Republic of Ireland international Stephanie Roche has announced that she has signed for Sunderland Ladies.
The FIFA Puskas award runner-up was released last month from her contract at Houston Dash to create space for new signings as rules oblige teams in the National Women's Soccer League to stick to a 20-player limit.
Roche only signed for the American club four months ago and made two substitute appearances.
The WSL 1 side have confirmed the signing.
Speaking about her arrival, Roche said: “It’s great to be at Sunderland Ladies and I can’t wait to get started."
Stephanie told Newstalk this afternoon that she was really delighted to make the move and was really impressed with the facilities. She's also passed a medical test and hopes that she will be able to play this weekend against Manchester City.
She said: "I'm happy. It's something that I suppose I've been talking about for the last few weeks and I'm happy to get back in the vicinity after everything that happened in Houston."
"I'm glad everything's worked out."
However, the Manchester City game she was hoping to take part in is now cancelled ahead of the weekend: "I was looking forward to getting a game under my belt. I haven't played a game in a few weeks now.
"I passed everything, I'm fit to play."
Speaking about the end of her Houston Dash contract, Stephanie said: "When it first happened, I was disappointed, it was a bit of bad news to hear and it wasn't something that any footballer wants to hear".
However, she's positive about where her career is going from here: "I signed a two-year deal so I'm here for a few years anyway.
"I think I need a bit of stability and I want to be able to settle in here and do well.
"I'm just really looking forward to getting started and getting back into it."
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