Jordan Nobbs has joined Newcastle and says in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, that she wants to try the challenge to promote the club to the WSL.
The midfielder, 32, joins the club after her departure from Aston Villa women, where she spent two and a half years. She had previously spent 13 years with Arsenal women and has the record for most WSL performances.
It is that experience and Nous that she hopes to bring the magpies, who are preparing for a second season in the WSL2. They finished in the competition last year.
About her move, Nobbs said to Sky Sports: “I was open to options after Aston Villa and Newcastle were one with which I wanted to speak to see their ambitions.
“They push for promotion was a challenge that I wanted to be part of this team.
“It is not easy to go up the competitions. No matter how you start, it's hard. The women's game grows and it is harder than it seems, so for Newcastle to end where they did last season, it shows that they grow.
“And after I spoke to the club, finding out what their ambitions are, I wanted to follow that trip with them and hopefully help with my experience and push the team to be promoted.”
It is a return home for Nobbs. She grew up in the northeast, close to both Newcastle and Sunderland, where she came through the Academy – now the divide of Tyne -Wear, 14 years after departure, crossed over.
“I will always be grateful that I am that seven -year -old child who joined Sunderland and continued as a player,” she said.
“But I am competitive, I am a winner and I am now at Newcastle. It has been a long time since I was in Sunderland and Newcastle is now my club that I want to push well, so I will be completely back in our team.
“I feel that this is the perfect situation in which I went to grow up in the northeast to the life of my dream in Arsenal to come back as a club that wants to insist on promotion.
“People follow your football trip, but they don't know everything. I left when I was 17 and you miss so many things, so it's a dream to let all my family and friends support me here at Newcastle.”
Newcastle was integrated into the club in August 2022 and became professional a year later. They were the first club in the third level of women's football to be completely professional and to earn promotion to the then -called women's championship in 2024.
The WSL2 is also increasingly competitive. In recent years, title races have been won on the tightest margins, with the London City Lionesses promoted by two points last season.
While Nobbs has previously played in the lower competitions of the English women's football in different forms in Sunderland, but this will be her first taste of the WSL2 in its current form.
Nobbs discussed the competition and added: “I watched many games because I have friends in football, especially in the northeast with Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle, so I have always seen how competitive it is.
“It is a competition that grows. We have always said that we want to go up from the basis, we want women's football to be professional and insist to be the best for every little girl who looks at us as role models, so it's exciting.
“It is exciting times for the competition and exciting times for Newcastle.”