Claudia Walker

Claudia Walker (born 10 June 1996)[1] is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Birmingham City. She previously played for Everton, Liverpool, and Stoke City. Walker has represented England on the under-17, under-19 and under-23 national teams.[2]

Claudia Walker
Walker with the FA WSL 2 Spring Series trophy in May 2017
Personal information
Full name Claudia Walker
Date of birth (1996-06-10) 10 June 1996
Place of birth England
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Birmingham City
Number 18
Youth career
Stoke City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Liverpool 6 (0)
2015–2019 Everton 54 (17)
2019 → Birmingham City (loan) 7 (0)
2019– Birmingham City 22 (5)
National team
2012–2013 England Under-17 5 (0)
2014–2015 England Under-19 9 (1)
2016– England Under-23 5 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 November 2020

Career

Youth

Walker spent her youth career with Stoke City eventually making a debut for the first team in 2013.[3][4]

Liverpool FC, 2014

Walker joined Liverpool for the 2014 FA WSL season. Walker made two appearances during the regular season.[5] Liverpool finished in first place with a 7–2–5 record.[6]

Everton FC, 2015—19

In February 2015, Walker signed for the recently relegated Merseyside rivals, Everton of the WSL 2.[7]

Walker would become a regular for the Blues and played forward as striker, helping Everton with the Spring Series with seven goals in nine appearances.[2] The Blues were promoted to WSL 1 for the 2017-18 season and signed Walker to a 2-year full-time professional contract.[8] In December 2017, Walker suffered a hamstring injury and would miss the remainder for the 2017-18 season.[9]

Birmingham City, 2019—

In January 2019, Walker went on loan to Birmingham City for the 2018–19 FA WSL season. After featuring 17 times and scoring once, she was offered a two-year contract by the club. She made the permanent switch from Everton in June 2019, signing a two-year contract.[10][11]

During the 2019–20 FA WSL season, Walker was a starting player in 10 of the 13 games she played.[12] Birmingham City finished in 11th place with a 2–10–1 record.[13] In June 2020, she was awarded the PFA Community Champion Award.[14]

Returning to Birmingham City for the 2020–21 season, Walker scored her first goal of the season during a 5–2 loss to Manchester City.[15] She scored the game-winning goal in a 1–0 win against Reading on 11 October.[16] Seven days later on 18 October, she scored a 50th minute "wonder goal" in a 4–0 win against Bristol City.[17] Her fifth goal of the season was the game winner during a 1–0 over Aston Villa on 14 November.[18]

International

Walker has represented England on the under-17, under-19 and under-23 national teams. She captained the under-19 national team during the first game of the 2014 UEFA Championship, scoring the only goal for England in the tournament.[5] In 2017, she competed with the under-23 national team at the 2017 Nordic Tournament. Walker scored two goals in the opening match against Sweden and England would go on to win the tournament.[19]

References
  1. "Claudia Walker". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  2. "Claudia Walker | Everton Football Club". www.evertonfc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  3. "Award-Winner Claudia Walker Hopes to Fire Everton to SSE Women's FA Cup Glory". www.thefa.com. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  4. "Stoke City Profile". www.stokecityladies.com. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  5. Heather Carroll (27 October 2014). "Liverpool Ladies Player-by-Player Season Review". www.thisisanfield.com. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  6. "2014 FA WSL". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. Bruce Archer (23 February 2015). "Everton complete shock capture of young Liverpool midfielder". Express. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  8. "Claudia Walker profile". loverevertonforum.com. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  9. "Walker Facing Spell Out After Surgery". www.evertonfc.com. 12 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  10. "Birmingham City: Everton's Claudia Walker completes Women's Super League switch". BBC. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  11. "CLAUDIA WALKER SIGNS PERMANENT CONTRACT". Birmingham City. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  12. "Claudia Walker". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  13. "2019-20 FA WSL". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  14. "Claudia Walker wins PFA Community Champion Award". Birmingham City FC. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  15. "Birmingham City Women 2 Manchester United Women". BBC Sport. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  16. "Reading Women 0 Birmingham City Women". BBC Sport. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  17. Hadley, Craig (19 October 2020). "WSL Round-up: Wonder goal from Claudia Walker in Blues win over Bristol". Midland WOSO. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  18. "Aston Villa Women 0 Birmingham City Women". BBC Sport. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  19. "Nordic Tournament Four Nations U-23 Tournament 2017". www.womenssoccerunited.com. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.

Further reading
  • Caudwell, Jayne (2013), Women's Football in the UK: Continuing with Gender Analyses, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9781317966234
  • Grainey, Timothy (2012), Beyond Bend It Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803240368
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