Welsh international makes Madejski Stadium move
Reading FC Women’s defensive ranks have today been bolstered by the arrival of Welsh international Gemma Evans, who makes the move to Madejski Stadium from Bristol City.
24-year-old centre-half Evans joins Kelly Chambers’ side on a contract until the summer of 2023 following the expiration of her contract with the Vixens, having spent the past three seasons at the Westcountry outfit.
Evans, who hails from Rhondda in South Wales, began her senior football career with Cardiff City in 2015, and then made the move to top-tier Yeovil Town after two years with the Bluebirds.
Her first professional goal came at Huish Park in 2017, opening the scoring in a 2-1 defeat against visiting Tottenham Hotspur in the Continental Cup.
The move to Bristol City came at the end of a single season with the Glovers – and over the course of three seasons in the WSL with the Vixens, she registered 66 appearances in all competitions and contributed with two goals from defence: a winner against Birmingham City in 2019, and a point-earning header against Spurs last season.
Like many of her new Royals teammates, she is a fixture in the Welsh international setup. First pulling on a Dragons jersey at Under-19 level, she netted on her debut against their counterparts from Kazakhstan in 2014.
Then her senior-team debut came against Norway at the age of 19, featuring alongside the likes of Rachel Rowe, Tash Harding, Jess Fishlock and Angharad James at Newport Stadium – the first of 30 appearances in a Welsh shirt to date.
And now ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, she becomes the latest player to make the move to Madejski Stadium.
Reading FC Women manager Kelly Chambers said: “I’m delighted to bring Gemma to Reading. She is a player that I feel will really suit out style of play. She has shown great development over the last couple of seasons and more importantly she is a consistent performer.
“Gemma will boost our backline with the attributes she will bring. She is a hard working player that has so much hunger and desire to want to learn and get better and I have no doubt that in this environment we will see an even better player. I am excited to get started and work with Gemma.”
