Arsenal defender Katie Reid has signed her first professional contract with the club. Reid turned 18 this week. She made her WSL debut in April’s 5-0 win over Bristol City and also came on as a stoppage time substitute in Sunday’s 1-0 win at Leicester.
Reid joined Arsenal at the age of 13 and is now legally allowed to sign a pro deal. She spent most of last season on loan at Watford before returning to the club when Amanda Ilestedt became pregnant.
“I’m so proud to be putting pen to paper on a professional contract at a club that means so much to me,” said Katie. “Ever since I was a kid and first started playing football, this is what I always aspired to so it means the world. I want to keep working hard and progressing and I can’t wait to continue my development here with Arsenal.”
Head of Player Development James Honeyman added: “We’re so proud of Katie’s journey, making her way up through our academy and settling into the first-team squad so well. As a club, a key focus area for us is to ensure that our brightest youth players have clear pathways into first-team football, so we’re delighted to see Katie signing her first professional contract.”
Director of Women’s Football Clare Wheatley said: “We’re delighted that Katie will be continuing her journey with us in the first team. She has been a key part of our academy sides throughout her time here and has stepped up impressively to first-team level in recent weeks and months. Katie has worked hard to get to this point and we know she will continue to invest all her efforts into her future progression and development with us.”
Fellow Arsenal academy player Vivienne Lia also turned 18 recently and can now sign pro terms. One to keep an eye on…
Good luck to her!
Katie has already shown she has huge potential and now she can feel like a bona fide first team professional player. Let’s hope she gets plenty of minutes even if we have a handful of more senior centre backs on the books.