Aston Villa have completed the signing of Australian international forward Emily Gielnik according to reports on their official website.
The 29-year-old Melbourne-born forward moves to The Banks’s Stadium from Swedish club Vittsjö GIK and she has been handed the number nine shirt by Aston Villa for the coming season.
Gielnik arrives in England after helping the Australian national team to record a fourth-place finish in the Olympic Games’ Women’s Football Tournament. The forward has been capped by her country on 48 occasions while she has netted 11 goals.
The player is no stranger to the English game. She previously represented Liverpool in the old FA Women’s Super League 1 in 2012 before being released at the end of that campaign. Gielnik has since gone on to play in Canada, Japan, Norway, Australia, Germany and most-recently Sweden.
After completing the capture of Gielnik, Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward said “Emily is someone we’ve monitored for a few months and I’m delighted we’ve managed to agree a deal that suits all parties.
“She’s a player with a wealth of domestic and international experience, and is a player that can score goals at the highest level.
“Emily’s link-up play and aerial threat is something that will cause teams problems. I’m pleased to finally get this one over the line.”
Gielnik is understood to be awaiting International Travel Clearance (ITC) therefore it seems unlikely that she will make her debut in Aston Villa’s opening game of the season against Leicester City on Saturday.