Bristol City pull off major coup as Wales midfielder Sophie Ingle returns | OneFootball

Bristol City have signed the Wales midfielder Sophie Ingle on a free transfer in a move that takes her back to the club she first joined 11 years ago.

Ingle left the WSL champions Chelsea when her contract ended last season after a trophy-laden, seven-year spell in which she won five WSL titles, three Women’s FA Cups and two League Cups, and her move to the second-tier will be one of the highest-profile WSL 2 signings of the summer transfer window.

She had been an integral part of the Chelsea side that has dominated the WSL era, prior to suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury last September. She returned to the pitch in time to go to Euro 2025 as part of Wales’ squad and played in their group-stage fixture against France in Switzerland, capping a hard-fought journey back to the pitch after 281 days on the sidelines.

A former Wales captain, she has 142 senior international caps for Wales and also played for Team GB at the Olympics in Japan in 2021. She was also awarded an OBE in 2023 for services to football.

The 33-year-old will return to play for the club she represented in the 2014/15 campaign – when the women’s leagues used a summer calendar and the club was known as Bristol Academy – before joining Liverpool, where she was twice named players’ player of the year.

Bristol City are understood to not have been the only club that attempted to sign Ingle this summer, but she was ultimately attracted to the club’s ambition as they seek to mount a promotion push.

Her arrival will add to a busy summer at Bristol City, who appointed Charlotte Healy as their head coach in June.

Healy moved to Ashton Gate after six years working at Manchester United, where she ultimately became the assistant coach to the manager Marc Skinner. She has also previously coached at Liverpool and Manchester City. She replaced Steve Kirby, who left Bristol City in May after the team finished second in the Championship, which has since been renamed as WSL 2.

Liverpool are poised to name Gareth Taylor as their head coach on a long-term contract. Taylor was identified as the first choice earlier this summer but his appointment was delayed by the need to resolve a matter relating to his contract at his former club Manchester City, who sacked him in March.

Taylor replaces Matt Beard, who left in February. The interim head coach Amber Whiteley is expected to be named among the staff working under Taylor, who won an FA Cup and League Cup at City.

Header image: [Photograph: Jayde Chamberlain/SPP/Shutterstock]