England forward Nikita Parris leaves Brighton following the end of her contract
Brighton ended the season in fifth place in the Women's Super League, and head coach Dario Vidosic said: 'Nikita has played a vital role in helping us achieve our highest-ever WSL finish.
We can confirm that Nikita Parris has left the club following the expiry of her contract. 💙🤍
— Brighton & Hove Albion Women (@BHAFCWomen) July 22, 2025
'Her professionalism, both on and off the pitch, has been outstanding, and her experience has been hugely influential within the squad – especially in guiding some of our younger players.
'Her goals and tactical awareness have offered consistency and leadership in the final third. We're truly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her last season and wish her nothing but the best in the next stage of her career.'
Parris began her career with Everton and has also played for Manchester City, Lyon and Arsenal as well as winning 74 caps for England.
Her form for Brighton earned her a return to the national team as a substitute against Spain in February, her first appearance in an England shirt since November 2022.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd and Newcastle sent clear message about Benjamin Sesko's family - 'I'm afraid'
Manchester United are keen on signing RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko this summer, but they face a battle with Newcastle United for his signature Stuart Pearce looked back on his experience as a football manager and offered one cruel fact all clubs must remember - most players and their families want to live in London, Manchester and other major cities in the UK. Manchester United, despite missing out on many targets this summer, have, so far, successfully secured the services of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. Ruben Amorim is also on the hunt for a new striker, with Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko high on their list. Since Alexander Isak informed Newcastle United that he would like to leave, the Magpies have been linked with a move for Sesko. Eddie Howe's side are in a position to offer Champions League football and the involvement in a football project which has been amassing a huge amount of momentum. But while United are not in Europe's elite cup competition next season, Pearce believes Manchester's vibrant city life still provides clubs like United with a bargaining chip in attracting players. "I found out through my experience as a manager in the Premier League that players want to play in the Champions League," Pearce told the Manchester Evening News. "That's a big part of what they want to do. "That's the first thing (they ask). 'Are you in the Champions League?' A lot of players want to be near the big cities. They want to be near Manchester, they want to be in London and their families want to be there. "You're fighting, geographically, if you are up in Newcastle and that's just the nature of a footballer's mentality, I'm afraid. They might be drawn to whether they have friends at other clubs as well, or friends of their wives and families are a big part of that. "There are a lot of things to contend with. More so than what you see in front of your eyes on some occasions." United appear to be embroiled in a transfer battle with Newcastle for Sesko's services. The promising Slovenian is amongst Europe's most coveted prospects and had previously caught Arsenal's eye, before the Gunners shifted their focus towards securing Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP. Newcastle's summer dealings hint they may be waging an uphill struggle in their pursuit of Sesko. Whilst they did secure former United winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest for £55m, the majority of their priority targets have rejected the club's advances. Joao Pedro, Mbeumo, Liam Delap, Cunha and, most recently, James Trafford were all courted by the Magpies, but opted join Chelsea, United and Manchester City. Now the Magpies – who are competing in the Champions League – face the prospect of losing star striker Isak. Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal and Liverpool are the leading contenders for his services. The player reportedly carries a colossal price tag of around £150m, which would make him the most expensive Premier League of all time, by a huge distance. Isak was notably absent from Newcastle's pre-season tour to Asia with his teammates. Howe has consistently maintained that the star is not on the market, but concedes that his influence over the situation is limited. He recently said: "He is still our player. He's contracted to us. We, to a degree, control what is next for him. I would love to believe all possibilities are still available to us. My wish is that he stays, but that's not in my full control." Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Not just a flash in the pan' - Lionesses' legacy
