Azzy’s Room At The Villa (Asmita Ale interview)

Asmita Ale was 16 and a converted centre-back when she came on at right-wing-back for Aston Villa against Durham in March 2018, and had never played the position before. Two seasons on she is a first-team regular in a Villa side leading the Championship, an England Under-19 international, and – the day after this interview – a professional, having become the first footballer of Nepali origin to sign professionally in England. She talks about what Gemma Davies asks of her, the recovery runs and the one-v-ones; about Jade Richards, who used to coach her as a child, taking her under her wing; and about dodging the squad initiation by arriving mid-season. She is studying Psychology, Maths and PE, can juggle, and has switched from watching only men’s football to studying Lucy Bronze.