Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Jackie Burns and winger Lauren Wade have moved to Women’s Super League (WSL) side Reading.
The Royals, who start their season against newly promoted Liverpool on September 11, have acted swiftly following Burns impressing at Euro 2022.
Burns went into the tournament as a free agent after mutually agreeing on her release from a two-year contract at Swedish club BK Hacken that was only signed in March.
Embed from Getty ImagesBurns came through the ranks at Cookstown Youth and Mid-Ulster Ladies before securing a scholarship with Carson-Newman University in 2016.
In 2017, she was part of the Eagles team that made it to the national championship game in the US for the first time in the university’s history.
Burns made her international debut in 2013 at 16 years old in a friendly against the Netherlands. She was the number one as Northern Ireland reached this summer’s Euro 2022 tournament in England.
Embed from Getty ImagesWade, aged 28, makes the move from Glentoran to Reading. She is only the second player to make a transfer from an Irish League club to a WSL club.
Wade has played in Sweden, the US and Scotland before playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and scoring for Glasgow City against German giants Wolfsburg.
The winger made a positive impact at Euro 2022 against Norway, Austria and England. She nearly opened the scoring against the eventual winners as she forced a good save from Mary Earps.
It now takes Northern Ireland’s quota in the WSL to four after Rachel Furness won promotion with Liverpool—joining Simone Magill, who moved from Everton to Aston Villa earlier this summer.
The Berkshire Club finished eighth in the WSL last season.