When England won the European Championship in 2022 it was a watershed moment for women's football in the attendances skyrocketed, investment grew and media coverage after England triumphed in Switzerland on Sunday to retain their European crown following a dramatic penalty shootout against Spain, England manager Sarina Wiegman said: "We're not there yet."The legacy of Euro 2022 - England's first major women's trophy - will be difficult to surpass in its importance to the growth of women's that of Euro 2025 - a first major trophy won on foreign soil and the first time an English senior team has retained a title - could prove crucial in further cementing the game's place in Leah Williamson, speaking before Sunday's final, said: "You don't want to be a flash in the pan, a memory, and when we spoke before 2022 we said it was the start of something."We are still trying to play our role in that. We know how powerful that is. I hope it continues to grow, the respect for women's football, the respect for women and women's sport in general - we can try our best to elevate that." Lionesses success = women's football success Success for the Lionesses translates as success for the women's game in the Euro 2022 victory, interest in the domestic game piqued with every Women's Super League club seeing increased attendances the following season. A similar spike was felt after the 2023 World Cup, where England lost to Spain in the that were home to high-profile Lionesses drew the biggest crowds, with Arsenal attracting the most and setting a new WSL attendance record of 47,367 in their first home game at Emirates Stadium Gunners have gone on to break the WSL attendance record another three times, but last season average attendances dropped by 10% compared with the previous the first time in three years the WSL did not benefit from taking place after an international tournament where there had been home success after Great Britain failed to qualify for the Olympics. It is not just attendances that spiked following Euro 2022. Here are some other significant developments:In 2024, the Football Association (FA) revealed that in the previous four years 129,000 more girls became involved in schools football across the host cities of Euro 2022, while almost 1,500 new female football teams September 2024, a new deal worth £45m was agreed for Barclays to continue as the title sponsor for the WSL. Worth in the region of £15m a year, this stood at double the previous October 2024, a new WSL broadcast deal with the BBC and Sky Sports was agreed, which runs through to 2030. The money generated from these rights is shared between WSL for WSL clubs soared by 34% during a record-breaking 2023-24 season, with each club generating more than £1m for the first transfer fees in the WSL have increased, with Chelsea and Arsenal twice breaking the world record in the past six months - with the latter making Olivia Smith the first player to cost more than £1m. How did the Lionesses use their profile in 2022? The players have never shied away from their role in advocating for positive change for women and girls' hours after winning Euro 2022, England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy spearheaded an ultimately successful campaign in which the Lionesses' squad wrote an open letter to the then-government demanding equal access to school football for governments have since turned her words into action and on Monday ministers announced plans to double the amount of time women's and girls' football teams get allocated at government-funded sports facilities."These girls are constantly using their voice for change," said former England striker Ellen White."Wanting to inspire a nation and wanting to gain more opportunities for young people and young girls. They're so inspiring - they want to make change. They are perfect role models."They have shown they are not afraid of speaking out on causes they believe in. Williamson, who wears a rainbow armband in support of LGBTQ+ rights when playing for England, previously said it was "rubbish" to tell players to "stick to football" and avoid politics before the men's World Cup in the last Women's World Cup, former Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps called out Nike for failing to sell England women's goalkeeper shirts, which led to the sportswear giant making a Euro 2025, after defender Jess Carter was subjected to online racist abuse, the Lionesses decided they would no longer take the knee before games as they did not feel it was having enough impact. "[It is] clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism," they said in a or lose, the Lionesses feel a sense of responsibility for women's football and frequently talk about inspiring the next generation of young boys and girls to after celebrating with fans in central London, Williamson said: "Everything we do, we do it for us and our team but we do it for the country and young girls."This job never existed 30 or 40 years ago and we're making history every single step. Stay with us, this story is not done yet." What impact could Euro 2025 win have? While the legacy of Euro 2022 is clear, everyone involved in women's football knows there is still a long way to go."This is another massive ignition moment," said Nikki Doucet - the chief executive of WSL Football, which has taken over responsibility of the WSL and the WSL 2 this season."In some ways I think we're even more set up to capitalise on this opportunity now that we have the independent company set up - it's our job to take the inspiration and run with it as fast and hard as we can."Most WSL clubs are reliant on financial support from a men's team, although London City Lionesses will become the first team with no affiliation with a men's club to play in the women's top flight this the top flight, clubs' positions are much more precarious. Blackburn became the latest example as they decided to withdraw from the second tier, now WSL 2, for this season as they could not meet the financial and operational requirements of the summer Reading, who were in the WSL as recently as two