Aston Villa Women have confirmed the signing of Chloe Arthur from local rivals Birmingham City.
The newly promoted side confirmed the signing on their social media platforms on Thursday afternoon. The Scotland international left the Blues at the end of June following the expiration of her contract. The length of her new deal has not yet been disclosed.
A statement of intent
The signing of Arthur has made waves across the Women's Super League.
The 25-year-old has been highly-rated since she broke through at Celtic and later Hibernian aged just 17. She impressed at both Bristol City and Birmingham afterwards and is regarded as one of the better players outside of the WSL big-hitters.
Arthur impressed enough at Birmingham to earn a place in Scotland's 2019 World Cup squad and has been a fixture in the national set-up since 2015. She has made 21 caps to date.
Speaking to Aston Villa's website, Arthur spoke about how the Villan's new mentality attracted her to the club:
"A standout factor was the professionalism and ambition of the club and the people they have in place to really drive them forward".
Crossing the divide
Chloe Arthur is far from the first player to cross the city divide to join Villa from Birmingham. In fact, she's the third in the space of a year.
Last summer, both Shania Hayles and Emma Follis made the same journey across the Second City and by all measures, both did very well. Hayles starred up front for the Villans and netted eight goals in just 12 league appearances as well as notching another two goals in six cup games. As for Follis, she impressed in midfield and grew to be a popular figure over the course of last season.
Former Blues star Eniola Aluko was also appointed Aston Villa's Sporting Director earlier in the year as the club ramps up preparations for life in the top tier.