Sheffield United Women have signed versatile defender Sophie O’Rourke from Charlton Athletic.
She has vast Barclays Women’s Super League 2 experience off the back of three years with the Addicks and before that four years with Lewes, playing every season in the league since its restructure in 2018.
O’Rourke began her career in the top division with Reading back in 2017 before spending a few months playing abroad for Grindavik in Iceland, returning to England with Lewes ahead of the 2018/19 season.
The full-back made 39 league appearances for Charlton over the past three seasons since joining the Addicks in 2022, bringing both added experience and quality to the United backline ahead of the new season.
Ahead of a first move to the north of England, O’Rourke says she’s looking forward to a new challenge: “I’m very pleased, excited to be in a new city and explore a new place and new club. It’s happened quite quick, met the girls today and everyone’s really nice, really friendly, and settled in really quickly.”
Head coach Ash Thompson is also pleased to have added yet another player to his squad with plenty of Barclays WSL 2 experience: “Sophie adds more experience, quality and depth in our defence and a position we were still keen to bring someone in ahead of the new season. She’s been a constant presence in this league since day one which is important with us having a young squad in places, and I’ve no doubt she’ll bring really good competition to the backline, so we’re delighted to bring her in.”
