Wales defender Rhiannon Roberts has joined Liverpool Ladies to help plug the gap left in their defensive line due to the departure of her Welsh team mate Sophie Ingle.
Ingle re-joined Chelsea Ladies last month and now Roberts has moved to Anfield from Doncaster Rovers Belles. The 27-year-old defender will link up with new Liverpool boss Neil Redfearn having played under him at Doncaster.
Last season Roberts helped the Belles to win the FA WSL 2 title, their first trophy since 1994. She began her professional career with Blackburn Rovers Ladies in 2009 before joining Doncaster in 2013.
“This is a great move for me and I cannot wait to work with Neil again. Liverpool Ladies is a big club with real ambitions for the future, so it was a move that I could not turn down,” said Roberts.
“I’d like to thank everyone at Doncaster Rovers Belles for their support over the past few years. It’s a great club with real tradition and would like to wish everyone there the best of luck for the future.
“But I feel as though this was an opportunity, and new challenge, that was too good to turn down. I’m really excited for the new season.”
Born in Chester, Roberts represented England Colleges against Australia Schools in the side’s first fixture in 2008. Two years later she was called up to the England Under 23 team for a mini tournament at the University of Warwick.
In 2011 she represented Great Britain at the World Student Games in Shenzhen, China. Jayne Ludlow introduced her to the Wales set-up in August, 2015, and she has since become an integral part of a Welsh team that hasn’t conceded a goal in their seven World Cup qualifying games to date.
Roberts will be hoping to extend that record to eight matches in the winner-takes-all clash with England at Rodney Parade on 31 August. If Wales can win that game they will definitely qualify for next year’s World Cup finals in France next year.
Roberts will find herself training alongside two England squad members, Alex Greenwood and Gemma Bonner, at Liverpool.
