After much speculation, Aston Villa Women have announced the club record signing of Brazilian international, Gabi Nunes, on a two year deal.
As per Emma Sanders at BBC Sport and Aston Villa’s official press release, Nunes has joined Aston Villa Women after they triggered her release clause of a reported €300,000 (£250,000) from Liga F side, Levante UD Femenino. The forward also has an option to extend the contract at the end of the two years.
“She can play in several attacking positions and will contribute towards our continued development.”
Robert de Pauw, Aston Villa Women head coach.
“Gabi is a player we believe can make an impact in the WSL as well as add further depth to our squad.”
Lee Billiard, Head of Women’s Football.
Credit for photo and quotes: Aston Villa official press release.
This is a statement signing for Aston Villa and it shows their commitment not only to to the development of the women’s team, but their future sustainability within the Women’s Super League too. The news also comes after the club announced Villa Park as the permanent home of the women’s side earlier this summer.
“Do Villa need another striker?”
Initial reaction to the news earlier this week from fans (among the excitement) was a quiet concern of why the club would choose another forward option, at this expense, when the depth and quality in defence is something that could have been the ideal target in this window.
With a new manager, new backroom staff and it appears a new wave of support for the women’s side; this could be the start of a regeneration at the midlands club who want to start competing with the top teams, rather than being seen as a middle of the league team.
Robert de Pauw’s squad is currently filled with plenty of goal scoring options including: 22/23 Golden Boot Winner Rachel Daly, England international Ebony Salmon, England youth international Georgia Mullett and high quality wingers such as Canadian international Adriana Leon and Scottish international Kirsty Hanson; how will Gabi Nunes fit in at Villa?
With the addition of three forwards in this window, it’s interesting to discuss how will Villa set up this season. In the past, Villa often tried to play Rachel Daly alone up top, although this rarely worked out as planned. The arrival of the 27 year old Brazilian, however, might suggest de Pauw might favour a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation, giving the squad more goal scoring outlets especially with the likes of Leon, Hanson and new signings Katie Robinson and Chasity Grant down the wings to provide that support.
It’s a conundrum de Pauw won’t mind having, however, as previously the Villans have struggled with a lack of squad depth and were commonly plagued by injury. Pre-season therefore has been more important than ever to get it right before the opening game of the season.
Let’s take a look at Nunes’ stats from last season:
(With full thanks to Sam @stattorino)
During the 23/24 domestic season at Levante:
- Nunes made 23 starts in 28 appearances and put her name on the scoresheet an impressive 11 times and contributed to 4 assists, helping her side to finish 8th overall.
- This means that Nunes was scoring every 177 minutes (which is essentially 1 goal every 2 games) proving to be the consistent striking threat that Villa sorely need.
- Compared to how Nunes was expected to perform, she overachieved her xG (expected goals) in both seasons she appeared in Liga F by around 40%. Ultimately, for every per 10 goals she was expected to score, she scored 14.
- Even more impressively, outside of the top 3 teams in Liga F in the 23/24 season, Nunes was 4th for goals scored and 4th for most goal involvements.
Recent International and Domestic Accolades:
- Concacaf W Gold Cup – Runner Up, 2024
- Olympics – Silver Medallist, Paris 2024
- Supercopa Femenina (with Levante) – Runners up, 2023/24 Season
- UEFA Women’s Finalissima – Runner Up, 2022
- Torneio Internacional Feminino de Seleções – Winner, 2021
Verdict?
Not only do the stats speak for themselves as to why Gabi Nunes was a prime target for Villa in this window but it’s clear to see she is a creative forward who can play across the front line in the prime of her career. Importantly, she also brings a wealth of Women’s Champions League and International football experience into the team too which Villa will look to utilise.
This season looks to be the start of something big for Aston Villa Women with a total of 8 signings making their way to Birmingham over the summer. Can they equal or better their best 5th place finish this season? We’ll just have to wait and see!
Villa kick off the WSL’s new season away to 7 x league winners Chelsea at Kingsmeadow on Friday 20th September at 7pm.
(See which transfers have happened at Aston Villa and throughout the WSL this summer by using our WSL transfer tracker)
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