Rachel
Williams

Williams arrived in Manchester with 13 international caps, having represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games and with a plethora of top-flight knowledge. Having come through the ranks at hometown club Leicester City, Rachel gained her first experience of English football’s top tier with Doncaster Belles. After an impressive stint with Doncaster, Williams re-signed with Leicester before joining Birmingham City’s WSL squad ahead of the 2011 term. The forward was awarded the Players’ Player of the Year prize at the FA Women’s Football Awards for her inaugural-season performances in Birmingham as the Blues narrowly missed out on the title. Williams was highly influential again in 2012, as the club lifted the FA Cup on penalties, after she netted a crucial late equaliser in the final to force a shootout. A move to beaten finalists Chelsea followed in 2014, as did a switch to Notts County before returning to Birmingham, this time under the tenure of Skinner in 2017. The pair joined forces again ahead of the 2022/23 season at United, and upon the announcement, Williams said: “United have a good squad and I’m excited to work with these girls for the coming season. "I’ll bring my experience of this league to the group, together with my 100 per cent work rate and desire to win every game - I can guarantee that." Williams netted her first goal for the club at Old Trafford, in December's 5-0 win over Aston Villa, before notably going on to claim the WSL's Goal-of-the-Month award for January 2023 with a match-winning strike away to Reading. She was lauded as a super-sub in that first season as she came off the bench to score in vital moments for the Reds, scoring a total of six goals in 25 appearances. You could always count on Williams to bag a late winner. That form continued through the 2023/24 season as she headed in an injury-time winner in the opening game of the season against Aston Villa. As United travelled away to Brighton, we had to come from behind twice to get something out of the game and it was Williams's late goal at the back post that rescued a point for the Reds. All 11 of Rachel's goals across the campaign were scored from within the 18-yard area, in true poachers' style. As the Reds went on to lift the FA Cup at Wembley, Williams was heavily involved in the run to the trophy scoring five goals in five appearances. In the semi-final against Chelsea, the forward headed in Ella Toone's cross to make it 2-0 over the league champions in front of a home crowd that erupted in wild celebrations. It was Williams who got the second in the final as well. She headed in a Katie Zelem free-kick to make United's dominance clear.