Norwich City Women are delighted to announce the signings of Eloise Morran and Mary Croft.
Eloise Morran, 16, has progressed through the club’s player pathway system, having been part of the initiative for four years.
General manager Flo Allen said: “We are extremely proud of our girls' player pathway run by our Foundation. We continue to produce talented home-grown players and Eloise is the latest product to graduate and make the step up to senior football.
“Developing and retaining talented home-grown players is at the heart of our philosophy, and we are delighted that Eloise is joining our first team. It is a testament to her hard work.
“She has shown that she is eager to learn and improve as a player, we have been very impressed with her footballing intelligence and maturity at such a young age."
Morran’s talent and determination was noticed when she attended an Under-13 Girls Football Festival at The Nest in 2019.
The central midfielder, who will don number 28 for the remainder of the season, spoke to canaries.co.uk upon signing. She said: “I am really excited to be given this great opportunity, as I've always followed Norwich and I hope to earn a place in the team to help them continue their success in the future.
“Joining the Norwich pathway has helped improve my football development massively. The ADP/ETC has been really good for my football as I've played with and against lots of really good players through the programme.”
Centre-back Mary Croft joins the Canaries from recently disbanded side Wymondham Town, who withdrew from the FA Women’s National League Division One South East earlier this year, having previously won the treble in the 2021/22 season.
After spending time training with the squad, the club were delighted that she agreed to sign permanently.
Croft, who will wear the number 27 shirt for Norwich, told canaries.co.uk: “I feel Norwich is the right club for me after a really successful season last season in the eastern region woman’s football premier it was now the perfect time to take the next step up and adopt a new challenge.
“I cannot fault the girls and staff at Norwich. Everyone has been really welcoming and I’ve been really impressed with the professional set up in and around the club.”
Head coach Shaun Howes said: “Mary has joined us to strengthen our defensive options. She has integrated into the squad well, having already played with a few of the girls and has really bought into our values, behaviours and way of playing.
“As a footballer she is athletic, quick and strong but also very good on the ball and will push the rest of the defensive unit to maintain the high standards they have set all season.”