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Former Manchester United Women star Hayley Ladd has claimed she needed to leave the club to play a bigger part in the league.
The Welsh international moved to Everton at the start of the month and made her debut against Aston Villa at the weekend.
Ladd joined United in 2019 and made 110 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals in total.
Speaking to the BBC about the next step in her career, she pinpointed why she felt she needed to leave Leigh Sports Village.
“At United it became obvious that my chances were becoming limited in terms of getting any decent playing time.”
“I wanted to make more of a meaningful impact in the league. It’s the way it was and it spurred me on to look at other options.”
The 31 year old commented that it was an “easy decision” to join Everton and it was like “music to my ears” when speaking to the Toffees’ boss Brian Sorensen.
She also stated that getting minutes ahead of Wales’ impressive qualification for Euro 2025 was another major cause for her seeking a move away from United.
Whilst being excited about her new challenge, Ladd took the opportunity to heap praise on United’s fans.
Describing what it is like to play as the home team at the Leigh Sports Village she opined, “they (United fans) were my first sort of experience of real women’s football fans. I just thought ‘this is amazing’.”
“The support is just relentless. I’ve never known anything like it. It doesn’t waver. It’s so resilient. It’s been such an amazing experience playing with that fanbase.”
The veteran also stated that she always enjoyed a strong connection between herself and the supporters and that is always a “meaningful” experience for a footballer.
Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images
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