years ago, decided to withdraw from the second tier and drop to the fifth because of financial chief executive Mark Bullingham said the WSL was on a "good trajectory" and success at Euro 2025 will "turbo-charge" that along with plans for grassroots growth."We want to get to the point where you know we should have the same number of girls and women playing football as boys and men, and until we've done that we've got a job to do," he director of women's football, Sue Day, agreed there was much more to be done for women's football in England."We want more matches on the TV, we want more opportunities for fans to be able to get involved, we want more money to be able to pay the players with, we want more kids playing in schools," she told Radio 4's Today programme."So we have to really capture this moment and turn it into everything we all want football to be for girls."The England team have already shown in the aftermath of their latest triumph that they will continue to make their voices at a reception at Downing Street on Monday, manager Wiegman said: "We need some more investment. We're not there yet."In England we're up there but England needs to stay the trailblazer, it needs to be the big example - the players first but also the Football Association, the clubs, the government, the country, the fans. Let's keep being the trailblazers."And the players are already planning their next Georgia Stanway said: "The point is now we don't have to keep winning to create a legacy and create change… but the fact that we win, it opens the doors so much more, gives us so much more opportunity to make change."We'll discuss as a player group what it will look like over the next few weeks and what we want to go into. But this is a massive door for us to step into."
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd transfer news: Ollie Watkins' feelings clear on move as another striker ruled out
Manchester United have turned their attention to Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as they look to sign a centre-forward in the summer transfer window for Ruben Amorim Manchester United are determined to sign a striker before the Premier League season begins. Ruben Amorim has already been given much-needed attacking reinforcements in the summer transfer window, but there's still a missing piece of the puzzle. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have arrived for a combined fee of £133.5million, but United are in real need of more goals. Cunha scored 15 goals in the Premier League last season for Wolves, while Mbeumo struck 20 for Brentford, yet neither are comfortable as a No.9. That is where United have been trying to find a new player. But with no European football to offer targets, having finished a lowly 15th last season, they missed out on Liam Delap to Chelsea, Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool and Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal. All is not lost yet. The summer transfer window remains open until September 1, but Amorim is preparing for their opening Premier League game against Arsenal on August 17, when his old Sporting Lisbon player Gyokeres will be unleashed against him. Here are the latest transfer stories from Mirror Football involving United. Watkins keen on Man Utd move Ollie Watkins is Manchester United's No.1 choice in their pursuit of a centre-forward, Mirror Football understands. Benjamin Sesko has been considered, but the RB Leipzig striker isn't considered as good an option as Watkins, who is an experienced Premier League striker. United are, however, unwilling to pay Aston Villa's £60m valuation for the England star. Instead, they hope to negotiate down to around £40-45m for the 29-year-old forward. One of the things in their favour is that Watkins is understood to be keen on the move. While he has been an important player for Villa in recent years, he has clashed with Unai Emery over selection in the Champions League and would undoubtedly be the main man at United, where rotation would be less of an issue. Dortmund emerge as Sancho option Jadon Sancho had appeared to be set for a move to Juventus, but a third spell at Borussia Dortmund is now thought to be a serious possibility for the winger. Sancho is part of the bomb squad at United, having been told he has no future at the club under Amorim's management. He had agreed terms with Fenerbahce last month, before that move collapsed. Next came Juventus, with the Italian side thought to be close to signing the 25-year-old for £21.6m. According to reports, United could now flog Sancho to Dortmund for £15-17m, giving him a third spell at the club. Sancho made his name in Germany initially, joining United for £73m on the back of his form there, and also spent time on loan at Dortmund in 2024. Jackson off the cards Manchester United won't be signing Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea this summer. Jackson is exploring his options after the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap left him contemplating a season on the bench. United held talks with his agent, but Chelsea's asking price has put them off. The Blues floated the figure of £100million, with an actual valuation of £80m still way too high for the Senegal international, who has a typically ludicrous but classic Chelsea contract expiry date of June 2033. Watkins is now United's No.1 target, with Sesko another option. United have spoken to Sesko's agent, but he is younger, more inexperienced and has no Premier League experience.
