Lucy Newell joins Birmingham on loan

The teenager won our Women’s Academy Players’ Player of the Year for 2023/24 and signed her first professional contract with the club last October, on her 18th birthday.

Newell then spent the second half of the campaign in the second tier with Blackburn Rovers and, having been nominated for the league’s Rising Star award during her time with Rovers, is now heading back to the division to continue her development with Birmingham this term.

The move to the Midlands will see Lucy reunite with her former England Under-19s head coach Amy Merricks, who is now in charge of the Blues.

Merricks guided Birmingham to a second-place finish in WSL2 last season – then known as the Women’s Championship – with her side only narrowly missing out on promotion to the WSL on the final day.

City had the best defence in the division during the campaign, conceding just 15 times in 20 matches, and now harbour ambitions of securing a return to the top tier for the first time since 2022 over the course of the forthcoming season.

It makes for an exciting move for Newell, who is heading back to the Midlands after progressing through the youth ranks at Birmingham’s local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Everyone at United would like to wish Lucy the very best of luck for her season-long loan with the Blues.