Manchester City sign Aoife Mannion from Birmingham City on two-year deal

Manchester City have signed Birmingham City defender Aoife Mannion on a two-year contract.

Mannion helped Birmingham City to a fourth-placed finish in the Women's Super League last season.

In an impressive personal campaign, the 23-year-old defender was voted as the club's Player of the Season and secured a spot in the PFA Team of the Year 2019.

Speaking about her move to Manchester City, Mannion said: "I'm so happy to sign for this club and I just can't wait to get started.

"The appeal of this club speaks for itself, it's a club that's been really successful, probably consistently the most successful out of all the WSL clubs, so I want to add to that."

Manchester City open their season against Manchester United at the Etihad on September 7 and Mannion is looking forward to the hotly-anticipated clash.

"[The Manchester Derby] is going to be so exciting, it's going to be so immense." she said.

"I'm so excited, especially with it being in the Etihad Stadium and I think we need to prepare really well in pre-season so that we can deliver the supporters the result that they want, which is a win to kick off the season."

City won the domestic cup double last season, but finished second behind Arsenal in the league, and manager Nick Cushing believes Mannion will add to the overall quality of the squad.

"Aoife was someone we knew was a very-high quality player and we tracked over the last season and we knew that she would fit not only into what we want as a player, but also as a person" he said.

Mannion becomes the second person to leave Birmingham for Manchester City this summer, following in the footsteps of England's top goalscorer at the Women's World Cup, Ellen White.