Rachel Daly: How Aston Villa striker surpassed all expectations as striker

Aston Villa manager Carla Ward (right) has seen Daly fire them to a best-ever WSL campaign

It is fair to say Rachel Daly, winner of the 2022-23 Women's Super League Golden Boot, has surpassed all expectations this season - even those of her own manager.

"We actually hoped she would score eight goals, which would have put us in a good position," said Villa boss Carla Ward.

Daly has gone somewhat better than that, with 22 goals in 22 WSL games - and 30 strikes in 30 matches this season.

Having been neck and neck with Manchester City's Khadija Shaw in the top scorer charts for much of the campaign, Daly streaked away in the home straight to become the first English woman to win the Golden Boot since Ellen White in 2018.

The England international's goal on the final day of the season against Arsenal also saw her match Vivianne Miedema's record tally from 2018-19.

She also smashed the record for most number of goals scored by an English player in a WSL season, set by White with 15 in 2017-18.

It is an astonishing achievement by the 31-year-old, signed by Villa last summer after a decade playing mainly in the United States.

Other than two WSL campaigns with Lincoln more than 10 years ago and having spent the first half of the 2020-21 season on loan at West Ham, Daly had played her entire career stateside. She played seven NWSL seasons with Houston Dash, only reaching double figures for a season twice.

However, on her return to England in September, she hit the ground running with two goals in Villa's 4-3 WSL win over Manchester City and has not looked back since.

"It's sensational for her, she has been outstanding," said Ward. "I say it all the time, but her movement in the box is one of the best.

"She has been a breath of fresh air, but she has needed her team to get there, she will be the first to say that."

In a league stacked with quality number nines, from Shaw to Sam Kerr, Daly's goal-scoring instinct puts her among the very best.

"We see it week in, week out," former Tottenham Hotspur defender Jenna Schillaci told The Women's Football Show.

"Her desire to get into the box - she drops deep for her team and then head down. Her first thought is 'can I get in the box'.

"She picks the space and arrives at the perfect time. It is her timing and movement to get into the box, and then almost all her goals are one-touch finishes."

It is that striker's instinct which has supercharged Villa's attacking prowess this season. In 2021-22 they scored just 13 goals in the whole WSL campaign - nine fewer than Daly has managed on her own in 2022-23.

'She won't play at left-back, not a chance'

Daly came on as a substitute in England's recent games against Brazil and Australia

For a fan of the Lionesses, seeing an English striker in such irrepressible form during the lead up to a World Cup is a mouthwatering prospect.

But there is no guarantee Daly, who has 61 England caps, will even start - or at least start up front.

She has often played at full-back under England manager Sarina Wiegman, including starting every game on the left side of defence in their run to glory at Euro 2022.

The Lionesses' record goalscorer White was the preferred choice at the Euros and since her retirement Manchester United's Alessia Russo has regularly got the nod from Wiegman to lead the line.

However, Daly has made her claim, both for her country - scoring both goals in the 2-1 Arnold Clark Cup win over Italy when starting as striker - and of course for her club.

Ward has no doubts where Daly should be starting in Australia and New Zealand this summer.

"She won't play at left-back [for England at the World Cup], not a chance," she added.

"I don't think anyone believes that either. You don't put the best centre-forward in the country in your back line.

"She has proven her worth, for me she starts."

Yet it is not Ward that Daly has to impress, it's Wiegman.

When asked in February - after England's victory over Italy - whether Daly was taking her chance as a forward for England, Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Yeah, I think she is - but I also think we still have very good options in the number nine position and it's very good the competition is so high.

"We've played some scenarios where we've put in two centre-forwards but, for now, how we play, we wouldn't start with two.

"They're both [Russo and Daly] very good strikers, we all know that Rachel is very versatile so she can play in different positions in our team."

Daly, for her part, is happy to play anywhere for England.

"I'm not bothered, I'm really not," she said in February. "I think you guys [the press] care more about where I play than I do. I'm genuinely happy to play in any role.

"Obviously playing in the [number nine role] is something I do week in, week out, so it's a little bit more natural for me. But whatever role I'm given, I'll do it to the best of my ability."

So for the Lionesses, the Daly debate continues. But for Villa, and in the WSL, the argument over who the most clinical striker in England this season is well and truly over.

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