Deyna Castellanos has signed for Man City

Gareth Taylor’s long-awaited rebuilding of Manchester City Women has began with the signing of Venezuela international Deyna Castellanos from Atlético Madrid.

 

The 23-year-old striker is anticipated to be the first of several summer additions at the Etihad campus, joining Taylor’s side on July 1.

 

Castellanos walks through City’s currently revolving door with an amazing resume. A player who will wear the No. 10 shirt in Manchester scored 26 goals in 71 matches in just over two seasons in Spain, while she captains her country and has 12 goals in 25 games.

 

Taylor, who has said goodbye to several key City players this summer, notably England’s Lucy Bronze and her Bayern Munich-bound international teammate Georgia Stanway, is overjoyed to have acquired the striker.

 

“We’re thrilled to have Deyna on board,” he said. “She’s a player we’ve admired for a long time. She’s an incredibly exciting talent who has a real hunger and desire to be highly successful.”

 

Castellanos sounded similarly enthused. “Looking around all the facilities here is just amazing,” she said.

 

“I believe this club will help improve me as a player and I hope I can improve Manchester City too. The style of football the team play was very attractive to me and I feel as though I can fit in very well here, while also being challenged to develop and grow.”

 

Deyna Castellanos says she wants to help “accomplish something bigger” in the Champions League for Manchester City.

 

“I want to win all the tournaments we are competing for,” Castellanos, 23, told BBC Sport.

 

“For me, that is really important – to win trophies collectively and individually,” added Castellanos. “The Champions League is something that every player wants to play in.

 

“We will be working to do better in that tournament and try to accomplish something bigger.”

 

City have never won the Champions League but consistently competes for domestic trophies and lifted the League Cup last season, as well as reaching the FA Cup final.

 

Castellanos, who scored 23 goals in 58 games for Atletico, described herself as a “very technical and creative player”.

 

She said: “I like having the ball at my feet, trying to make my teammates better and to score goals. That is what I will try to do. I hope we [the fans and I] enjoy each other for a long time and I hope to celebrate titles and goals together.”

 

The Etihad campus will see a big changing of the guard in the coming weeks, with Scotland’s Caroline Weir, England’s Jill Scott, and retired England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley among those leaving Taylor’s group.