The 18-year-old defensive midfielder and England under-17s captain joined our academy at the age of nine in 2016 and has since gone on to win several trophies with our under-16s and under-21s teams.
Laila made her debut appearance for the first team in May 2024, coming off the bench in our exhibition game against A-League All-Stars Women in Melbourne. Laila also took part in our pre-season tour in Washington D.C this summer, where she came on in the 78th minute to help secure a 2-1 win against Washington Spirit.
In addition to her development with our academy and first-team squads, Laila gained valuable experience as part of a dual-registration agreement with Barclays Women’s Championship club Watford during the 2023/24 season, making 14 appearances for The Hornets.
An experienced England youth international, Laila has had a particularly exciting year as captain of the under-17 Lionesses. This summer, Laila led the team at the UEFA European Championships in Sweden as they reached their first-ever final before missing out to Spain. A few months later, in October, Laila then captained the team to a fourth-place finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.
