SCARY. Aston Villa want to push on. 

Young striker Georgia Mullett had a breakthrough season for Aston Villa last time out. Despite being only 20, she earned the trust of head coach Natalia Arroyo and became an integral part of the squad.

This season, both she and Villa hope to build on last year’s foundations, and make Villa scary, as Mullett exclusively tells Clare McEwen.

It’s no secret that Villa didn’t have the season they wanted last year. Finishing ninth in the WSL and winning only five league games hurt the Villans. 

During the off-season, they lost their top scorer Kirsty Hanson to Spurs and a host of other big name players went to other teams or retired. 

It didn’t look good.

But then they started to make signings. Lots of signings. 

In the forward department, they’ve gone for both youth and experience. Young Scottish attacker Mia McAulay brings pace and versatility, while experienced Danish international Amalie Vangsgaard brings physicality and goalscoring pedigree from Juventus.

Bolstering the midfield are Kamilla Melgård and Justine Kielland. Melgård is another young and versatile player who brings energy and a goalscoring threat. And Norwegian international Kielland will strengthen the midfield with technicality, whether that’s from a deep lying position or further forward.

Mathilde Harviken has also come in from Juventus. The experienced Norwegian centre-back will bring a wealth of domestic and international experience to the back line. And much needed stability.

Emily Ramsey adds WSL experience to the goalkeeping team after the departure of Sabrina D’Angelo and young Japanese goalkeeper Akane Okuma adds goalkeeping competition and huge potential.

Manchester City’s Lily Murphy has joined on loan, bringing pace, directness, and another exciting attacking option.

Head coach Natalia Arroyo has now had a full season in charge of the Villans and has spent the summer recruiting players that fit her style of play. With new signings and developing talent in the squad, there’s plenty to be excited about if you’re a Villa fan. 

After a breakthrough season in 2025-26, Georgia Mullett hints at what’s to come in 2026-27.

Coming off what felt like a breakthrough season for you, what did you learn? 

I learnt a lot to be honest with you. I was on loan the year before [at Southampton] so coming back with Villa, I really felt like I had to push. And I did, I got my first start and I scored. 

But the most important thing I learnt was not to take the highs too high, and the lows too low. 

I was literally just talking to Rach Daly (below, right) about it. Football moves so quickly, everything keeps going so no matter what the lows are or the highs, stay in a middle ground and keep myself grounded. 

Great advice for life. So you mentioned Rach there, which players have helped you the most settling in last year, in that big first season? 

Yeah, Rach is definitely up there. Especially as someone in my position. Even the year before, as soon as I came up. 

She’s really helpful with me, making sure I’m always believing in myself. Asking me questions. A shoulder to cry on. 

But another big one is Kirsty Hanson (below, left). I was really close to her last year and we were playing together at times and she always pushed me more when I didn’t want to push myself.

She really believed in me and she was everything I needed last year. 

Does your mindset change coming into this season, having had that breakthrough season?

I think so. I think the main thing is to trust myself more. 

It was a bit of an unknown last year whereas now I’ve had a taste of it and I’m hungry for more. 

So it’s just to back myself really, going into it from the off.

You signed a new deal last season, what makes Villa the right place for you to develop?

I think it’s always been Villa for me.

From a young age I’ve supported the club, well, my family kind of forced me into it but, you know [laughs]. It’s the club I want to be at.  

We’re hungry, we’re determined, we get stuff done. And the togetherness in the team already from the last few weeks has been amazing. 

It’s the club that I want to be at. 

Lots of new signings over the break. Are you hoping to learn more from fellow forward Amalie Vangsgaard over this season? Perhaps she’s going to be another inspiration?

Absolutely, yeah, we get on great already.

She’s got a lot of experience. The way she works, I really value it. 

She comes in deep, which is something I really want to work on this year. 

So I’ll definitely be leaning on her for that. She’s amazing.

More generally, what are you expecting from the new signings? You’ve got loads of them.

We have! Learning names, I tell you, was a struggle the first week [laughs].

They’ve all brought something different, which is so amazing. 

On pitch, they’ve all got their strengths, which really ties into what we needed. But off pitch, they’re genuinely all really lovely girls.

