Sheffield United have this morning confirmed that captain Leandra Little will retire following this afternoon’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 36-year-old Torbay-born centre-back has enjoyed a long playing career which has included spells with the likes of Doncaster Rovers Belles and Liverpool.
The player’s 15-year senior career will come to an end this afternoon with Little set for a farewell appearance against top tier side Spurs in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup. A cup giant-killing would be the perfect way for the player to end her successful career.
Despite being in her final season as a professional footballer, Little has provided Sheffield United with both reliability and consistency. The player represented The Blades on 18 occasions in the FA Women’s Championship as the club recorded a fourth-place finish while she netted her only goal in her two-year stay in South Yorkshire in the 4-0 FA Women’s Continental League Cup victory over Coventry United in November.
Little was a member of the Lincoln Ladies side which featured in the first-ever FA Women’s Super League in 2011 before the player spent six years with Doncaster Rovers Belles. The player briefly linked-up with Belles boss Neil Redfearn at Liverpool before the pair were reunited again at Sheffield United.
The defender will leave The Blades with the best wishes of all at the club.