Negri excited by Ipswich second-tier challenge

Natalia Negri began her career in Arsenal's youth system

Ipswich Town goalkeeper Natalia Negri hopes returning to the second tier next season will be a major step towards her goal of playing at the highest levels of the women's game.

The 20-year-old joined Town last summer after appearing in 10 games to help Crystal Palace win promotion to Women's Super League.

And she made it successive titles as Joe Sheehan's side reached the second tier by lifting the Women's National League Southern Premier trophy.

They will play in WSL 2 in 2025-26, previously called the Championship.

"Imagine back to back to back, that'd be pretty cool. Maybe I'm a lucky charm in the team," she told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"I want to get my career as far as I possibly can. I've got high aspirations - I know how far I can go, I just need to make sure I stay on the same path that I want to be on.

"This season [2024-25] has been a massive step towards my end goal. I would love to get into the seniors with England - (although) I'm part Spanish and Italian and am actually eligible to play for both of them."

Ipswich's decision to move their home base from Felixstowe to Colchester United FC next season should again boost the profile of Joe Sheehan's side and hopefully mean larger crowds.

Negri said she had "fallen in love" with Town since her arrival, winning the Golden Glove for 14 clean sheets last season.

"I've never been at a club that's made me feel this confident as a player," she said.

"Winning the Championship with Palace was great but for me that was a massive thing - to see it come through the post. I couldn't go to the ceremony to pick it up, but I loved getting that award."

Ipswich must wait until 25 July to find out who they will face first in the Championship, which will put her in opposition to Palace, who were relegated from the top flight in April, but have a new head coach in Jo Potter.

"For the women's side of the club to grow, we needed to get that promotion under our belt, there was a lot of pressure on us to do that," she added.

Natalia Negri was speaking to Jaz Taylor