Hannah Hampton to leave Aston Villa with Lionesses goalkeeper reportedly linked with Chelsea

HANNAH HAMPTON is set for an Aston Villa exit this month amid reports of her holding talks with WSL champions Chelsea. 

The England goalkeeper, 22, is thought to have rejected an offer of a contract extension from the Villans, according to BBC Sport.

The current Villa contract for the player, who made 43 appearances across all competitions last term, expires at the end of this month.

She kept five cleansheets in 15 WSL games helping the team claim fifth spot, their highest ever finish in the Women’s Super League. 

A brief statement published on the club’s web site “sincerely thanked” the shot-stopper wishing “her well in her next chapter".  

The Birmingham-born WSL ace is among the players included in Sarina Wiegman’s 23-strong squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Her form towards the second half of last season saw her earn a Lionesses recall in March having been dropped from Wiegman’s previous three squads.

Following her return the England boss said Hampton had needed to “sort out some personal issues before going on to praise her “consistency” for Villa. 

Hampton began her football career in 2005 as a forward for Spanish club Villarreal’s academy team.

And she made the transition to goalkeeper during her six-year spell at Stoke City from 2010.

This was followed by a five-year stint at at Birmingham with whom made her senior debut in November 2017

And she left to join Villa under head coach Carla Ward.

Last summer Hampton was part of the England squad that lifted their first Women’s Euros trophy under Wiegman. 

She also helped the team win last February's inaugural Arnold Clark Cup contest keeping a cleansheet during England's 0-0 draw with Spain.

And this year will see her be part of a senior Lionesses World Cup squad for the first time in her career.