Last season’s player of the year Jess Holbrook has signed for Super League side Liverpool Ladies FC.  The talented midfielder who scored an impressive 16 goals in 39 appearances for the club began her career with Mersey rivals Everton before joining Leeds following an eight month injury lay-off picked up while on England Under-19 duty.

“Jess will obviously be missed by everyone at the football club, both on the pitch and off it,” commented Manager Andy Burgess. “However she felt it was too good an opportunity to turn down and we have to respect that. We were well within our rights as a football club to block the move, however I didn’t feel that was the right thing to do for us, or for Jess Holbrook.  She is a fantastic talent and I am sure she will do well at her new club. We wish her all the very best.”

With weather problems heavily restricting recent fixtures and Leeds still fighting for glory on all fronts, the departure of Holbrook leaves room for new arrivals in the squad.

“We were already looking to bring in some new faces to freshen up what is already a very talented squad,” added Burgess.  “We’ve got a lot of important games left ahead of us this season and while Jess’ departure does impact our thinking, we won’t rush into anything. It’s more important we find the right players.  Anyone who comes in needs to add to the quality we already possess.”