Liverpool Women sign American forward Katie Stengel
Stengel played under Reds head coach Matt Beard at Boston Breakers; 29-year-old could make her debut in Sunday's FA Women's Championship trip to Blackburn Rovers Ladies
Thursday 6 January 2022 12:33, UK
Liverpool Women have completed their first signing of the transfer window with the arrival of American forward Katie Stengel.
The 29-year-old joins the club after most recently playing with Valerenga, where she won the Norwegian Women's Cup in October.
After top-scoring for Bayern Munich in their Frauen-Bundesliga title-winning season in 2015 Stengel returned to the US with Washington Spirit before joining Boston Breakers, where she played under Reds head coach Matt Beard.
Stengel, who will wear the No 24 shirt, told Liverpoolfc.com: "It's amazing to be here, everyone has been so welcoming and I can't wait to get started.
"I always wanted to play in this league and when I got in contact with Matt it was just fate, I guess, and maybe a little bit of luck!
"I played under Matt at Boston Breakers. He was an incredible person and a great coach and I'm lucky to be playing for him again."
"I'm a No 9, very competitive, love to get the ball as much as possible and hopefully score goals!
"Coming in as a second-division team, you want to get promoted and have that big story behind you. The girls have put themselves in a great position and it would be great to get promoted and fight to get back to where we want to be."
Beard said: "Katie is different to the front players we've got at the club and brings a wealth of experience, having played at Bayern Munich and some of the top clubs in America.
"She's an athletic forward who's good in tight spaces. We only worked together briefly but she's a good finisher and it's important we have options in those positions where we've had some injuries and keep up competition for places.
"She's an intelligent football player who will be a real help to the team in the second half of the season."
At international level, Stengel represented the USA at U20 and U23 level, winning the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2021.
