Jordan Nobbs spent so long as an Arsenal player, the Women’s Super League did not even exist when she joined the club from Sunderland. Her transfer to Aston Villa on an initial 18-month contract 13 years later, then, was a huge change not just for Nobbs herself, but for Arsenal, Villa and the WSL as a whole. Potentially, it is also a big moment for the Lionesses too, because the 30-year-old playmaker says that, by signing for Villa, she wanted to give herself the best possible chance of getting back into the England squad.
Nobbs has made 69 appearances for her country but has played in just three Sarina Wiegman’s 26 matches in charge of the Lionesses so far, making just one start for England in the past 21 months through a combination of injuries and slipping down the pecking order. Now, with a World Cup around the corner, and with cruelly-timed injuries having previously caused her to miss 2019’s tournament entirely and limiting her involvement in the 2015 World Cup, she is full of determination to re-energise her Lionesses career.
‘It’s going to be tough to get back into the England squad’
“When I was leaving Arsenal I wanted to stay in England,” says Nobbs, in an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport. Asked why, she replies: “For my England career.
“I can’t shy away from wanting to get back in the squad. I know that I need gametime. I know for a fact that it’s going to be a really tough ask getting into that squad, but I want to give myself the best possibility to do that.
“I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved in my career, but when I think I’ve not played [much] over the last year, year and a half, whether that was injuries or not being selected at Arsenal to play, I naturally think that every player needs consistency.
“It’s really hard to be in top form and be the best version of you when you’re in and out of a squad, or you’re changing positions like I did at times, so I think, with consistency and gametime, you can see a version of me again.
“It’s not going to happen after one game, it’s going to take time, but I’m here to work hard for Villa.”
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