Durham Women have signed Sarah McFadden from Sunderland Ladies.

The Northern Ireland international is the second player to make the switch to the Wildcats from Wearside during the off-season, following the arrival of Rebecca Salicki earlier this month.

Durham have certainly been busy in the transfer window too as they look to build on 2015's seventh placed finish in WSL 2, renewing the contracts of 11 players as well as completing three signings already - the other two being the arrivals of Megan Borthwick and Sasha Adamson from Newcastle United and Watford respectively.

McFadden therefore becomes the fourth incoming of the window and she will add crucial experience to the team's back-line, boasting 40 caps for her country and having spent time playing abroad too, in Iceland.

McFadden excited about move

Speaking to Durham's official website, McFadden described her delight with the move, saying it is a chance for her to embrace "a new challenge" in her career.

Whilst she "enjoyed" her time at Sunderland, she felt the move was right "at this time in [her] career" and is keen to get back to full fitness in order to have a real impact with her new club.

The 28-year-old struggled with injuries in 2015, which limited her to just the nine WSL 1 appearances - five of which were starts - last season, as well as a further five games in the WSL Cup, where she found the back of the net once.

McFadden (right) battles with Chelsea's Drew Spence (left) for the ball. | Photo: Getty
Sarah McFadden (right) battles with Chelsea's Drew Spence (left) for the ball. | Photo: Getty

Consequently, she said it is "important" for her to be "back playing regularly" again, something she believes Durham can help her do after talks convinced her the move was "the perfect opportunity for [her]."

"Hopefully," she concluded, "we can compete with some of the top teams in the league and push for promotion."

Manager pleased with signing

Manager Lee Sanders also expressed his delight with McFadden's arrival, with him excited to bring in her level of experience to improve the team.

He is pleased that he has managed to recruit a player who "has won trophies at senior level" and who has "valuable experience" from her exploits at international level too, all of which can benefit the players around her.

Sanders said there are already players who are "looking forward to having her in the side" as a result of her reputation, whilst he believes that the 28-year-old can be one for the younger players to "look and learn a lot from."

The manager said that, once he learned there was "some interest" from McFadden to join the club, it was a "no brainer" to follow up their own interest in the player, and now he is "delighted" that the deal has been completed.

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About the author
Ameé Ruszkai
Head of the Sunderland, Swansea City and women football sections at VAVEL UK. Email: [email protected]