions League winner Vicky Losada joins City on a three-year deal.
The midfielder has spent the last two years as club captain of Brighton in the Barclays Women’s Super League, making 47 appearances.
She won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2021, as well as six Liga F titles in Spain.Losada has also made 65 appearances.
Esther Morgan – Defender
Welsh international Esther Morgan signed a two-year deal at Bristol City.
The 22-year-old defender joins after a spell on loan at Sheffield United last season from Hearts in Scotland.
Morgan signs fresh from being part of the historic Wales squad who took part in a major tournament for the first time in the country’s history.
She played in all three matches in the group stage of Euro 2025 and has 11 caps for Wales.
Morgan will wear the number 20.
Camila Sáez – Defender
Defender Camila Sáez joins Bristol City on a season-long loan deal from West Ham.
The experienced centre back joins the Robins ahead of the 2025/26 season and bolsters the defensive line.
The 30-year-old has more than 100 caps for Chile and has a host of experience in a range of leagues.
In her five-and-a-half years with Chilean club Colo-Colo she won five Clausura and four Apertura Championship titles.
She also represented her country in their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019 and helped Chile finish as runners-up to Mexico at the 2023 Pan-American Games.
Sáez will wear the number 24.
Jessica Ziu – Midfielder
Jessica Ziu arrives on a season-long loan from West Ham United.
Born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ziu progressed through the ranks at Shelbourne FC and made her senior debut at just 16 years old in 2018.
After 22 goals in 70 league appearances for the Irish side, Ziu made the switch to West Ham United in September 2022.
Representing Republic of Ireland at international level, Ziu made her debut for the Girls in Green in 2018.
Ziu will wear the number 17.
Olivia Johnson - Forward
Bristol City signed Olivia Johnson on a season-long loan from Brighton and Hove Albion.
The 18-year-old forward has represented England at Under-17 level and made her Barclays WSL debut against Bristol City at Ashton Gate in March 2023.
Johnson made five league appearances for the Seagulls last season and is Charlotte Healy’s 11th signing of the summer.
Johnson will wear the number 63.
Naomi Williams – Goalkeeper
Bristol City signed Naomi Williams on a season-long loan from Arsenal.
The goalkeeper has been with the Gunners since she was 13 years old and arrives at Bristol City on her first senior loan.
Williams signed as a scholar at Arsenal in 2018 and signed her first professional contract in June 2023.
While she is yet to make her first-team debut, Williams has racked up several valuable first-team experiences, including being a part of the Champions League-winning squad and playing 30 minutes in a friendly against Melbourne City in 2024.
The talented young goalkeeper has also risen through the ranks of the England youth system and most recently featured for England Under-23s.
Williams will wear the number 99.
Marine Dafeur – Midfielder
Bristol City signed Marine Dafeur on a two-year deal.
The 30-year-old joins after spending her whole career in France and links up with Charlotte Healy’s squad ahead of the WSL 2 campaign, which starts on Sunday.
Her most recent club FC Fluery play in the Première Ligue – the highest level of women’s football in France. Dafeur can play as both a left back and left midfield and becomes Charlotte Healy’s 13th signing of the season.
In 2023, she decided to switch her allegiance from international football with France and joined Algeria, where she has made nine appearances, scoring three goals.
Dafeur will wear the number 21.