Every single one of us has got on, we’ve gelled really quickly. 

How would you describe the culture in the dressing room? 

Really good at the minute, everybody’s really mingling. It’s very sociable. 

Maybe it’s coming back from summer, I’m not sure, but it’s really good vibes so far. And I hope it continues. 

It’s a really good vibe but we’re still asking each other questions on pitch and I feel like we’re really going to push each other going into the season. It’s going to be really good.

I’m sure there was disappointment around last season from within, but it feels from the outside that the team and Natalia were building a solid foundation. Is that fair to say from a player perspective, is that what it feels like? 

Yeah, 100%.

Like you said, even in the dark times last year, and when we were a bit lower, it was always that we were building something special and that was always our mindset. And maybe that pushed us through to the end of the season.

But especially the conversations I’ve had around signing the new contract, the goal going forward is that we’re building something that’s present and future. And it really feels like that, especially with the new signings coming in – it’s really building on it. 

What have you learned from Natalia (below, right)? 

A lot to be honest. 

I work in a very specific way and she really helps me. She constantly puts belief in me – I trust what she says and she trusts what I say and I know that she believes in me to push forward. 

And that’s all I really needed last year. She gave me that push. 

And like you said, it was a bit of a breakthrough for me, so I’m really grateful. 

Do you set yourself goals, have you got some for yourself this season?

I haven’t but it’s definitely something I’m working on. 

I think the first bit of preseason, I wanted to come in and get settled. I think I set my standards quite low last year because I wanted to start and that was kind of it. 

I was hoping to get a goal here or there but just to work hard and build on stuff, but I think I did better than I expected.

This year, I’m really looking to push on from it. 

What about team targets? Have you talked about that yet? 

I think there’s been small talks right now. However, it’s still early days, a long pre-season and it’s definitely something we’re working on.

The manager’s got big goals for us, she believes in us. So that’s definitely something that’s going to come in the next few weeks. 

How do you feel about the expansion of the WSL, because that changes things a little bit, doesn’t it? 

It definitely does. I think it’s really good for the league.

I think it’s really good for the growing game. I love that the Blues [Birmingham City] have come up, being a big rival.

I think the extra few games are really good. It’s good to see the different levels even within the league, from the top teams to the bottom of the league.

It’ll be really interesting to see. There might be some underdog stories written or we’ll see higher teams continue to strive – but it’ll be really interesting. 

I am going to ask you what fixture you’re most looking forward to but I suspect I might know…

It’s gonna be Blues [smiles]. Especially as a Villa fan. It’s always going to be Blues. I can’t wait for it.

You know, we’ve played them in the cup and we lost on pens and I just cannot wait to play them at home.

How would you describe – maybe for new fans – what the style of play of the team is?

Oh, good question. I think at the minute we’re really working on more fluidity in our game. We’re trying to get used to each other and each other’s movements. I think we want to be a team higher up the pitch that’s going to go after the ball and win it when we want to in the areas that we want to.

We’re really disciplined and that’s something that we strive to be out of possession. We’re really going to put our lives on the line for the goal, I think you’ve seen it across the season last year. And that’s something that we continue to strive for. 

But I think, myself included, we should have done better attacking last year and that’s something that we’re going to strive to do this year.

We need to score more goals. Scare more teams.

Natalia often talks about being brave. It’s not always that easy when you’re out there, is it? 

It’s not, no! I think I learned that last year. But this year, we’re 100% confident in each other and bravery is definitely going to be shown.

What’s it like playing at Villa Park? 

It’s amazing, honestly. As a Villa fan, it’s everything you dream of.

The fans that come along are always amazing. Even in a massive stadium, they’re always heard. Their support is always there. 

The pitch is amazing, I think it really pushes us on even more to really go for what we want. Yeah, it’s amazing. 

And I have one more. Who’s the changing room DJ?

Honestly, right now, it’s looking like Bo’s taking over a little bit because it was Ebony Salmon, last year without fail and she did an amazing job.

Bo’s been on it a bit, so I think we’re trying to find a new DJ at the minute, but I think it’s gonna be Missy Bo [Kearns]. 

Photo credits: Aston Villa Women, Clare McEwen, Helen M Jerome