Millwall Lionesses have completed the temporary signing of striker Rosella Ayane from Chelsea, finalising the switch on deadline day.
The 19-year-old has joined the Super League 2 outfit on loan, despite featuring regularly for Chelsea during the 2014 campaign in the top tier.
Manager Dan Mlinar expressed his delight ahead of the arrival of his long-term target, saying of his new signing: “She is a forward and a goalscorer and that’s what we’ve brought her in to do. Rosella scored twice in the Continental Cup tie against our first team last year and a hat-trick in Chelsea’s 6-1 development team win over us at Beckenham in December, so she’s got goal in her.
“She’s tall, she’s got presence, she’s a powerful runner with, and without the ball, and I think she adds something different to the team that we don’t already have.”
When explaining the playing style of the former Reading forward, he added: “She’s comfortable playing as a target centre forward or off the shoulder, depending on what system we play. She can also pull wide on the left hand side and she seems to be good at beating people one-on-one, which is something we might utilise.
“Ideally I want her doing all her work in the final third and in and around the box. If she can come in and get six or eight goals between now and the end of her loan spell that would be great. We can offer her that next level of competition because there is a big step from Development League to WSL 2, and then obviously another bigger step up to WSL 1.
“Fingers crossed she stays fit and playing well, then we can give her a regular 90 minutes at increased level and intensity, so I think the loan move will be beneficial to both teams.”
A product of Chelsea’s Centre of Excellence, Ayane could make her Millwall debut this Sunday, as the Lionesses welcome Everton to The Den.
